What is Formula 2? History, past champions, drivers and status of F1 second tier competition
In the history of motorsport, Formula 2 was the penultimate step on the ladder, one down from the top, Formula 1.
F2 has taken a few different forms over the years but is once again considered a second tier competition and feeder division to F1.
And it’s back for 2023, with plenty to look out for away from the glitz and glamor of the main circuit.
Sporting News gives the basic overview of Formula 2 here…
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What is Formula 2?
Formula 2 is simply defined as the second level of single-seater motorsport.
A great breeding ground for Formula 1 and self-proclaimed as the home of ‘tomorrow’s stars’, with over half of F2 drivers affiliated with an F1 academy, it’s a ‘one design’ championship, meaning that the cars are identical performance conditions. So it’s more about the skill of the drivers than how fast the designers can build their cars.
The 2023 F2 season calendar features 14 race weekends with two races in each event. Practice and qualifying take place on Fridays, with a sprint race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday.
F2 has seen a few revivals over the past few years. Between 1984 and 2009 it was replaced by the Formula 300 series for cost reasons.
Between 2009 and 2012, F2 was restarted with all drivers competing with assigned engineers rather than for different teams. Then it came back in 2017 under its current guise, a rebranding of the successful GP2 format that was starting to attract the better drivers.
Formula 2 World Champion
These have been the champions of F2 since 2017, with all but 2022 winner Felipe Drugovich set to compete sometime after their Formula 1 victories.
| Year | winner |
| 2017 | Charles Leclerc |
| 2018 | George Russell |
| 2019 | Nyck de Vries |
| 2020 | Michael sSchumacher |
| 2021 | Oskar Piastri |
| 2022 |
Felipe Drugovich |
Formula 2 driver 2023
These are the following drivers who have been confirmed for the F2 2023 grid. Although divided into teams, all drivers will compete with an identical Dallara F2 2018 chassis with a Mecachrome-developed V6 turbo engine and Pirelli tyres.
| team | driver |
| MP Motorsport | Dennis Hauger, Jehan Daruvala |
| Rodin Karlin | Zane Maloney, Enzo Fittipaldi |
| ART Grand Prix | Theo Pourchaire, Victor Martins |
| Premium Racing | Frederik Vesti and Oliver Bearmann |
| Hitech Pulse Eight | Jak Crawford, Isack Hadjar |
| dams | Ayumu Iwasa, Arthur Leclerc |
| Invicta Virtuosi Racing | Jack Doohan, Amaury Cordeel |
| PHM Racing by Charouz | Roy Nissany, Brad Benavides |
| trident | Roman Stanek, Clemens Novalak |
| Van Amersfoort Racing | Richard Verschoor, Juan Manuel Correa |
| Campos race | Kush Maini, Ralph Boschung |