FIA Formula 2 is a championship created by the FIA for the journey up towards Formula 1, racing alongside the main series in some events. It became Formula 2 in 2017 after it was rebranded from GP2. The first ever champion being Charles Leclerc with Prema Racing.
All the Formula 2 cars are spec cars meaning they have the same chassis, engine and tyre supplier so driver efforts are reflected. This means that it’s all about talent in Formula 2 in order to win the championship. Each driver is given 5 sets of tyres per weekend: three sets of “prime”‘s and two sets of “option”‘s. Along with this, they are also given three sets of wet-weather tyres.
Points are also awarded for pole position with 4 points and fastest lap with 2 points.
In Formula 2, there are 4 sessions in a weekend. They are as follows:
Practice | There is a 45 minute practice session where the drivers can learn the track, gain knowledge on tyres, formulate a strategy for the races and so on. |
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Qualifying | A 30 minute session where every driver competes to get pole position. Each driver goes out in the session to complete their best lap time. The quickest starts on pole in Race 1 and also gains 4 championship points. |
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Feature Race | It is usually a 60 minute race (or 170km) for the Feature Race. In the feature race, they must complete a compulsory pit stop with a change of compound of either primes or options. The top 10 score points. |
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Sprint Race | This is a shorter race, taking 45 minutes (or 120km). The top 8 finishers of race 1 are reversed, so the 8th finisher starts 1st. This time, the top 8 score points. |
Points are as follows, with extra points given for:
– Pole Position (+4)
– Fastest Lap in a Race (+2)
For Race 1/Feature Race, the points are as follows:
Pos | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
For Race 2/Sprint Race, the points are as follows:
Pos | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Over the 3 seasons, the champions are:
Champion | Driver | Team |
2017 | Charles Leclerc | Prema Racing |
2018 | George Russell | Carlin |
2019 | Nyck de Vries | DAMS |
2020 | season still ongoing | season still ongoing |