Category: Open Wheel Racing

True to form, Formula 2’s weekend in Monaco contradicted almost every expectation we had prior to the first practice.

Thursday’s qualifying dismissed any notions that experience would be a deciding factor in determining the running order when rookie Charles Leclerc made it three poles in three rounds despite running in the first group when track conditions were not at their optimum.

He was closely followed by fellow GP3 graduate, ART’s Alexander Albon, and the more experienced Oliver Rowland rounded off the top three. In the press conference after qualifying, Rowland lamented the speed at which the rookies had grown accustomed to F2, a testament to how unexpected Leclerc’s and Albon’s performances were.

As it is with any race at Monte Carlo, track position and strategy were going to be key. As long as Prema could nail their strategy in the feature race, Leclerc, whose home sits just above turn one, looked all set for a home victory.

At the race start the order was largely maintained. Though Leclerc did come under initial pressure from Albon, he held his lead and in the opening laps managed to pull away from his former GP3 teammate. Drama struck when Nicholas Latifi broke down at the entrance of the tunnel, in a difficult place for the marshals to recover his car, and brought out at the first safety car. The sudden change of circumstances seemed to play straight into the hands of Albon, who had already pitted, was now able to close the gap to the front runners, which included Leclerc, Rowland and Nobuharu Matsushita. His attempt at an alternate strategy by pitting early suddenly became a serious opportunity for victory.

At the restart on lap 11, Leclerc pulled away at a blistering speed, sprinting away in an attempt to build a gap over Albon. Rowland, who was sitting in second place, kept a far steadier pace, DAMS clearly opting to delay their pit stop as long as possible rather than trying to match Leclerc’s speed.

Lap 21 saw a tidy move by Nyck de Vries on Louis Deletraz to put him into tenth place and into the points. This was swiftly followed by Deletraz coming together with Robert Visoiu, putting them both out of the race, and earning the Campos driver a DNF on debut. The second safety car of the race was deployed.

This triggered a wave of stops from the front runners who had yet to pit, with Leclerc being the first to dive into the pit lane. The unforeseen turn of events undid ART’s gamble with Albon’s early pit, and Prema’s impatience to get Leclerc in meant he ended up losing track position to both Rowland and Artem Markelov. But things were about to get a lot worse for the local boy and championship leader.

As the cars paraded around after the safety car it became apparent that Leclerc’s front left tyre was loose, and initially the assumption was that it had not been fastened properly during the hasty pit stop. After a second stop however, the problem persisted, indicating that it was a more serious suspension breakage, and the Monegasque had no choice but to retire. It was a heart-breaking way to end the race for the driver who was so desperate to win at his home track.

Lap 26 saw the race get back underway, and it was a great restart for Rowland who looked certain to score his first win. In the end it was the man from Sheffield who stood on the top step of the podium, followed by Markelov in second, and Matsushita in third, who managed to secure two back-to-back podiums.

It was an impressive fourth place for Albon, who displayed some impressive tyre management after a long stint of the super soft tyres. Luca Ghiotto took fifth ahead of Gustav Malja, and the Rapax duo of de Vries and Cecotto crossed the line in formation in seventh and eighth, with Jordan King finishing ninth behind them. Trident also managed to finally score their first points of the season when Sergio Canamasas finished in tenth place.

The sprint race saw seasoned veteran Johnny Cecotto Jr of Rapax starting on reverse grid pole, followed by his teammate Nyck de Vries and Racing Engineering’s Gustav Malja.

The start hammered home the point that had been made abundantly clear all weekend: that experience was playing only a minimal role around the streets of Monte Carlo. Rookie de Vries got a fantastic start, pulling ahead of Cecotto almost immediately, and built a commanding lead. Malja almost lost third place to Russian Time’s Luca Ghiotto, but just managed to stay ahead, while this weekend’s feature race winner Rowland was swiftly overtaken by his countrymen Jordan King who demoted him from the points.

As de Vries extended his lead, proving that his tyre management troubles of the early races were long gone, most of the action was occurring towards the back end of the field. A lap 4 incident between an overly optimistic Leclerc and Norman Nato at La Rascasse saw the Frenchmen retiring from the race and the Prema driver handed a ten second time penalty. The horrible weekend for the two of them just continued.

The middle stint of the race saw most of the drivers in the top eight attempting to earn themselves the extra two points for the fastest lap—that honour ultimately went to Artem Markelov. As the race reached around two thirds distance the soft tyres everyone was running began to degrade far more than was expected, particularly for the second placed Cecotto, which bunched up the field all the way back to sixth place.

Despite enormous pressure being heaped on those involved in these battles, only Albon lost out to Markelov, who executed a magnificent piece of late braking to complete the move for fifth. Towards the back of the field it became clear that Leclerc was struggling with the damage he sustained from his early contact with Nato, and for the second time that weekend he was forced to retire.

De Vries led a commanding race, and the McLaren junior driver handled the pressure immensely well, hardly putting a foot wrong as he drove his way to his first victory in Formula 2. Despite the close proximity of the rest of the front runners, Cecotto and Malja managed to hold onto their podium places. The points earned for King, Albon and Ghiotto meant that the three of them continued their streak of scoring points in all races of the 2017 season so far. The sprint race also saw the tally for different drivers on the podium reach ten for this season, highlighting the ultra competitive nature of the series.

Oliver Rowland’s championship campaign certainly benefitted from his first race win on Friday, and despite not scoring any points on Saturday, he is now only three points shy of Charles Leclerc, who still leads the drivers’ standings. The ordinarily relaxed driver kept an exceptionally cool head to avoid making any mistakes on this tricky track. He clearly has the long game in mind, being mindful to not take any risks in the sprint race that could turn into a grid penalty for Baku, and knowing that Leclerc was unlikely to score points, this was obviously the most sensible course of action.

It was also a positive weekend for GP3 graduates Alexander Albon and Nyck de Vries. The former pulled off a blistering qualifying performance, and held his own against more experienced drivers in the race. Although he ultimately lost out in the sprint race to Markelov—who recovered well from his underwhelming weekend in Barcelona—he was able to defend well for a considerable time. De Vries seems to be progressing beyond the troubles he faced in earlier rounds, and is clearly becoming more comfortable with his machinery and Formula 2 as a whole. If he can find the qualifying pace he had in Bahrain, then it is too soon to discount him from making his mark on the championship this year.

Zak Mauger / FIA Formula 2

The weekend was very much one of two halves for Charles Leclerc. His performance in free practice and qualifying put him way ahead of the rest of the field. But his races were struck by some terrible luck, and no doubt left him wishing that it had happened at any other circuit. Discounting his clumsy shunt with Nato in the sprint race, he is hardly at fault, but a weekend with only four points (for his pole position) has damaged his championship challenge considerably.

Norman Nato comes a close second to Leclerc regarding this weekend’s fortunes. His retirement on Saturday marked his third race in a row without scoring any points, and what is perhaps most frustrating of all is that the whole paddock knows these results do not reflect his potential. The Frenchmen needs to find some consistency to resurrect his own chances of winning the championship this year.

Formula 2 travels to the street circuit at Baku in around a month’s time. The circuit was the site of the most dramatic and chaotic race of last season, and with the order shaken up this weekend, it is hard to say who will leave Azerbaijan as leader in the standings.

Georgia Beith, F2 Correspondent

The Monaco Grand Prix represents the jewel in the crown of any racing series that visits the iconic track, and nowhere is this truer than for the third round of the 2017 Formula 2 championship.

With only a limited number of series using the track, it will be a lot of drivers’ first time racing at the principality. As a street circuit, it presents a vastly different challenge to the previous two rounds, and it will prove to be a true test of the drivers’ car control and skill. Flat out racing will inevitably lead to mistakes on the tight, twisting Monegasque streets, and more measured driving will be yield the best results.

As it is with any category, Monaco has a habit of shaking up the established order, as proven by Markelov’s shock win here in the GP2 feature race last year, so there is no guarantee that the teams who were stronger in the previous rounds will continue to dominate here. For example, Prema who were so strong last season, and whose 2016 lineup of Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi came to fight it out for the GP2 title failed to score any points in either races last year.

Artem Markelov will no doubt draw confidence from his performance in Monte Carlo last year, and it may help him pick his championship challenge back up from his average weekend in Barcelona. His teammate Luca Ghiotto currently sits a comfortable third place in the championship, one place above his Russian teammate, after another podium in Spain.

But Russian Time will need a strong showing from both its drivers to have the edge on the other teams in the incredibly close battle at the top of the standings. While Russian Time are in third with seventy-two points, Prema and DAMS both have seventy-five, the Italian outfit taking first place on the virtue of having more race wins.

Prema’s man of the moment Charles Leclerc will be searching for a little bit of hometown glory this weekend when he gets to compete at his home grand prix for the first time. The Monaco native has been anything but shy about how much he is looking forward to racing on the streets he grew up on, and considering that he is currently leading the drivers’ standings, he is well placed to give his fellow countrymen something to cheer about.

With Monaco being a difficult track to overtake on, Leclerc’s teammate Antonio Fuoco will be hoping that if he can produce a qualifying performance like the one he had in Bahrain, then his results will start reflecting the potential of both himself and the car. After this weekend, over a quarter of the F2 season will have been completed, and if Fuoco cannot begin to match the pace of his teammate, he risks falling to the wayside almost entirely.

Monaco also presents a chance for redemption for Frenchman Norman Nato who has been plagued with inconsistency and bad luck since his podium in the first race in Bahrain. His Arden teammate Sean Gelael will also need a better run of things this weekend. With the track levelling the playing field somewhat, though the Arden machinery has not looked up to scratch thus far, as long as they avoid any serious incidents, racing at Monaco presents an opportunity to rise above their current standing.

DAMS succeeded in scoring three podiums when F2 visited Spain, but Nicholas Latifi, after throwing away an almost certain win in the Barcelona sprint race, will be a man in search of redemption. Considering the fact that he failed to finish either race last year when GP2 came to Monaco, his track record suggests that he will have to dig deep in order to perform.

His teammate Rowland is better placed to do well, having secured one of his three podiums from 2016 in the principality. His aim will surely be the close the gap to Leclerc, who currently sits twenty-six points in front of him.

Experience will most likely play a large role in determining the running order this weekend, as the rookie entrants into Formula 2 gain confidence around the notoriously difficult track. No team, except Prema, has a line-up consisting entirely of rookies, so it will be expected that the those who have already driven a season of GP2 will outperform their teammates.

Still, there is a chance that rookies such as ART’s Alexander Albon and Rapax’s Nyck de Vries, who have been quick so far, could pull something special out of the bag. De Vries’ chances still very much depend on his ability to manage his tyres, which prevented him from securing results which match his qualifying pace. If experience is key here, then no one should have better chances that Johnny Cecotto of Rapax who has competed in no less than eight seasons of GP2, but that would take a very different kind of performance from the Venezuelan, who has failed to score any points this season.

Albon’s teammate, Nobuharu Matsushita, who achieved sprint race victory in Barcelona also managed to win in Monaco in GP2 last year—his only win of the 2016 season. If he can carry the momentum with him from Spain, then there is every chance that he can repeat past successes.

It is also worth keeping an eye on MP Motorsport’s Jordan King and Racing Engineering’s Gustav Malja, both of whom have had promising starts to the season, but probably need a podium or a win to give them the traction to mount a championship challenge. The experience of both drivers will bode well here however. Their rookie teammates, Sergio Sette Camara (MP Motorsport) and Louis Deletraz (Racing Engineering), have failed to score points so far this season, and they would be forgiven for failing to do so at Monaco. Yet the unpredictable nature of the track could give them that small bit of luck needed to make their mark on the series.

Trident’s drivers Nabil Jeffri and Sergio Canamassas have also failed to take home any points from their team in 2017. Jeffri’s record at this circuit will not inspire any hope in his team, but Canamassas has scored a second and a third place in Monaco during his GP2 career. Though given his reputation and how easy it is to cause a pileup on this narrow track, people will probably be expecting the Spaniard to make headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Campos Racing, the other team who have failed to secure any points to their name, bring the unknown variable of a new line up to Monte Carlo. While they retain Ralph Boschung, Robert Visoiu joins the team, making it their third different line up in three rounds. Visoiu returns to this level of racing after a year out from motorsport and looks set to stay for the rest of the season.

If there is anything to remember about Monaco it is that for a series such as Formula 2, where the field is so closely matched, that it is near impossible to accurately predict who will triumph on this illustrious circuit. The drivers who have been performing well so far in 2017, such as Leclerc, Rowland, Markelov and Ghiotto are of course worth keeping an eye on. But there is no guarantee that Monaco will follow the script that has been laid out thus far.

Georgia Beith, F2 Correspondent

Barcelona ushered in the second round of the 2017 Formula 2 championship, and it brought with it a few changes to the series. A single change to the track, which affected all races taking place at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, was the extension of the DRS activation zone by one hundred metres, increasing the opportunities for overtaking on the main straight.

The second was the replacement of Stefano Coletti with Robert Merhi at the Campos Racing team. Ex-F1 driver Merhi tested for Campos before the season began, but the call to race came very late for the Spaniard, who drove wearing his old Manor Marussia racing overalls.

The race weekend also brought with it a first win this season for Honda junior driver Nobuharu Matsushita in the sprint race, and an increased championship lead for rookie Charles Leclerc who now leads the standings by twenty-six points.

In qualifying it was Prema who reigned triumphant once again, taking pole position for the second weekend running. But while Leclerc started the feature race at the front of the grid, his teammate and fellow Ferrari junior driver, Antonio Fuoco, sat in eighth position, his time half a second slower.

Qualifying did not pan out so well for the other race winner from Bahrain, Artem Markelov, who found himself all the way back in thirteenth. As far as one lap performances went for the other rookies, Rapax’s Nyck de Vries put in another good performance for third, and GP3 race winner Alexander Albon managed to slot himself into fifth, ahead of his more experienced teammate Matsushita.

Before Saturday’s feature race had even begun the field was divided in terms of strategy, with most opting to start on the soft tyres and switching onto the hard after the first round of pit stops, while others went for the alternate strategy, earning them a longer first stint on the harder compound.

It was a decent start for the pole sitter Leclerc, but second-placed Luca Ghiotto pulled away more cleanly, prompting aggressive defending from Leclerc who managed to hold his lead by the end of the first lap. De Vries’ trend of being unable to convert his promising performances in qualifying to the race continued when he struggled at the start, sending himself backwards before he had even reached the first corner.

It was a disappointing first lap for Louis Deletraz too, who seemed to have brought his bad luck with him from Bahrain—he got hit by Cecotto and spun, sending him down the order. A clumsy first lap meant Fuoco’s weekend went from bad to worse, as damage sent him into the pits and he emerged at the back of the field.

Albon, who had promoted himself to third at the start, managed to overtake Ghiotto on lap 4, whose tyres were already starting to fade, triggering a fierce battle for the lead between himself and Leclerc.

Those who started on the softer tyres were soon into the pits, whilst those who begun the race on the hard tyres carried on, the comparative lack of degradation enabling them to push for longer. But any advantage this alternate strategy might have won these drivers was wiped out on lap 10 when Sergio Canamassas came to a stop in the middle of track, bringing out the safety care. The field was bunched together rapidly, closing the gap between the early stoppers and those who had yet to pit.

At the restart on lap 13 Albon got away well, but by this point Leclerc was making his way back through the field with Ghiotto following closely. Deletraz redeemed himself from his earlier bad luck with a stunning move round the outside of Norman Nato. Once DAMS driver Oliver Rowland finally managed to take the lead from Albon, he was churning out very competitive lap times, despite still using the same set of tyres that he started on. Unfortunately, the safety car effectively ended any chance he had of a race win. But a strong resurgence after a late stop meant he managed to finish the race on the third step of the podium. Albon also recovered well to finish in fifth place, but it must have been hard not to dwell on what might have been, had strategy gone his way.

There was no stopping Leclerc and Ghiotto from claiming first and second place respectively. But they certainly had the strategic advantage. Markelov once again showed his development as a mature driver, and a measured overtake on Jordan King won him eighth place and reverse grid pole for the sprint race.

The sprint race on Sunday morning was a dramatic affair. Markelov would have been hoping for a better result than he got on Saturday, and one that would help build his championship challenge after his win in Bahrain.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. The Russian got away very poorly, failing to capitalise on his starting advantage. Nicholas Latifi, on the other hand, got a fantastic start, immediately putting himself into the lead, and in a position to get his first win at this level after three previous seasons in GP2.

The safety car made a reappearance on lap 1 as Fuoco made an early exit from the race, bringing his miserable weekend to a close. He collided with Nyck de Vries at turn seven who also retired as a result of the shunt.

Latifi managed to command the race for the ensuing laps, and looked certain to cruise to victory. However, tragedy struck for the Canadian on lap 22, as he plunged his car incredibly deep into turn five, the gravel trap slowing him right down and allowing both Matsushita and Rowland to get past him, gifting the lead to the former.

In the closing stages of the race Leclerc finally managed to dispatch Albon and eventually worked his way up to fourth place, whilst the ART driver eventually finished down in seventh place as his tyres began to degrade badly. Despite starting the race on pole, Markelov could only do as well as ninth place, never managing to recover after his poor start. The win would have surely been Latifi’s had he not thrown it away before he could seal the deal. The only consolation is that DAMS managed to get both of their drivers on the podium, earning themselves some valuable points.

The stand out performer of the weekend was Oliver Rowland, who scored himself two podiums to promote himself to second in the championship standings. The Yorkshireman was positively dominant in the feature race, even with the misfortune of the safety car, and while he did benefit from the mistake of his teammate in the sprint race, he had the speed to bag himself that second podium regardless.

Another strong showing from Charles Leclerc extended his lead at the top of the driver standings, proving the speed and talent he showed in Bahrain was no beginner’s luck. Any doubts that he would not be a contender owing to his rookie status have been well and truly dismissed. His GP3 teammate Alexander Albon continued to perform well, and the two of them are demonstrating that experience is an optional component of a successful run in Formula 2.

Leclerc’s teammate Antonio Fuoco, by contrast, seems to still be struggling to get up to speed, and is hardly taking advantage of having one of the strongest cars on the grid. Time will tell if it is a lack of confidence and experience that is plaguing the young Italian, and whether he can challenge his teammate by the end of the season.

Barcelona was nightmarish for Frenchman Norman Nato as well, who was looking like a championship contender after the feature race in Bahrain. However, he leaves Spain empty handed, and sitting ninth in the championship standings.

Artem Markelov was overtaken by both Rowland and Ghiotto in the standings, but did manage to score some points. His performance was nowhere near as strong as in round one, but the races interrupted by safety cars prevented him from driving on his own terms. He can take positives from the fact that he has continued to look far more consistent and measured than in previous seasons. It would be too soon to discount both him and Nato from the championship fight already.

We head to Monaco for the third round of the F2 championship in just under two weeks’ time. It is a track that can always throw us a few surprises, so don’t count anyone out yet. Though we can expect Charles Leclerc to be a force to be reckoned with, as a man on a mission to win his home race.

Georgia Beith, F2 Correspondent

This weekend, Formula 2 heads to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for round two of the 2017 championship. It is a track all the drivers will be familiar with after the three days of pre-season testing there in March.

But considering Saturday’s feature race will only be the third race at this level for this season’s rookies, experience will likely still play a big part in determining the running order. If testing is any indication then this track should be one that suits Arden and ART, but as we saw in Bahrain, testing is not an infallible indicator of true pace.

If Prema can repeat the form that they found in Bahrain, then the 2016 champions will be a danger. While there are some question marks over their long run pace, the Italian outfit’s one lap speed is as impressive as it was last year. Out of the two Ferrari juniors, Leclerc was certainly the hero of the last round, and Fuoco has some catching up to do.

However, it is unlikely that the team will be able to repeat their bold strategy for the sprint race again, and with Leclerc obviously struggling to keep on top of the high tyre degradation, it would be unwise to assume they will leave Spain as the championship leaders. Going into the race weekend with Leclerc leading the drivers’ standings, it is undeniable that he has the pace to challenge the more experience drivers.

Two other teams that are looking dangerous as we head to Catalonia are Pertamina Arden and Russian Time, the latter managing to score two podiums in Bahrain and currently sitting in first place in the team standings.

Compared to his 2016 form, Markelov is looking like a more mature driver, but only time will tell if he can maintain any kind of consistency, something that is vital if he is to mount a title challenge. Ghiotto was overshadowed by his more flamboyant teammate last round, but he is a highly capable driver, and the pairing could prove to be very beneficial for their team.

Though circumstance did not play into Arden’s favour in Bahrain, with Nato’s unlucky retirement in the sprint race, the Frenchman’s feature race performance was promising. Many have predicted that 2017 could be his year to finally seal the title, and all the signs are suggesting that it is possible.

Nato’s teammate Sean Gelael could not match his teammate last time out, and while he is partnering a highly rated driver, the disparity between the two cars suggests that he has not quite got on top of things yet. Barcelona will be his chance to prove he can measure up.

Sérgio Sette Câmara is another driver who will be hoping he can keep up with his teammate in Barcelona, after having failed to achieve the same results as his MP Motorsport teammate, Jordan King. Recently dropped from the Red Bull junior program, even after testing for them at Silverstone last summer, the young Brazilian is out to prove himself. Promisingly, he did manage to beat his teammate in the sprint race in Bahrain, but was wholly out-driven in the feature race.

This is somewhat unsurprising considering King hinted at the fact that he may have been sitting in an F1 seat this season, had the Manor Racing team not collapsed before the 2017 season had begun. Still, the team needs a string of more promising results if they want to compete amongst the best in the series.

Flying under the radar a little in Bahrain, but nevertheless delivering strong performances were DAMS. The 2014 GP2 champions will be hoping Barcelona provides them with the opportunity to mount their own title challenge. Their line-up of Oliver Rowland and Nicholas Latifi certainly looks strong on paper, but there is always a difference between potential and delivering on expectations.

ART will be hoping that they can convert their solid qualifying performances into race results this time out. Of course, thanks to the quite frankly bizarre incident in Bahrain qualifying between Malja and Jeffri, it is hard to gauge who truly has the one lap speed needed to secure pole, but ART did look quick.

Thai racer Alexander Albon is only in his first season at this level, and therefore should be given time to get up to speed. Matsushita on the other hand, has completed two seasons of GP2 and performed well in testing, even going quickest on the first day in Barcelona. If his luck is better this round then it is not unreasonable to assume that he will be able to challenge for at least a podium.

While most teams suffered from the disrupted qualifying in Bahrain, Rapax driver Nyck De Vries succeeded in being one of only two drivers able to get a second run in, earning him a P2 on the starting grid. But their race made it apparent that in Barcelona set up will be a main concern for the Italian team, with tyre degradation posing a serious problem in Bahrain. Fortunately, the temperatures will be markedly lower in Spain, which might do them some favours.

Campos Racing will be hoping for a better weekend for their first home grand prix this season after failing to score any points in Bahrain. Since re-joining GP2 in 2014, the team has struggled to repeat their successes of the past, and as of yet, nothing has suggested that 2017 will be any better for them.

Trident and Racing Engineering are the other teams who have yet to score a point this season, though we are only entering the second round after all.

Racing Engineering definitely need a change in fortunes to turn things around. Had it not been for Gustav Malja’s shunt in qualifying and Delétraz’s stall on the grid, Bahrain might have been a very different weekend for them. They will be hoping to put the past from their mind, and start anew in Barcelona.

Trident also suffered from bad luck last round, not least from Jeffri’s qualifying, but even so it might take some work to secure a decent result. Last season in GP2 Jeffri only managed to score two points, and Canamasas has something of a reputation as a reckless, and sometimes dangerous, driver; but hailing from Barcelona itself, the Spaniard will be hoping to keep a handle on things in order to perform in his home race.

With experience still paying dividends, drivers such as Nato, Rowland and Markelov are the obvious choices to watch, and it will be worth seeing if Markelov can find the consistency that has evaded him so far in his career. If so, he could turn his impressive tyre management and bursts of brilliance into a serious bid for the title this year.

Round two is still early to expect astounding things from the rookies of Formula 2. Yet, as Charles Leclerc proved in Bahrain, it would be short-sighted to overlook them entirely. With tyre degradation less of an issue at this cooler circuit, it may suit the nineteen-year-old from Monaco, but only by Sunday will we know whether or not he can retain his lead at the top of the championship standings.

If we manage to see a clean qualifying this round, then Barcelona will also provide us with insight into the true pace of the teams this season.

Georgia Beith, F2 Correspondent