by Alex Johnston and Topher Smith
Driver announcement season is in full swing, with three already confirmed for a drive in F2 in 2025 and rumours swirling about who will be where, and who won’t, next season.
Two 2024 F2 drivers have already moved up to F1, freeing seats up in F2, with another two potentially ready to do the same.
So who’s going where?
PREMA Racing
AJ: With Lindblad already confirmed at Campos, a question mark is already removed from the equation over who’d take a seat with the Italian team. Funding issues removed another driver - Zak O’Sullivan - from the equation and that leaves me feeling PREMA will have to make a drastic change.
Gabriele Miní(above) managed his F3 season well and I expect will be rewarded with a PREMA stay. As for the second driver, son of F1 legend Juan Pablo Montoya, Sebastian Montoya could take this seat.
Montoya(above) will surely make the step up to F2 now with two seasons in F3 under his belt with Campos and Hitech and now PREMA could provide something of stomping ground for the young Colombian.
Perhaps unproven as yet this move would surprise many but Montoya has natural raw pace, and PREMA will like that for sure.
TS: It’s already known that PREMA will run an all-new line-up as Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli move onto Formula 1, so some form of continuity will be good for the team. For this reason, I agree with Alex’s pick of Gabriele Mini for a full-time graduation to Formula 2.
As for his teammate, I can envisage a double promotion within PREMA.
📸 Mini in Baku.
Dino Beganovic had a solid 2024 season where he entertained thoughts of a title charge with two victories, but ultimately wasn’t as consistent as Mini and others around him. Be that as it may, I think he’s done enough to convince the team that a step up might be the right move.
📸 Dino Beganovic.
Alex’s prediction: Gabriele Mini & Sebastian Montoya
Topher’s prediction: Gabriele Mini & Dino Beganovic
Campos Racing
AJ: I guess the place to start is with the one who’s already been confirmed, and that is Arvid Lindblad who impressed massively with his step up to F3 from F4. Four wins(a tied record with Frederik Vesti, Jack Doohan, Zak O’Sullivan, Dennis Hauger and Franco Colapinto) was enough for Red Bull to see the 17 year old move up, with the hope he can challenge for a 2026 seat in F1.
📸 Lindblad in celebratory mood.
Fellow Red Bull junior Pepe Martí I fully expect will stay with the team another season and attempt to to push for a top five finish in 2025, with 2024 being fairly inconsistent with some flashes of promise.
TS: I don’t have much to say on this one that Alex hasn’t already said. Lindblad is already confirmed and Marti has shown promise despite an inconsistent season. Another season with Campos for the Spaniard could see him deliver on that promise, but I can’t help but feel Lindblad could completely outshine Marti in 2025.
📸 Pepe Marti.
Alex’s prediction: Pepe Martí & Arvid Lindblad
Topher’s prediction: Pepe Marti & Arvid Lindblad
Invicta Racing
AJ: Leonardo Fornaroli has already been announced by Invicta for 2025 hot on the heels of his F3 championship win and his consistency is a huge reason for that.
📸 Consistency and last lap heroics saw Fornaroli win the Formula 3 title, without winning a race.
I’m placing Dino Beganovic in the second car here. Clearly a very quick driver, Beganovic by his own admission didn’t have the season in F3 that was anticipated and it’s been rumoured he will not continue with PREMA, so hopefully Invicta can provide him a stable to prove his worth.
📸 Beganovic on track.
TS: Kush Maini started off the season so strongly it seemed apparent that he might mount a surprise title challenge. However, this never came to fruition as he slipped down the order but it seems that the potential is there for the Indian. With another season of experience under his belt, 2025 could be the year that Maini fully proves his worth.
📸 Maini would enter a third season should he race again in 2025.
Leonardo Fornaroli is no surprise here as he’s already confirmed at Invicta, where the super-consistent Italian will be hoping to join the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri as consecutive F3/F2 champions.
Alex’s prediction: Leonardo Fornaroli & Dino Beganovic
Topher’s prediction: Kush Maini & Leonardo Fornaroli
Rodin Motorsport
AJ: Ritomo Miyata arrived in F2 to much fanfare as a Super GT and Super Formula champion but had something of a cold start to his first campaign.
Two fifth places, 19th in the championship and engine disparity rumours have plagued the Japanese but I suspect he’ll be retained for 2025 and will push for a F2 title.
Partnering him, I’ve chosen Zak O’Sullivan. The Williams junior dropped out of the season due to funding issues and whispers of a fall out with ART. My hope is the one time Williams FP1 driver can go away and get funds to race again, returning to the Rodin (formerly Carlin) stable for a new start.
📸 Despite a win in Monaco, O’Sullivan struggled to keep his seat with ART - could he make a return?
TS: It’s been a bit frustrating following Ritomo Miyata’s progress this season. The Japanese is clearly more than capable as evidenced by his winning of Super Formula and Super GT in the same season, but there are murmurings that his Rodin has been compromised this season and as such is not able to show his full potential in F2.
I expect him to stay with Rodin for another season with Toyota’s support, and hopefully with a car that is completely up to the task. If this happens, I wouldn’t bet against Miyata mounting a title challenge.
📸 Miyata has struggled in 2024.
2024 saw the emergence of Joshua Dürksen as a potential force in Formula 2, given the right machinery. The Paraguayan took his maiden Formula 2 victory in Baku and showed the world just what he is capable of. This will have made other teams sit up and take notice, and I feel as though a move to a more established team could be on the cards.
📸 Durksen became the first Paraguayan to race AND win in F2 this year.
With Rodin also being a race-winning outfit with the experience of Carlin behind it, I would put a Dürksen-Rodin combination down as a dark horse for the title.
Alex’s prediction: Ritomo Miyata & Zak O’Sullivan
Topher’s prediction: Ritomo Miyata & Joshua Dürksen
ART Grand Prix
AJ: I’ve called for an all Alpine Academy line up at ART in 2025. Firstly, Kush Maini could extend his F2 career into a third year following spells at Campos and Invicta.
📸 Kush Maini conducted his first F1 test with Alpine this year already.
He’d take the opportunity to become a team leader well at last, after Gabriel Bortoleto surpassed expectations at Invicta, and his teammate Maini along the way.
Next to Maini, we could see the promotion of Nikola Tsolov to Formula 2. The highly rated Bulgarian took time to get going in F3 and still maybe hasn’t unlocked his full potential yet but the pace he has is a force to be reckoned with and he’s not afraid of some elbows out, wheel to wheel racing. One to watch.
TS: So many times Victor Martins has been talked as being a title threat, but has never delivered through a mixture of poor luck, inconsistency and so on. Martins has little else to achieve in F2 other than the title, so I reckon he’ll take one more crack at it before moving onto another championship, be it Formula 1, Formula E, or elsewhere.
📸 Martins has been in good form of late.
Christian Mansell has proved himself as a solid driver in Formula 3 despite not tasting victory yet, and performed spectacularly in Baku when he stepped up to Formula 2 in place of Roman Stanek.
📸 What is the water in Australia that makes their natives so popular?
He could move to Trident, a team which he is familiar with, but he seemed to integrate very well into the ART Grand Prix setup so, while a toss-up between the two, I’m leaning more towards the Australian staying with the French squad.
Alex’s prediction: Kush Maini & Nikola Tsolov
Topher’s prediction: Victor Martins & Christian Mansell
Trident Racing
AJ: Christian Mansell has already debuted for Trident in the series, and I suspect the popular Aussie(there always seems to be one somewhere...) will continue with the team for 2025. He’s an impressive driver and will be sure to be an interesting prospect to watch in the series.
📸 Mansell with Trident in Baku for F2.
Sami Meguetounif is someone I see taking the step up, perhaps a little prematurely but that’s not something unusual in racing at all. He’s quick, but should he take the step up to F2 he might take a little time to get acclimated.
Have we seen the last of Richard Verschoor?
📸 Meguetounif scooped a victory in F3 this year.
TS: Have we seen the last of Richard Verschoor? I hope so as far as Formula 2 is concerned. That’s not because I have anything against the Dutchman, I actually quite like the guy, but he’s already been at this level for a while and needs to take the next step. I don’t think Formula 1 is an option for him anymore, so he needs to get himself off to somewhere like WEC where any team could do with his skills.
📸 Could Verschoor’s F2 stint come to an end?
This one was tricky, but I eventually landed on Rafael Villagomez as the first driver. Not necessarily the most successful but he brings money and has experience of F2 machinery, so this one could be a seat filled more by the bankroll than by results.
On the other side of the garage, Sami Meguetounif won two races in F3 in 2024 but was inconsistent across the course of the season. In lieu of any other options, Trident may elect to promote from within. With Leonardo Fornaroli already confirmed at Invicta, Meguetounif seems to be the next-best option.
Alex’s prediction: Christian Mansell & Sami Meguetounif
Topher’s prediction: Rafael Villagomez & Sami Meguetounif
Hitech Pulse-Eight
AJ: After his debut with ART, the links will be there for Browning to join the French team in 2025 but I see the best place for him being in his familiar setting of the Hitech garage. They’ve taken him from GB3 to F2 and I see no reason for him to switch that up in 2025.
📸 Browning stunned with an incredible performance at Macau last year.
Joining him, I’m predicting McLaren development driver Alex Dunne. The Irish driver didn’t reach the heights expected in F3 this year but has made clear his intention to get to F2. If he doesn’t manage that, he’ll be an F3 title contender.
📸 Dunne showed flashes of his capabilities in F3 but couldn’t convert to wins.
TS: Amaury Cordeel has shown some genuine signs of improvement in the last few races. He seems to have shaken off the level of competence that had people put him in similar company to those of Mahaveer Raghunathan and Alessio Deledda, putting in some impressive performances. Along with his bankroll, this could stand him in good stead for another season of F2 and I don’t see why he’d move on from Hitech.
📸 Cordeel has changed the minds of many with some of his performances for Hitech.
I’ll be surprised if his teammate is anyone else, to be honest. Luke Browning won the last Macau Grand Prix and fought for the F3 title in 2024, earning himself an early call-up to F2 to replace Zak O’Sullivan at ART for Baku.
The Englishman, part of the Williams Academy, has everything he needs to make the step up.
Alex’s prediction: Luke Browning & Alex Dunne
Topher’s prediction: Amaury Cordeel & Luke Browning
MP Motorsport
AJ: Oliver Goethe is another with F2 experience under his belt now and seems nailed on to make the jump full time in 2025. The Red Bull junior was in the frame for the F3 title this year but seized the opportunity to step up once Franco Colapinto left MP for the Williams seat. He’ll be a an interesting one to watch, as the F3 pace he showed, showed he is capable of very good results.
Driver two here: Kacper Sztuka comes with the backing of ORLEN, the same company that backed Robert Kubica’s F1 comeback as Sztuka and another Polish up and comer by the name of Tymek Kucharczyk. Sztuka was F4 champion in 2023 and although he had a poor F3 season, we could see MP Motorsport promote the youngster from their F3 team to their F2 team.
📸 Sztuka may not have had a stellar year, but the natural speed he has is not to be ignored - he’s an Italian F4 Champion after all!
TS: I don’t have anything to say to contest Alex’s prediction of Oliver Goethe. The Danish-German has proven himself to be a highly competitive racing driver after winning the Euroformula Open Championship and winning multiple races in Formula 3. Give him a full season of Formula 2, and I reckon he will turn a few heads.
My call for his teammate would make MP and all-Red Bull-backed team, as I’m picking Tim Tramnitz to join Goethe. Four podiums in 2024, including a win, backed up the promise he showed in FRECA the previous season. I’m not sure Dennis Hauger will continue in F2, so if he moves on then I believe Tramnitz will be the one answering his phone.
📸 Tramnitz has been highly sought after and is certainly one to watch.
Alex’s prediction: Oliver Goethe & Kacper Sztuka
Topher’s prediction: Oliver Goethe & Tim Tramnitz
DAMS Lucas Oil
AJ: Jak Crawford is another who has already re-signed for 2025 - and the Aston Martin-affiliated American driver on his day is a fantastic driver. He’ll be looking for a top 5 finish at a minimum if he’s going to prove his worth but long term, I see him as a potential IndyCar driver. It’s easy to forget he’s still just 19 though!
📸 Jak Crawford has already signed up for next season.
In the sister DAMS car, it’s been suggested Dennis Hauger could extend his F2 career into a fourth season and he could join the French outfit, following on from stints with PREMA and MP Motorsport. Not a bad European tour to be fair.
📸 Coulf Hauger extend his stay in F2?
TS: As Alex points out, Crawford is already signed to DAMS for 2025, but the question of who his teammate will be is yet to be answered.
I don’t think Juan Manuel Correa has anything left to achieve by staying in Formula 2 and, in my opinion, he should focus on his sportscar career.
Instead, I’m thinking French on this one but not as far as the driver is concerned. Nikola Tsolov, a Bulgarian, is part of the Alpine Academy and won three races in Formula 3 in 2024. Consistency wasn’t on his side, but Tsolov got the job done when he was at the front. A French academy placing him at a French team, DAMS, makes sense to me.
Alex’s prediction: Jak Crawford & Dennis Hauger
Topher’s prediction: Jak Crawford & Nikola Tsolov
Van Amersfoort Racing
AJ: Rafael Villagomez will almost certainly continue with ‘VAR’ in 2025, given his family’s ties financially to the team. He’s actually surprised a few this year, scoring points in four feature races but is still a lowly 22nd in the championship, ahead of five guest drivers.
📸 Could Villagomez be in better luck next season?
Joining Villagomez, we could see the arrival of Sophia Floersch to the series. She’s been heavily linked to a drive and has completed some testing in the machinery. VAR seems the likely stop for her given her history with the team. As far as performance goes, time will tell for the German.
📸 Does an F2 debut beckon for Sophia Floersch?
TS: Now in his third full season of F2, one would be forgiven for thinking that Enzo Fittipaldi should move on. However, I don’t see where he might end up past Formula 2. To me the logical choice would be Indy NXT and ultimately IndyCar, a destination that I think would suit the Brazilian very well.
📸 Could the ‘Little Shark’ get another drive in F2 next year?
However, my inkling is that he will go for one more season of F2 and stay with VAR into 2025.
Some people might not realise just how good Noel Leon’s CV is if they’ve only seen him in Formula 3. In actuality, he has four junior titles already in NCAM Formula 4, Formula 4 United States, NASCAR Challenge Series Mexico, and Euroformula Open.
📸 As far as drivers who’s names are palindromes go…Noel Leon…is probably the only one!
Four podiums in his maiden Formula 3 season was a great achievement for the Mexican and, while he didn’t win any races, his overall CV shows just how capable he is behind the wheel and if it were down to me I’d be putting him in alongside Fittipaldi.
Alex’s prediction: Rafael Villagomez & Sophia Floersch
Topher’s prediction: Enzo Fittipaldi & Noel Leon
AIX Racing
Joshua Durksen has been arguably the biggest surprise of the Formula 2 season. The Paraguayan took the step up to F2 from Formula Regional and hasn’t really put a foot wrong. Why would AIX change a winning driver if they can help it? I fully expect a solid sophomore season
for the South American.
📸 The absolute surprise package of the F2 season, Joshua Durksen.
For my second pick, I’ll see AIX put their faith in Nikita Bedrin. Bedrin has shown some flashes of his capabilities, taking a win and podiums in F3.
📸 Nikita Bedrin - ready for F2?
TS: AIX is now a race-winning outfit so holds more credibility in the championship. This could help it attract sponsors and high-paying drivers to pilot its car, and my two choices provide a mix of money and success.
I agree with Alex in that a promotion for Bedrin could be on the cards. He has proven his race-winning credentials in FRMEC and Formula 3, so may be a logical choice for AIX.
For Bedrin’s teammate, I’m calling a return to the grid for Brad Benavides. The American-Guatemalan-Spanish driver failed to register a single point in his sole Formula 2 season in 2023, but then in 2024 went off and won the Euroformula Open title, an achievement which is not be scoffed at as he proved that he does indeed have what it takes to compete at the higher levels. With this championship in his pocket, Formula 2 might beckon once again for Benavides.
📸 Euroformula champion 2024, Brad Benavides.
Alex’s prediction: Joshua Durksen &
Nikita Bedrin
Topher’s prediction: Nikita Bedrin & Brad Benavides
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Euroformula Open Championship, ART Grand Prix, ABT, BBC Sport, Sky Sports, Aston Martin F1 Team, COOL Racing.
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