by Alex Johnston & Topher Smith
Formula 2 is back and possibly better than ever. We got new cars, new drivers including a Macau GP winner, multiple lower formula AND Super Formula champions and plenty more. The season gets underway in a couple short weeks and Topher and I have gone through our predictions here!
Driver’s champion
AJ: Ollie Bearman. I can’t look past the British driver. The PREMA man is seriously quick and seriously impressive. He had a few inconsistent qualifyings in 2023 that let him down in the long run but there’s no denying; if he can sort his one lap pace he’ll be right in the mix. With F1 lap time under his belt now too with Haas, and privately with Ferrari, he’ll be keen to secure a 2025 seat on the grid.
📸 Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman will be in his sophomore F2 season.
It won’t be easy though: ART’s Victor Martins, Rodin’s Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata and of course hotshot team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli will more than keep him on his toes.
📸 Reigning Super Formula champion, Ritomo Miyata, a rookie in F2 this year.
TS: The Formula 2 grid is going to be absolutely stacked this season but I keep coming to the same name every time I think who is going to win the title. That name? Ollie Bearman.
📸 Bearman has already got two F1 FP1 sessions under his belt, with further outings in 2024 scheduled - is he destined for an F1 seat in 2025?
The Englishman has been fast in everything he has competed in, including a dual title-winning season in 2021 when he won both the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and the Italian F4 Championship, while also winning a race in GB3 the same year.
His links to Ferrari and recent Haas outings will no doubt send his confidence through the roof and I think Bearman will be very difficult to beat with a year of Formula 2 experience now under his belt.
Teams champion
AJ: PREMA Racing. The combination of Bearman and Antonelli should be very consistent and bring PREMA a grand haul of points. I don’t see any other team being as consistent at the sharp end of the field.
📸 PREMA haven't won the teams title since 2021 when Oscar Piastri and took the drivers championship.
Antonelli has made a habit of finishing races in his career(seriously, go look at his wiki and see how many race retirements there are), and that will work well in PREMA’s favour - if he’s not winning races, he’ll certainly score points.
TS: Coupled with my prediction of Bearman winning the driver’s title, his endeavours should help PREMA Racing to the team’s championship with what is expected to be a strong debut campaign for his teammate Antonelli.
📸 The very talented Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
There’s no guarantee that Antonelli will be as strong as expected but he wouldn’t have earned his fast-track to Formula 2 if the faith wasn’t there, so I think it can be seen as a safe bet that he and Bearman will take PREMA Racing back to title-winning ways.
Rookie of the year
AJ: There’s some strong rookies: Miyata, Antonelli, O’Sullivan, Marti, Bortoleto…but I’m choosing Taylor Barnard. I’ve been watching Taylor for a couple of years now since he was in F4,(and had the pleasure of interviewing him) and he’s something special. Fast, methodical and intelligent, he’s potential F1 quality down the line.
📸 Barnard won in F3 for Jenzer last season.
The young Brit has been selected by PHM as they strengthen from last year’s line up and he should help propel the German team up the standings after a scoreless season in 2023. I don’t necessarily believe he'll be the highest placed rookie by the time we get to the closer in Abu Dhabi, but he’ll definitely be the most impressive.
TS: I’ve already mentioned about Antonelli earlier but given the pace he has shown in testing it looks like he genuinely could be a contender.
📸 Antonelli will get plenty of people watching this year.
Once he has got a few races under his belt he could even become a Formula 2 race winner in his maiden season, but equally he could struggle to adapt to the machinery given the big jump from Formula 4 level. It’s going to be interesting to see Antonelli in action, but I think he will do just fine.
Surprise package
AJ: I think Isack Hadjar will be the surprise this year. Having watched him in F3 I think he vastly underperformed in his rookie F2 season, only mustering a single podium at the Red Bull Ring.
📸 Red Bull junior Hadjar,
Red Bull are huge fans of him and are desperate for him to be a success, and even handed him FP1 and test outings last season, despite less than stellar form in F2. I had initially tipped him for a move to PREMA before Antonelli stepped up. With Campos, who’ve been in good form over the last year, he should definitely step into the top 10, and potentially into the top five in my opinion.
TS: It was a bit touch and go whether Taylor Barnard would make the step up to Formula 2 but I’m glad he did as I have huge expectations for him.
📸 Barnard's move to F2 was touch and go, but he's sure to impress.
A race winner in Formula 4, Formula 3 and FRMEC, Barnard is becoming a serial winner and was recently rewarded with a reserve role at McLaren’s Formula E team, a berth which saw The Race liken him to a young Kimi Raikkonen.
📸 Can PHM bring a competitive package this year?
The question still lingers over whether PHM AIX Racing can be competitive at Formula 2 level, although having said that Barnard has won four races for them in FRMEC already this season, so I expect Barnard can be immediately competitive in Formula 2.
Disappointment of the year
AJ: Invicta's Kush Maini has HUGE pressure on his shoulders. Mentored by two time world champion Mika Hakkinen, he also joined the Alpine Academy and is in direct competition with title contender Victor Martins for a shot at F1, as well as the likes of Jack Doohan and any other name likely to be linked with Alpine in the coming months.
📸 Two time F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen has joined Maini's team to help propel his career.
His form since he was in F3 took many by surprise, potentially even himself, but has definitely impressed. I hope I'm wrong in predicting this because he's been incredible of late, but the pressure only gets bigger and bigger the closer you get to Formula 1.
📸 Kush Maini is another one to watch this year, can he succeed with Invicta?
TS: I just can’t see it being a good season for DAMS Lucas Oil this year. Jak Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa are highly decent racers on their day, but their days tend to be few and far between.
I was surprised that Correa elected to do another Formula 2 campaign when he could just as easily be carving out a successful career in sportscars. To be perfectly honest, I don’t rate Correa as highly as some people do and I can’t see him achieving much in Formula 2.
📸 Correa overcame the odds to return to F2, but would his time be best served elsewhere?
As for Crawford, decent enough to be a race winner at this level but he hasn’t been consistent enough to show he can be taken seriously as a contender.
📸 Jak Crawford has moved to Aston Martin's development team from Red Bull's.
It wouldn’t surprise me if DAMS Lucas Oil was a regular feature nearer the bottom of the pecking order.
Graduates to Formula 1
AJ: Ollie Bearman, Victor Martins and Isack Hadjar would be the standout contenders for me. The three with strong opportunities to step up with potential movement ahead, following Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari.
📸 2022 F3 winner Victor Martins could be destined for an F1 seat in the near future.
Bearman seems a shoo-in for the Haas seat, while all Ocon’s constant links with Mercedes could see Victor Martins step in at Alpine. Isack Hadjar would be a definite contender for a 'VCARB' seat with both current drivers are out of contract and rumoured to be moving on.
Another to watch would be Franco Colapinto and Andrea Kimi Antonelli if they were to have strong seasons, Mercedes and Williams could collaborate to accommodate Antonelli’s arrival to F1, or of course, Colapinto promoted to F1 from Williams Academy. Also having made his FP1 debut at Abu Dhabi, fellow Williams Academy member Zak O’Sullivan will also be a contender for the seat.
📸 Franco Colapinto: Could the popular Argentine join the top Williams team?
TS: I believe there are a few contenders, as mentioned in our piece predicting the 2025 Formula 1 grid. Firstly, I think Esteban Ocon will take the Mercedes seat which could lead to Victor Martins stepping up to Alpine should he put in another strong Formula 2 campaign.
📸 Esteban Ocon has previous links with Mercedes, could he be one of the drivers to shake up the 'silly season'?
Things will shift in the Red Bull family should Sergio Perez not keep his seat, a shift which will open up a Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/VCARB seat that I believe will be taken by Isack Hadjar, providing he excels in his sophomore season with Campos Racing.
📸 Perez is likely to be on the move at the end of the season, could Isack Hadjar move up if Red Bull shuffle their pack?
Williams might be seeking a new driver if Logan Sargeant doesn’t up his game, which I predict could go to either Antonelli or Franco Colapinto, a member of the Williams Academy, and finally I don’t see a scenario where Bearman isn’t a Haas driver in 2025.
📸 Sargeant is likely to be under pressure from many to perform this year.
📸 Formula Motorsport Limited, Aston Martin F1 Team, Haas F1 Team, Williams Racing, Sky Sports, ART Grand Prix, DAMS Lucas Oil, Jenzer Motorsport.
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