by Alex Johnston & Topher Smith
Topher and I originally wrote this piece way before the 2023 season came to a close in Abu Dhabi, and we tried to guess which drivers would be where on the grid. Aaaaand although we like to think we know what we're talking about..we got it pretty wrong! Wonderkids, shock moves from other series' and driver academy departures drastically changed what we had predicted. Read below why we thought these drivers would represent these teams(and laugh at how wrong we were).
MP Motorsport
AJ: I don’t see any world where Franco Colapinto(above) isn’t a Formula 2 driver in 2024. The Williams Academy driver has impressed many people with his ability and versatility on track and looks as though he could be South America’s next big hope for F1 glory. That said, he’s got to polish off his rough edges but sticking with MP will help him massively.
As for a partner; Roman Stanek offers an attractive option for MP. A driver who took time to get comfortable in Formula 3 would start his second season with a regularly competitive team and hope to become a regular point scorer as he continues to find his feet.
TS: I agree with Alex that Colapinto is ready for the step up to F2 and is fully deserving of a graduation, but I struggle to agree with Stanek getting another season.
The Czech racer proved capable at F3 level but has spent 2023 as one of those anonymous drivers who you sometimes forget is in the race. I have seen nothing from him to convince me that he should get a second season, although he could potentially be saved by his bankroll.
For me, the most likely scenario is a third season of F2 for the Red Bull-backed Dennis Hauger(below), who will provide MP Motorsport with some consistency on the driver front while bringing in Colapinto as a rookie.
AJ: Franco Colapinto & Roman Stanek
TS: Dennis Hauger & Franco Colapinto
Actual: Dennis Hauger & Franco Colapinto
Score: AJ 1-2 TS
A solid start for Topher.
Rodin Carlin - now 'Rodin Motorsport'
TS: I could see an unchanged line-up at Rodin Carlin for 2024. Enzo Fittipaldi achieved his breakthrough maiden F2 win this season and proved that he can compete at this level, Carlin won't want to lose him.
As for Zane Maloney(below), winless as of yet in F2 but there is a huge amount of potential in the Barbadian. Just look at his F3 campaign last season with three consecutive feature race wins; that doesn't happen by accident.
AJ: Maloney has shown many flashes of the kind of driver he can be this season and can be a big challenger at the top of the standings in 2024 with the backing of Red Bull. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll stick with Carlin as he looks for more success.
Zak O’Sullivan is enjoying a good season in Formula 3 with PREMA, currently in 4th place overall with the final round at Monza to go. His rookie F3 season saw him outperform his Carlin machine, and reuniting with the team could be very much on the cards for the Briton.
AJ: Zane Maloney & Zak O’Sullivan
TS: Enzo Fittipaldi & Zane Maloney
Actual: Zane Maloney & Ritomo Miyata
Score: AJ 2-3 TS
In our defence...I don't think anyone saw Miyata(above) coming..
ART Grand Prix
AJ: Victor Martins(above), 2021 - 6th in F3. Victor Martins, 2022 - F3 Champion: Victor Martins in 2023 in his rookie F2 season; currently 5th. Martins will become the team leader in 2024, but must work on his race craft and discipline if he’s going to be champion. There’s no question over him being a contender in 2024 in my opinion. Possibly even the title favourite.
Stepping into Theo Pourchaire’s shoes could be Mercedes Junior Team star Paul Aron. The Estonian has performed incredibly in 2023 and finds himself 2nd in the Formula 3 standings as PREMA team’s lead driver as it stands. Mercedes have links with ART with the likes of Esteban Ocon, Frederik Vesti and George Russell previously racing for the French team under Mercedes’ stewardship. Aron could certainly be next in line.
TS: I believe Alex has a pretty good reading on the situation for ART here. Martins undoubtedly deserves a second season and while I'm not putting him down as my title favourite, he will most certainly challenge for it.
Aron seems a shoe-in for an F2 graduation in 2024 and to echo Alex's thoughts, his Mercedes links would place him nicely into the ART camp.
AJ: Victor Martins & Paul Aron
TS: Victor Martins & Paul Aron
Actual: Victor Martins & Zak O'Sullivan
Score: AJ 3-4 TS
Zak O'Sullivan's(above) move was certainly one of the more interesting ones, and he's got big shoes to fill replacing champion Theo Pourchaire.
Prema Racing
TS: Despite showing fine form in his rookie campaign, I don't think Oliver Bearman(above) will be making the move to Formula 1 in 2024 and will be kept on for another season by Prema. If the Brit can build upon his race-winning maiden season and carry his momentum, he might be difficult to beat to the F2 title.
In the scenario where Vesti wins the title he will be unable to enter F2 again, so Prema might be looking for a new driver. I think that Vesti could potentially join Williams in place of Logan Sargeant anyway, so I have thought of a possible replacement for the Dane.
One driver that has suffered from inconsistency in F3 but still pulled it together for four wins this season is Zak O'Sullivan. He missed out on the F3 title this year, the Williams-backed driver should have done enough to warrant a graduation and could get the nod should Vesti move on.
AJ: Bearman will certainly be an F1 driver in the near future, but not next season. Ferrari love the teenager and have big plans for him, but the first part of that may be challenging him to win the coveted Formula 2 title before moving him onto the F1 grid in the car of an engine customer.
Stepping into Vesti’s shoes, Isack Hadjar. The French driver is methodical, fast and popular. Backed by Red Bull, in joining Bearman he’d be expected to challenge for podiums and wins from the jump.
AJ: Oliver Bearman & Isack Hadjar
TS: Oliver Bearman & Zak O'Sullivan
Actual: Oliver Bearman & Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Score: AJ 4-5 TS
Antonelli(above) will be very much one to watch this year.
Hitech Grand Prix
AJ: Pepe Marti is the most recent addition to the ever expanding Red Bull Junior Team roster, and for that reason I’m predicting him to take up residence at Hitech in 2024. His strong sophomore season in F3 has shown the Red Bull team he can fight for wins and podiums, so I expect he’ll be drafted into Hitech - a team with strong links to the Red Bull set up.
Gabriele Mini has enjoyed a strong rookie season in F3 and has been unlucky not to be further up the order than 7th. It’s very possible Hitech will entrust their faith in the rapid Italian and help him progress up the ladder into F2 in 2024.
TS: Inconsistent but showing flashes of unbridled speed, I think Jak Crawford has done enough for another go at F2. However, his future might not be in his hands if the Red Bull junior team has its expected reshuffle. In normal circumstances, I don't see any reason for him to move.
While I agree with Alex that Marti will be an F2 driver next season, I have placed him with a different team. Instead, I see Gabriele Mini continuing as a Hitech driver next season. The Italian burst onto the F3 scene with pole at his first attempt and he followed that up with victories and a title challenge. Undoubtedly a mega talent, I can't see any reason why Mini shouldn't be in F2 next year and a continuation with Hitech, to me, makes logical sense.
AJ: Pepe Marti & Gabriele Mini
TS: Jak Crawford & Gabriele Mini
Actual: Paul Aron & Amaury Cordeel
Score: AJ 4-5 TS
Paul Aron(top) and Amaury Cordeel(bottom).
Swing and a miss for both of us..
DAMS - now DAMS Lucas Oil
TS: It's been a solid, but not spectacular season for Arthur Leclerc. The Monégasque has shown flashes of pace and I believe he will have done enough to be awarded with a second bite of the cherry, however another season at a similar level of performance might scupper his chances of joining his brother in F1, as he remains winless in F2.
Isack Hadjar, I believe, has untapped potential in F2. I was entranced by him in F3 as he deployed a Prost-like style of driving to challenge for the title, a costly mistake at the last round taking away his chance to clinch it.
Now with a season of F2 under his belt, he can now make experience count to fight for the title again and I can see him slotting into the French DAMS team in place of Ayumu Iwasa, who I believe is Super Formula-bound for 2024.
AJ: Leclerc has taken his time to find his feet in F2 and that’s been evident in his racecraft; where qualifying has let him down, he’s always one to make up places in races. Just one podium to show for it so far, he’ll definitely be one to watch in 2024.
Joining Leclerc, Swiss racer Gregoire Saucy who’s in his sophomore F3 season with ART. A bit of a slow starter in the series he’s currently 11th, but is certainly an example of someone ready for F2.
AJ: Arthur Leclerc & Gregoire Saucy
TS: Arthur Leclerc & Isack Hadjar
Actual: Jak Crawford & Juan Manuel Correa
Score: AJ 4-5 TS
Juan Manuel Correa(left) and Jak Crawford(right).
Two in a row, incredibly wrong..oops.
Invicta Virtuosi Racing - now Invicta Racing
AJ: Kush Maini(above) has stunned many with his performances over the last 2 years through F3 and now F2. He’s become a regular points scorer for Campos partnering the experienced Boschung at the Spanish team. In 2024, he could replace Jack Doohan, who I think will take up a testing role with Alpine, and become the Virtuosi team leader. He’s ready to take on that role and challenge for more regular podiums.
Amaury Cordeel has improved greatly as a driver over the last 2 seasons and has become, for the most part, a dependable driver, even if he has his odd sketchy moments.
TS: Potentially an unchanged line-up but also with the possibility of a complete overhaul. Doohan started the season as a title favourite but a sub-par start to 2023 meant that status quickly faded. Regardless, I feel like the Australian has nothing left to prove at this level with the F2 title the only thing missing from his CV. I feel it’s 50/50 as to whether he will go for one more crack at the title or move on to another category, or focus on a reserve role with Alpine.
As for the second Virtuosi seat, Cordeel has a big bankroll that could help him secure another term but he doesn’t have the results to back it up so it’s really down to the team to decide whether they want the cash or a change in driver. In lieu of other options, I’m putting down an unchanged line-up but with an asterisk over it.
AJ: Kush Maini & Amaury Cordeel
TS: Jack Doohan & Amaury Cordeel
Actual: Gabriel Bortoleto & Kush Maini
Score: AJ 5-5 TS
A strong line up for Invicta as they sign F3 champ Bortoleto(above), and AJ pulls level on the scores..
PHM Racing - now PHM AIX Racing
AJ: As a new(er) team PHM rely a lot on sponsored or ‘pay drivers’ as they have this year with Roy Nissany and Brad Benavides. Next year won’t be much different but I do believe it’ll be an all new line up.
Taylor Barnard and Nikita Bedrin are my picks and I expect they’ll both move up from F3 to become a driver pairing capable of fighting for points for a team that will desperately be seeking them. It’ll be a tough ask but one this duo will relish.
TS: I am 99.9% certain PHM Racing will field a completely new driver line-up in 2024. Roy Nissany surely won't see yet another season of F2, and based on his first few races I can't see how Josh Mason has done enough to convince the team of a full season.
In F3, Barnard has started to come good in underwhelming Jenzer machinery and picked up his maiden victory in Spa. The Brit retains links to PHM and this link could be key in him graduating to F2, with his upturn in form in recent races showing he has what it takes to fight at the front.
As for Barnard's teammate, who has the biggest wallet? Alex’s choice of Bedrin is completely plausible but this is one seat that could be dictated by cash, not by talent.
AJ: Taylor Barnard & Nikita Bedrin
TS: Taylor Barnard & $$$
Actual: Joshua Durksen and TBC
Score: AJ 5-5 TS
It's entirely possible that Barnard still gets the 'TBC' seat, but F3 seems more likely for the Brit. Meanwhile Durksen(above), like Antonelli; moves from FRECA.
Trident
AJ: It looks as though Gabriel Bortoleto will become this year’s F3 champion and with that he’ll move up to F2. Trident will do everything in their power to make sure he’s doing that with them. Team boss Giacomo Ricci strongly believes in keeping teams together where possible and that identity should shine through in next season’s line up.
In keeping with that: Clement Novalak’s maiden F2 win at Zandvoort might just be enough to make sure he’s part of the Trident team, and Formula 2 in 2024.
TS: Is there a scenario where Bortoleto isn’t a Formula 2 driver next season? For me this is the easiest one to place, the F3 champion will undoubtedly graduate to F2 and I don’t see any reason why he would want to leave the Trident camp having gone to the F3 title with the Italian squad.
Has Novalak done enough to keep his seat? His win at Zandvoort was hugely impressive, but one result doesn’t summarise an entire season and I don’t think the Frenchman has done enough to stay in F2.
It’s my belief that Novalak will be replaced by Oliver Goethe, who made an immediate impact on F3 when he stood in at Campos at the end of 2022 and is now a race winner in 2023. The Euroformula Open champion, now race winner in F3, is showing just what he’s made of in 2023 and Trident might want to reward that by promoting him alongside Bortoleto.
AJ: Gabriel Bortoleto & Clement Novalak
TS: Gabriel Bortoleto & Oliver Goethe
Actual: Richard Verschoor & Roman Stanek
Score: AJ 5-5 TS
Another miss for us...But Richard Verschoor(top) returns to Trident and Roman Stanek(bottom) returns for a third season with Trident and a second in F2.
Van Amersfoort Racing
AJ: I’ve picked a driver line up at Van Amersfoort to make Brazil rejoice. Caio Collet should hopefully make the step up to F2 after three consistent seasons in F3 having won at that level three times so far.
Zak O’Sullivan’s arrival at Carlin could see Enzo Fittipaldi(above) change teams, moving to ‘VAR’(not the football one) to replace Dutch driver Richard Verschoor. His future could very much depend on what his Red Bull bosses are planning.
TS: Could Richard Verschoor do another season of F2? I can't see a route into F1 for him and I haven't seen anything linking him to a seat in other categories. I would think the Dutchman is looking at his options potentially in sportscar racing or maybe a reserve drive in somewhere like Formula E, but to me this one is something of a mystery.
In lieu of other options, it wouldn't surprise me that much if Verschoor stays on with Van Amersfoort Racing.
As popular as Juan Manuel Correa is, he seems destined for a career in sportscars and I don't see much point in him continuing in F2. For me, the logical choice to replace him is the race-winning F3 driver Caio Collet. The Brazilian is experienced at this level and proven he has the capability, so in my mind a graduation with the same team seems a formality.
AJ: Caio Collet & Enzo Fittipaldi
TS: Richard Verschoor & Caio Collet
Actual: Enzo Fittipaldi & Rafael Villagomez
Score: AJ 6-5 TS
Investment from the Villagomez's sees Rafael(above) step up, while AJ pulls ahead with a correct prediction of Fittipaldi to VAR.
Campos Racing
AJ: Jak Crawford has shown some flashes of brilliance in his rookie year, including a race win, but Red Bull will be disappointed with the consistency the American has shown. Some races he’s fighting for podiums, others he’s at back. His fate very much lies in Red Bull’s hands.
Partnering Crawford could be Oli Goethe who sampled life in the Campos set up in F3 in 2022, impressing enough to get picked up by Trident for 2023’s F3 season. He started the season slow but a win at Silverstone is bound to have boosted his confidence. Next stop F2?
TS: One of the surprises of the 2023 season for me has been Kush Maini. Finishing P14 overall in F3 in 2022 with only four points finishes, I was shocked to see he had been chosen for an F2 seat over someone like his then-teammate Caio Collet, who had won races that season. However, the Indian has been spectacular this season and proved he does indeed belong at this level. Campos will be keen to keep hold of him for another season.
Red Bull's latest recruit Pepe Marti(above) is surely en route to a seat in F2 next season after his three wins this season. His new links to F1’s champion team should be a great asset in him progressing and a continuation with Campos will surely be the best move for the Spaniard.
AJ: Jak Crawford & Oliver Goethe
TS: Kush Maini & Pepe Marti
Actual: Isack Hadjar & Pepe Marti
Score: AJ 6-6 TS
Final score: AJ 6-6 TS
Only 6 out of 22 each...we won't be attempting this for 2025...maybe.
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Van Amersfoort Racing, Red Bull Content Pool, DAMS Lucas Oil, Rodin Motorsport, Super Formula, Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
Comments