With 2022 drawing to a close, I've taken a look at the top 10 drivers below Formula 2 for the year, at least in my opinion. The article will feature 5 drivers who were the champion of their series and 2 rookie champions among the others, from F2 down to F4 and even over to Indy Lights!
Let's get straight into it! No hanging about; let's get into business! In no particular order.
1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes Junior Antonelli ended the year as a double champion, winning both Italian and ADAC F4 at the first full season attempt.
The young Italian won 11 out of 28 entries in Italian F4, taking 16 podiums and 14 pole positions along the way, and coupled it nicely with 9 wins from 15 races in ADAC F4 with podiums in 12. To cap the year off, Antonelli - still just 16 - won the FIA Motorsport Games for Italy in the F4 Cup.
He'll race with PREMA in FRECA in 2023.
2. Alex Dunne
Alex Dunne took a dominant title in RoKit British F4 seeing off his competition early enough to sit out the final round in favour of challenging Antonelli in Italian F4. In British F4, he took 11 wins, 17 podiums and 11 pole positions from 27 races during a record breaking season for Hitech Grand Prix.
Over challenging in Italy, Alex was series runner up; winning 3 races in 20 attempts and taking 11 podiums and 1 pole positions for US Racing.
In 2023, he'll be with Hitech again, but this time in the GB3 Championship.
3. Felipe Drugovich
Let's be honest here. I don't think even Felipe Drugovich thought Felipe Drugovich would win the F2 title in such emphatic fashion having left Virtuosi for MP Motorsport at the start of the season. Everyone, more or less, was tipping Liam Lawson, Theo Pourchaire or maybe Juri Vips.
The way in which Drugovich sealed the title, ending the season 101 points ahead of Pourchaire was mightily impressive, and helped the Brazilian driver to secure a role with Aston Martin where he'll serve as the team's test and reserve driver for 2023.
4. Zane Maloney
Zane Maloney's late season form brought him into surprise title contention after the start of his season was curtailed by repetitive bad luck.
However; from the midway point of the season, the Bajan driver was always eyes forward as he won the final three feature races of the season to end the year as the runner up in Formula 3. His most memorable came at Spa, where he crashed heavily with Oliver Goethe in the sprint race before returning the day after to win the feature race. He made his debut in F2 at the Abu Dhabi finale and has now joined the Red Bull Junior Team.
For 2023, he's been confirmed as an official reserve driver for Red Bull, though he is yet to confirm his seat plans but is linked with Carlin in F2 with whom he took part in the end of season test in Abu Dhabi.
5. Enzo Fittipaldi
Like Maloney, Enzo Fittipaldi's season saw him rewarded with a slot in Red Bull's Junior Team set up.
The Brazilian driver ended the year 8th in Formula 2, outperforming his Charouz car as he took 6 podiums across the season. The former Ferrari Driver Academy member showed great consistency, scoring points in 14 of 28 races, largely inside the top 8 positions.
He'll race with Carlin's F2 team in 2023.
6. Nikola Tsolov
For a driver in his first year of single seater racing, you'd expect to just get to grips with your new machinery and get comfortable testing what you can do.
Not Nikola Tsolov. The Bulgarian teenager spent the year in Spanish F4, taking the title at the first attempt in stunning fashion. The 'Alpine Affiliate' driver, backed and managed by Fernando Alonso easy saw off competition to take the title, a great achievement after one year of being out of karts.
In 2023 he'll be one to watch as he steps in Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix.
7. Hunter McElrea
It's a little bit of a surprise to see that New Zealander Hunter McElrea hasn't gone up to IndyCar after just one year in Indy Lights(now Indy NXT).
Named Rookie of the Year, McElrea raced with the established Andretti Autosport team, taking 7 podiums in 14 races as he ended the year 4th overall.
In 2023 he'll stay in the rebranded Indy NXT series with Andretti and will be determined to go for the title at the second attempt.
8. Leonardo Fornaroli
From one rookie of the year to another; Leonardo Fornaroli is also on this list.
Fornaroli raced in FRECA this year and ends the year 8th overall, the highest placed rookie in the FRECA series. Consistent point scoring saw him take that title with Trident as he impressed across the paddock.
In 2023, he remains with Trident but is taking a step up, moving up to Formula 3 with the team.
9. Isack Hadjar
Isack Hadjar is unnaturally fast. The Frenchman spent the year racing with Hitech Grand Prix in F3 and was Victor Martins' biggest threat until very late in the season.
Hadjar's season fell apart around Belgium when a bad qualifying, affected by weather, saw him start further back than he'd have liked in both races. Hadjar went on to end the year 4th overall, but knows he was capable of better.
As a Red Bull Junior, Dr Marko already confirmed Hadjar would step up to F2 but his team has not yet been announced, although it's highly likely he'll stick with the Hitech team.
10. Oliver Goethe
Oliver Goethe has had a great year. The young Dane secured the Euroformula Open Championship title in storming fashion, showing raw, rapid pace all season long.
His strong performances were rewarded by making his F3 debut with Campos, where he managed a reverse grid pole in Hungary and scoring points to boot. A crash with Maloney at Spa didn't dampen the chatter around him in the F3 paddock with many being impressed by him.
F3 can talk more about him in 2023, as he's been confirmed to join Trident for the season.
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1, RoKit British F4 Championship, Charouz Racing System, Nikola Tsolov, Andretti Autosport, Leonardo Fornaroli, Oliver Goethe.
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