Formula 2 just finished a triple header, and now it’s begun a double header. While some have concerns about the needed breaks between races, others have expressed an interest in having more races on the F2 calender.
Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix; Paul Aron, Enzo Fittipaldi and Isack Hadjar sat down and discussed the triple header that had just past.
Paul Aron talked about how the triple header left him ‘burnt out’. He said, “I think in Silverstone I was just a bit burnt out, and that’s why the mistakes came in,
“So having the week off, I just rested a bit. I came back here. I was never worried, because the pace in Silverstone was still very good.”
In a Formula 2 weekend, the drivers have one practice session, one qualifying and then two races. It is a full on weekend and difficult changing condition such as the rain in Silverstone left drivers exhausted.
Aron noted how, for him, it was important to have a week off away from the racetrack. “The main thing was that I got a few days where I wasn’t thinking about racing. So I feel good now. I’m happy to be back.”
Similarly to Aron, Isack Hadjar acknowledged that the nicest part of the break was being able to go ‘back home properly.’
“Formula 1 does 24 race weekends. We do 14, so it’s quite a lot less.”
However, Enzo Fittipaldi came in with a very different opinion. He claimed the triple header ‘felt great’. He told media, “If we could add more races in a row like this, that would be very nice.”
Fittipaldi recognised one of the limiting factors for F2 is the teams and mechanics. Because of Formula 2 being a feeder series, the teams are far smaller. Especially with the mechanics, and pit crews – pit crews in F2 only have one person per tyre, so the crews are half the size of F1.
It’s a common complaint around the 24 races for F1. That the team members, rather than the drivers, don’t get enough time off. No doubt in a series at least half the size that feeling would be far more prominent.
Fittipaldi recognised this saying, “it is very hard on the mechanics. You know, they were working sometimes until, yeah, three in the morning.”
Though, the Brazilian remained hopeful for the future of F2, “I think I’ve really enjoyed it, I hope in the future we could have more of this.”
Should F2 have more races?
It is an interesting proposition that Fittipaldi puts forward. Formula 2 is designed to be the step below Formula 1. However, with a fraction of the races, do the F2 drivers get the full extent of what an F1 season would be like?
It seems as long as there are regular breaks, which would be pretty easy to have following the usual F1 schedule, F2 drivers are open to have a longer season. Especially, as it gives an already incredibly close championship the opportunity to get close, and drivers to prove their worth to F1 teams.
It would make sense to have more race weekends for the series designed to be the biggest test for future F1 drivers, but could the series feasibly manage it?
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