The 2024 Formula 2 Championship saw 18 different race winners across the season, with many regarding it as the most competitive to date.
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A 2024 Season Round-Up
“I think it’s been a very competitive season […] for me, it’s one for the history books,” said Paul Aron, 2024 Formula 2 driver for Hitech Pulse-Eight.
“Obviously, it’s nice for me to say because I’ve driven in this Championship, but I think all the drivers will agree it’s one of the most competitive F2 Championships maybe even ever.”
The season opener in Bahrain saw Zane Maloney claim his first Formula 2 victory in Saturday’s Sprint Race, which was followed by a consecutive win in Sunday’s Feature Race.
Dennis Hauger was promoted to victory after the second Sprint race of the season in Saudi Arabia, with Enzo Fittipaldi taking the top spot in the Feature Race.
Evidently, with three different winners across the first two race weekends, it was clear that 2024 was going to be a competitive season.
Championship winner Gabriel Bortoleto won two races, with runner up Isack Hadjar winning the most at four. Oliver Bearman won three races, with Maloney, Zak O’Sullivan, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Joshua Durksen winning two races each. Aron took one race win during the season, as well as Hauger, Fittipaldi, Roman Stanek, Franco Colapinto, Taylor Barnard, Victor Martins, Jak Crawford, Kush Maini, Richard Verschoor and Pepe Marti.
“It shows how high the level is and how the teams have been able to […] adapt very quickly to this new car,” said Bortoleto, referring to how the 2024 season saw the debut of a new chassis and engine package.
“It’s great, it’s nice to see a Championship like this, it’s nice to see people winning.”
Bortoleto went on to win the 2024 Championship, in a battle that continued until the final Feature Race in Abu Dhabi. He achieved two race wins, two pole positions and eight podiums.
The Veteran Vs The Rookie
“The truth is there’s a lot of good, experienced drivers and there’s a lot of good rookies,” stated Aron.
Several talented veterans of the series, including Bearman, Verschoor and Hadjar, returned to fight for the 2024 title. However, it also saw the rise of several talented rookies, including Bortoleto, Antonelli and Durksen.
“I knew ahead of time that it would be competitive and obviously, we’ve had drivers who have come in […] as rookies,” said Marti, 2024 and 2025 Formula 2 driver for Campos Racing.
“Dino [Beganovic] has been doing an amazing job; Oliver Goethe is doing an amazing job. I’ve grown up with these guys. We were all racing in go-karts, we were all in the World Championships of 2018, 2019, so you know the level [that] these guys are.”
Notably, two 2024 Formula 2 debutants, Bortoleto and Antonelli, performed to such a high standard that they even secured Formula 1 seats after just one season in the series.
“There weren’t many drivers who were constantly weak. There were a lot of drivers who were constant frontrunners but there was also a lot of drivers who could have their shining moment throughout the season. I don’t think that happens often,” reiterated Aron.
With 11 drivers, including Aron himself, taking one victory each throughout the season, it is certainly clear that there were several ‘shining moments’ for those who were not considered ‘frontrunners.’
“Previous years, we’ve always seen these few guys who run at the front and then there have been drivers who are weak and running at the back. This year, this has not been the case, and I think that makes it very competitive.”
Talk Of The Paddock
“It’s nice, in my case, to be leading a Championship that everyone is rating so highly, and it helped me a lot to get to F1 […],” said Bortoleto, the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Champion for Invicta Racing.
“It keeps going around the F1 paddock that it’s one of the highest levels ever in F2, so it helps a lot. We are very grateful to be part of this generation of drivers.”
As Bortoleto said, leading and later going on to win the Formula 2 Championship is one achievement. However, making this statement during such a competitive season certainly turns the heads of those in the Formula 1 paddock.
Bortoleto was not the only driver to convert his impressive Formula 2 performance into a Formula 1 seat, with Bearman, Antonelli and Hadjar also making the leap for the 2025 season.
Looking Ahead
As the 2025 season approaches, anticipation grows amongst fans who are eager to see if the upcoming season will be just as competitive as last year.
“The guys coming from F3, I know next year will give a mega, mega fight,” said Marti.
“I would call it a good generation rather than a good year. I think it’s a very, very strong generation of drivers.”
The 2025 Formula 2 grid sees nine rookies making their debut, as well as several drivers who will be participating in their first full season within the series.
Several returners are also ready to compete, looking to be crowned the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Formula 2 returns on March 14-16 in Australia, with testing taking place on February 24-26 at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Featured Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
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