Formula 2 2025 season preview: A guide to all 22 drivers

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The first season with the Dallara F2 2024 car was full of statistical irregularities, but a more predictable year could be on the cards now and some teams in particular should be feeling confident about winning regularly

Invicta Racing

Formerly a title sponsor, Invicta has now taken over Virtuosi Racing’s Formula 2 squad entirely. Last year it hit the target of three race wins once again, all delivered by Gabriel Bortoleto who carried the team (in all forms) to its first two F2 titles.

1. Leonardo Fornaroli Italy, 20
2024: 29th in F2, FIA F3 champion   2023: 11th in FIA F3 Championship   2022: 8th in FRegional European Championship

Fornaroli arrives in F2 as the most highly anticipated rookie, since he was FIA Formula 3 champion last year, but an Italian Formula 4 victory in 2021 stands as his only race win from 118 starts in junior single-seaters since debuting in 2020. But Fornaroli had an excellent 2024 in F3 on average, being the standout driver on absolute pace (despite only actually being fastest once all year), scoring more feature race points than anyone else and having the best average starting and finishing positions. That only translated to leading 16 laps all season, but a mature head served him well and will do so again in F2.

2. Roman Stanek Czech Republic, 21
2024: 22nd in F2   2023: 18th in F2, 12th in FIA F3 World Cup   2022: 5th in FIA F3 Championship   2021: 12th in Euroformula

Stanek departs Trident after three years with the team. The first included a pole, a victory and three runner-up finishes in FIA F3, then the last two have been in F2. He scored six times in his rookie campaign, a tally which halved in 2024 as he contested two fewer rounds but did include victory in Melbourne where racing gets underway this weekend. He will need to exceed the 74 points achieved by Kush Maini in Invicta’s second car last year.

Campos Racing

The new car has turned Campos into a frontrunner in F2 after years of languishing down the order, and it has an exciting line-up this year that should make the team a title contender once more.

3. Pepe Marti Spain, 19
2024: 14th in F2   2023: 5th in FIA F3 Championship, 5th in FIA F3 World Cup, 7th in FRegional Middle East

Marti was third in Spanish F4 with Campos in 2021 and 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship runner-up in a grid including three drivers now racing in Formula 1, but he was also racing in FIA F3 that year with the team and only scraped into the points once. He bounced back in his sophomore campaign with the squad, winning three races in a ultra-competitive season where a double retirement at the finale dropped him to fifth in the standings. Staying with Campos for the move up to F2 also proved productive as he finished his first two races on the podium, won in the final round and led the ninth most laps over the season but was 17th fastest and that translated to the 17th most feature race points. Qualifying will be key this year.

4. Arvid Lindblad Great Britain, 17
2025: FRegional Oceania champion   2024: 4th in FIA F3 Championship, 13th in FRME   2023: 3rd in Italian F4, 4th in E4

The talk in F1 circles is that Lindblad is being prepared for a Racing Bulls seat in 2026 due to FIA superlicence eligibility, but we are yet to see how he finds F2 and that can lead to teams reassessing the F1 suitability of their long-time proteges. At the start of this year he proved he could be a serial winner capable of dominant victories as he romped to the FRegional Oceania title, and he had already showed his tyre-saving chops in FIA F3 last year as he won four races including a Silverstone double. F4 wins in Macau are a clear demonstration of street circuit ability, a key skill now in F2, so it looks like Lindblad has everything it takes to be a thorn in the side of the more experienced drivers in a title fight.

MP Motorsport

MP was dominant in 2022, brought back down to earth in 2023 and then was consistently impressive again in 2024 with the new car and had the potential to be Invicta’s closest rival in the title race. To do the same this year wouldn’t be unrealistic.

5. Oliver Goethe Germany, 20
2024: 23rd in F2, 7th in FIA F3 Championship, 2nd in FIA FRegional World Cup   2023: 8th in FIA F3 Championship

Goethe was in F3 title contention last year until he decided to skip the finale to make his F2 debut, and from his four rounds in the series he managed to score points in two feature races. His fourth place at Losail, known for being particularly hard on tyres, was a very noteworthy result. He had been solid but not spectacular in F3, with consistency leading to the second highest average finishing position in races, and only the champion had scored more often than he had prior to the last round.

6. Richard Verschoor Netherlands, 24
2024: 8th in F2   2023: 9th in F2, 6th in FIA F3 World Cup   2022: 12th in F2   2021: 11th in F2

Could this year finally be the one where Verschoor turns his immense experience into a title attack? He now has 102 starts to his name, and won a race in each of his first four seasons. Consistency in 2023 made for his most impressive campaign, then MP made a slow start with the Dallara F2 2024 but once the team unlocked the ability to be at the front there was a superb run of results of Verschoor and he led more laps than anyone else after picking up a win and five third places from the last six rounds. Scoring only 14 sprint race points all year proved very costly, but MP could start 2025 how it ended 2024.

Hitech GP

Paul Aron showed last year that Hitech can be competitive at enough circuits in F2 to set up a title attack, but from two mid-season poles he scored no feature race points so there was clearly untapped potential. But can its 2025 drivers do better?

7. Luke Browning England, 23
2024: 26th in F2, 3rd in FIA F3 Championship   2023: FIA F3 World Cup winner, 15th in FIA F3 Championship

Hitech knows Browning very well, having run him to the 2022 GB3 title, victory in the 2023 Macau Grand Prix and to third in the FIA F3 Championship last year. He made his way into the feature race points more often than most in 2024, but was shoddy on Saturdays when he had to work his way through a reversed-grid pack. On absolute pace he was second in the field, was classified as finishing every race and maintained a title attack to the very end thanks to being the benchmark on race pace yet his average finishing position was outside of the points. His pace over long runs translated to F2 when he joined ART Grand Prix for three rounds, as he scored twice and bettered fellow then-Williams protege Franco Colapinto on long-run pace.

8. Dino Beganovic Sweden, 21
2024: 20th in F2, 6th in FIA F3 Championship, 8th in FIA FRegional World Cup   2023: 6th in FIA F3 Championship

Beganovic reportedly made his F1 test debut recently with Ferrari, possibly a reward for a stunning stint in F2 with DAMS last December. The Swede came 20th in the standings by contesting just four races, as he claimed a sprint race podium and two top-seven finishes in feature races. More tellingly, he was on average the fourth fastest driver in F2 last year on single-lap pace and sixth on race pace. He may have ‘only’ come sixth in F3’s closely contested 2024 season, but already has F2 prestige.

Prema

Prema struggled with the Dallara F2 2024, but when it did manage to get on top of the car it had two F1-quality drivers able to then take it to victories. Even if it does improve this year, having two rookies means another yo-yo season is likely.

9. Sebastian Montoya Colombia, 19
2024: 17th in FIA F3 Championship   2023: 16th in FIA F3 Championship, 21st in FRegional Middle East

Two podiums from 42 F3 races is the form that Montoya arrives in F2 with, and he did not impress via pace metrics either last year. His best results in single-seaters have come with Prema and sister team Mumbai Falcons though, winning FRAC races in 2022 and collecting a haul of Italian F4 podiums the year before that, so returning to the outfit may get the most from him.

10. Gabriele Mini Italy, 19
2024: 27th in F2, 2nd in FIA F3 Championship   2023: 3rd in FIA F3 World Cup, 7th in FIA F3 Championship, 22nd in FRME

Mini made an F2 cameo with Prema in Baku last year, and finished his debut race on the podium with an impressive showing of race pace. That he didn’t appear again was a great shame. In F3 he was also driving for Prema, and was championship runner-up despite failing to score in four feature races. That is because he finished four of the others on the podium, including a win in Monaco, and had consistently scored early in the season. Having won in Monaco and made the Macau podium in 2023, F2’s street circuit-heavy calendar should suit Mini and Prema’s strengths.

DAMS

F2’s new car has not returned the Charles Pic-owned team to title-winning form, and it has instead been a midfield outfit for the most part. It has two drivers who have points to prove, but only looked competitive in one session during pre-season testing.

11. Jak Crawford USA, 19
2024: 5th in F2   2023: 13th in F2, 28th in FRME   2022: 7th in FIA F3 Championship, 6th in FRegional Asian Championship

The Aston Martin F1 junior and Andretti Global Formula E reserve driver had a strong sophomore F2 season in 2024, taking a win and five other podiums en route to fifth in the standings. To make a third year in F2 worthwhile, Crawford needs to take another step and become a title contender. He lacked the single-lap pace last year to make that look likely, but did top a post-season test session, and not qualifying at the front led to him being particularly productive in sprint races. While he could have another season of scoring strongly, a lot needs to change to ensure that happens on Sundays rather than Saturdays.

12. Kush Maini India, 23
2024: 13th in F2   2023: 11th in F2   2022: 14th in FIA F3 Championship   2021: 11th in FRAC   2020: 2nd in GB3

Maini was eighth in the standings after the first half of last season, and began the second half with a maiden victory. But in the five rounds that followed he secored zero points, dropped to 13th in the standings and ended the year with only 34% of the points that team-mate Bortoleto accumulated. The trend of his competitivy decreasing with each weekend doesn’t bode well for 2025, when he will now be one of Alpine’s F1 reserve drivers too. He needs to reverse the trend of 2024.

ART Grand Prix

Like Prema, ART GP went from a sure-fire title contender to a struggling squad when F2 introduced its new car last year. But like Prema it got plenty of wins and second places too, and has looked exceptionally competitive in 2025 pre-season testing.

14. Victor Martins France, 23
2024: 7th in F2   2023: 5th in F2   2022: FIA F3 champion   2021: 5th in FIA F3 Championship

An excellent rookie season that included three pole positions and nine podiums was followed up by a difficult 2024 in which Martins finished five races in either first or second but also failed to score 15 times. He was lacking in pace and points, but like ART GP’s last champion Theo Pourchaire he went through a mental challenge and has come out of it at the other side a stronger individual who looks more capable of becoming F2 champion. More importantly, ART GP looks more capable too.

15. Ritomo Miyata Japan, 25
2024: 19th in F2, 3rd in European Le Mans Series – LMP2 class, 12th in Le Mans 24H – LMP2 class, 65th in IMSA – GTD class

Toyota placed Miyata in F2 after he won the 2023 Super Formula and Super GT titles, and to help build experience of the European racing scene he drove in the European Le Mans Series last year alongside F1’s primary support series. His switch of sportscar series was far more productive than his step down the single-seater ladder, with Miyata only just in the top 20 on pace, and it would be a shame if such a talented driver finds 2025 difficult too.

Rodin Motorsport

Rodin Cars’ buyout of the team that used to be known as Carlin was the big story prior to the 2024 season, and Zane Maloney kicked things off with a double win. But his title challenge eventually faded as the team was hit and miss with its competitivity. A dramatic pre-season for 2025 could lead to the same, with a potentially ill-prepared line-up.

16. Amaury Cordeel Belgium, 22
2024: 17th in F2   2023: 20th in F2   2022: 17th in F2   2021: 23rd in FIA F3 Championship   2020: 15th in FRenault Eurocup

Christian Mansell was due to drive this car, but has had to withdraw for personal reasons and Cordeel has swept in to fill the seat. He has 78 F2 starts to his name, and has finished one feature race in the top five in that time. Last season was the most impressive of the three he has contested so far, his points haul coming from seven different circuits after only looking competitive at Zandvoort, Monza and Yas Marina Circuit in the years prior. Should he get a podium finish this year, possible in sprint races, it would be his best race result above F4.

17. Alex Dunne Ireland, 19
2024: 14th in FIA F3 Championship, 6th in FIA FRegional World Cup   2023: DNF in FIA F3 World Cup, 2nd in GB3

There was also uncertainty for a period over who would drive this car, as it took until February for Dunne to be confirmed. The McLaren junior and FE reserve driver was a dominant British F4 champion in 2022, GB3 runner-up in 2023 and also a victory contender at the Macau GP. Expectations were high for his FIA F3 campaign in 2024 with MP, but two sprint race podiums were the highlights. What we already know is he seems better suited to F2’s car, so could finish higher in the championship than his 14th place at the level below.

AIX Racing

The Emirati-licensed German outfit has a lot of attention on its line-up for a second year in a row. Joshua Duerksen’s fanbase and Taylor Barnard’s expected winning form was the reason in 2024, and now it’s because Duerksen has proven himself as one of the exciting drivers on the grid and his new team-mate has arrived as a bit of an unknown.

20. Joshua Duerksen Paraguay, 21
2024: 10th in F2   2023: 16th in FRME, 19th in FRegional European Championship   2022: 14th in FREC

Like Colapinto, Duerksen had brought the passion for F1 in a South American nation to boiling point by starring in F2. It was truly a surprise showing last season, as the Paraguayan made a big step up from FRegional where he had only claimed one podium from two European championship campaigns and one podium in the Middle East. And there was only one points finish in his first six F2 rounds. But by the end of 2024 he had a feature and a sprint race win, third place finishes in those races and three other top-six finishes in feature races that lifted him from 19th to 10th in the standings in the last four rounds.

21. Cian Shields Britain, 20
2024: 30th in F2, 30th in FIA F3 Championship   2023: 2nd in Euroformula   2022: 13th in GB3

Like Duerksen, the step up to F2 for Shields was unexpected. Now in his fourth year of car racing, the 20-year-old was 13th in GB3 as a total rookie, then stepped up to the F3-level Euroformula and was championship runner-up with four wins. But that grid lacked quality and quantity, and when he moved across to FIA F3 for 2024 he was off the pace and only once finished in the top half of the field. When he joined AIX Racing for the last two F2 rounds he was also off the pace, but not to the degree expected, and has looked far stronger in pre-season testing. It will be interesting to see what he can achieve.

Trident

Trident only surpassed 100 points in a season once with F2’s old car, but did it at the first attempt with its replacement in 2024 and had some strong moments in pre-season testing that indicates it has even more underlying potential for 2025. But it’s relying on an inexperienced line-up to deliver on it.

22. Sami Meguetounif France, 20
2024: 8th in FIA F3 Championship   2023: 9th in FREC, 10th in FRME   2022: 16th in FREC, 20th in FRAC   2021: NC in FREC

Meguetounif grew in competitivity after joining Trident last year in FIA F3, going on to win two feature races as a rookie. With R-ace GP he had failed to win in two F4 championships, and with MP he showed well at Kuwait Motor Town in FRegional Middle East but was unable to top the podium over two seasons in FREC. He topped F2’s final pre-season test session, so is heading to Melbourne with some confidence he can adapt to the next step up.

23. Max Esterson USA, 22
2024: 31st in F2, 21st in FIA F3 Championship   2023: 20th in FIA F3 World Cup, 35th in FIA F3 Championship, 11th in GB3

Esterson was starring in the club-level Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy just a few years ago, and now he’s a full-time driver in F2. In winged cars he is yet to show the kind of competitivity he was known for in FF1600, with one win in GB3 and two points finishes in FIA F3 preceding his F2 step. He contested the last two rounds of 2024 with Trident, but is still arguably very inexperienced. There will be many new circuits this year, so his ambitions should be to beat his team-mate.

Van Amersfoort Racing

Last season was the least competitive of VAR’s three in F2, but even that still meant a feature race win and usually points-scoring potential with drivers who still had a lot of room to grow. The only way is up in 2025.

21. John Bennett Britain, 21
2024: 28th in F2, 2nd in GB3, 23rd in FRME, 30th in FREC   2023: 10th in GB3   2022: 8th in GB3

British drivers tend to arrive in F2 with high expectations regardless of their ability compared to rivals due to how big their domestic motorsport scene and press is, and Bennett is an example of one who many are now anticipating will shine in 2025 after he scored points on his debut F2 weekend late last year. Prior to that he had spent three years in GB3, making the podium once in his first two campaigns before taking his form to whole new level in 2024 with a podium-filled title attack. But he only scored one point on the more abrasive tracks of the UAE when he headed to FRME, so he has a lot to learn now.

25. Rafael Villagomez Mexico, 23
2024: 24th in F2   2023: 25th in FIA F3 Championship, 13th in FRME   2022: 25th in FIA F3 Championship

A similarly unproven talent above the FRegiona level, Villagomez did get a few Euroformula podiums in 2021 but only four points from three FIA F3 seasons. So to then score 13 points as an F2 rookie last year, making the points in four feature races and leading a lap, was a big improvement and a clear exceeding of expectations. His target for his second season should be to better what he achieved last year, particularly in not being outshone as frequently by his team-mate.