Photo: Van Amersfoort Racing
GB3 runner-up John Bennett will race for Van Amersfoort Racing full-time in Formula 2 next year after joining the team for the last two rounds of 2024.
Bennett will be going into his sixth year of racing, with two seasons in the entry-level Ginetta GT5 Challenge sportscar series preceding the start of his single-seater career, but 2025 will mark the 21-year-old’s first time competing primarily outside of Britain.
In his two F2 outings, both of which have taken place in the last month, he was able to score four points and move above four other part-timers in the championship standings. However he qualified on the 10th row for the feature race both times.
“I am delighted to be racing with VAR in F2 for 2025,” said Bennett. “Since my first day testing in Formula 3, it has been a great environment to work in. Thank you to the team for all their support, and I cannot wait to get started next year!”
VAR’s F2 team principal Brad Joyce believes Bennett is ready to race in Formula 1’s primary feeder series full-time, which is a two-step jump up the single-seater ladder.
“We are delighted to welcome John to our full-time F2 line-up for 2025. His progression through the final rounds of the 2024 season demonstrated his ability to quickly adapt in challenging conditions,” he explained.
“The team is certain that he is ready for this next step. We look forward to supporting him throughout the season as he continues to grow and compete at one of the highest levels of motorsport.”
Elite Motorsport was Bennett’s racing home from 2020 to ’22, and he was Ginetta GT5 Challenge runner-up and a GB3 podium-finisher with the team. He switched to Rodin Carlin for his sophomore GB3 season last year and picked up another podium but dropped from eighth to 10th in the standings.
His career has been revitalised in 2024, but began with a Formula Regional Middle East campaign in which he only scored one point. He had a points-free FRegional European Championship cameo too, but with JHR Developments in GB3 he won three races, took eight other podiums, was on pole three times and set the fastest lap in five races en route to being title runner-up.
Ahead of his F2 debut, Bennett joined VAR for FIA Formula 3 post-season testing. He was 16th fastest at Jerez, and 11th at Barcelona.