Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Team orders are uncommon in Formula 2 and almost never happen, but the team-mates of the 2024 title fighters have shown themselves willing to cooperate.
The nature of the championship means the drivers usually owe themselves to their sponsors and partners rather than to their teams. However, there are moments when exceptions can be made, and a title fight in the season finale is one of them.
The championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto was grateful to his Invicta Racing teammate Kush Maini after the sprint race in Abu Dhabi. The pair haven’t had the best relationship, as they have come together on track a few times during the season.
“He didn’t complicate my life at all,” said Bortoleto, who had overtaken Maini for second place during the race. “It’s the opposite. He helped me. So thank you, Kush.
“In our pre-event, there was a very team player approach that I liked. He said: ‘look, I’m gonna give my best in this race. You know, I’m still racing, I’m still in the championship. I’m gonna give the best I can. But if you are behind, I’m not gonna complicate your life. If you are faster, you overtake and go.’
“Obviously, he kept it in front of me for one lap maybe to see if the pace would stabilise or not. But at the end, he realised that I was close again in the next lap and he let me pass in the straight more or less. He didn’t block or anything. So he did a very good thing for me and for the team today.”
The sprint race winner Pepe Marti openly declared that he “will do obviously anything in my hands to help” his Campos Racing teammate Isack Hadjar, who is now four-and-a-half points behind Bortoleto heading into the final race. Marti already worked for Hadjar in Qatar when he tried to retain Bortoleto.
“There’s not necessarily an agreement. I think it’s quite straightforward. Isack is fighting for a championship. Today, if he had been P2, I would have given up the win like no second thoughts.
“I mean, I know for a fact that if I can win today, I can win next year. I know I was capable of winning earlier in this season. I just haven’t been able to put it all together. But I know that I can win races. So if I can help Isack in any way, say if I had been directly in front of him at any point in this race, I would have gifted the position without even thinking about it.
“So anything I can do for Isack tomorrow, I will. Obviously being fair and square. But if I can help in any way to the team to Isack, you know, to hopefully help him lift the trophy, then it’d be cool because in the end Campos is my team. And obviously I know Gabriel for a long time and I don’t mind any of them winning. They’re both great drivers.”