Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
The World Motor Sport Council’s decision to extend the lifecycle of Formula 2’s next-generation car from three to six years has been welcomed by teams.
The car introduced in 2018 is retired at the end of 2023, and invitiations to tender for the supply of engines and tyres for its successor have been published. There has been no equivalent chassis document, which was not worrying teams when Formula Scout spoke to them.
“I know there’s a new car coming, but we’re rather common with the fact that it will probably be late and we will probably need a lot of time to get it donem” Van Amersfoort Racing team boss Frits van Amersfoort said at Silverstone.
“I don’t know much, I didn’t also really spend much time on it because we’re busy enough with the season. And between Monza and Abu Dhabi, there is time. So that will be the splendid time to focus on next year.”
There was then a meeting in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock, which addressed the future of F2, but teams shared few details on the record.
“It’s a very nice car. It’s the only thing I know,” said ART Grand Prix team principal Sebastien Philippe, as Prema counterpart Rene Rosin added “we’re looking forward to see it, unveiled”.
Team bosses were far more chatty about cars being used for six seasons.
“I think it’s quite good,” Hitech GP’s Oliver Oakes told media. “I don’t want to put my foot in it, but it does seem quite mad we’re even going to put these cars to one side out to pasture, really, when they’re all pretty good.
“Obviously it’s great that our car is relevant to Formula 1 rules in terms of safety and all that types of things. But on the other side you kind of go ‘god, where are these 20 F2 cars end of the year going to go?’, and next year the 30 Formula 3 cars. So I think anything we do to extend it is a good thing, providing we keep staying on the edge of the safety side, and also the cars being relevant as the drivers progress.”
With the number of F2 and FIA F3 graduates in F1, “it’s pretty cool” that “the training ground that we do with these cars is relevant”.
Trident’s Giacomo Ricci added: “On the sporting side, I like to see that today, everyone are very close to the same level. So for me, it is nice to see also from outside that there is, especially this season, different teams and different driver that are fighting at the top. And this way you make even harder for everyone to stay on top. And sometimes you got also some good surprise with some teams that usually in the past were maybe a little bit at the back and now they’re competing for the top position. That’s also nice to see.”
Campos Racing’s Adrian Campos Jr agreed. “When you are five years with the same car, at the end, everything gets closer.”