Drama down under: Bruno Michel’s Debrief

After Formula 2’s first visit down under to Melbourne, Australia, this season’s Championship took yet more twist and turns on a memorable weekend.

With a huge attendance across the weekend and our first repeat winner of the 2023 season, CEO Bruno Michel reflects on a special weekend for the Championship.

DAMS MAKES A MARK IN ROUND 3

Ever since their Teams’ Title in 2019, DAMS have been working hard to return to the top of the Standings. Last year, they signed a young and promising rookie, Ayumu Iwasa, who impressed with a total of two wins, six podiums and two pole positions in 2022. The Red Bull junior stayed with DAMS for a second season, with the goal of fighting for the Championship. Round 1 was a bit of a hit and a miss, but a Sprint Race victory in Jeddah, followed by P4 in the Feature Race, proved that Iwasa and DAMS were on the right track. Last weekend in Melbourne, the Japanese ace claimed pole position and dominated the rest of the field in the Feature Race. He’s the first driver this season to take more than one win, and he scored enough points to jump from third to first in the Standings.

Meanwhile, Arthur Leclerc pocketed a maiden podium finish on Sunday in P3, becoming the fifth rookie to feature on a rostrum in 2023. His 20-points haul in Melbourne helped DAMS shoot to P1 in the Teams’ Championship. The French squad amassed a total of 47 points in Round 3 to lead ART Grand Prix by 24 points.

ROOKIES REIGN IN THE RAIN

Qualifying in Melbourne was the most difficult one of the season so far. It started under the pouring rain and was soon red flagged. When the conditions improved enough, the cars went back out to battle for best laptime in treacherous conditions. Although two experienced drivers claimed the top two places, seven rookies managed to finish in the top 10, from Victor Martins in third down to Jak Crawford in ninth.

It's also worth noting that six rookies finished in the Top 8 in the Sprint Race, with Crawford and Kush Maini both claiming a maiden F2 podium.

HIGHLIGHTS OF ROUND 3

After three races outside of the points, Théo Pourchaire really needed to score big in the Feature Race. Although he could not beat Iwasa, the ART Grand Prix driver managed to return to the podium with P2. He lies 8 points behind the Japanese in the Drivers’ Standings. Next up is Baku, a venue that has not brought a lot of joy to Pourchaire, so far. Let’s see if he can change this at the end of this month.

Dennis Hauger returned to the top step in the Sprint Race, and his joy in the parc fermé showed just how much it meant to him after a challenging rookie season in 2022, and a tricky start to his 2023 campaign. He looked quite strong in the Feature Race, but a collision with Victor Martins in the late stages took Hauger out of podium contention.

Frederik Vesti kept his scoring streak alive in Round 3 to move up to third in the Championship, whilst this season’s inaugural race winner Ralph Boschung has failed to score three races in a row, dropping to fourth.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF VICTOR MARTINS

Since the start of the season, the reigning Formula 3 Champion is fast at the wheel of his F2 car. In fact, he qualified P2 in Round 1, on pole position in Round 2 and P3 in Round 3. He must have pushed a bit too much at the end of Qualifying in Melbourne, crashing out on what seemed to be a very strong lap. He’s already finished on two Sprint Races podiums. But looking at the Drivers’ Standings, Martins is only P12, on 17 points. He even left Australia pointless. The Frenchman’s mistakes have hampered what could have been a stellar start of his rookie campaign. I’m sure that once he fine tunes what needs to, he will be fighting for big points in the Feature Races.

A SUCCESFUL FIRST TRIP DOWN UNDER

It was F2’s very first race weekend in Melbourne, Australia, and it did not disappoint. The amazing layout really put the drivers’ skills to the test, and the atmosphere was one of the best we’ve experienced. The fans’ passion for the sport was a beautiful thing to witness. We had an open paddock, with the aim to get F2 as close to the spectators as possible. Their number was impressive, and the teams really enjoyed connecting with them and have an audience for their pit stop practice. What a great event!