A new order emerging: Jeddah team-by-team round-up

After one circuit with high degradation and one with high speeds, the 2024 Formula 2 competitive order is beginning to emerge. PREMA Racing looked to be in stronger shape in Jeddah versus Sakhir, while Rodin Motorsport and Invicta Racing maintained their promise from Round 1 into 2.

Here is a look at the field after a thrilling weekend of action around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

RODIN MOTORSPORT

Another two points-scoring finishes for Zane Maloney keeps Rodin Motorsport atop the Teams’ Standings at this early stage, but it’s unquestionable that the team are looking strong in 2024. Maloney suffered a difficult Qualifying after an issue left him 16th in the order, but the Bajan driver didn’t let that stop him. Rising to an impressive fourth in the Sprint Race, he added a P7 finish in the Feature Race to his record to maintain his early advantage in the points.

Ritomo Miyata struggled comparatively but Jeddah is one of the toughest venues on the calendar and Maloney himself experiencing similar fortunes on his first visit in 2023, performance levels are still tough to read into. The team look very competitive though with the new 2024 car around different styles of circuits at this stage in the season. With the second of four street circuits coming up next in Albert Park, Rodin will be confident of carrying their form on and scoring strongly once again.

READ MORE: Maloney looking to repeat Sprint Race fightback to points in Jeddah Feature

INVICTA RACING

Another weekend in which Invicta Racing showed great Qualifying speed and strong race pace, Kush Maini led the charge for the team after issues sidelined teammate Gabriel Bortoleto in the Feature Race. After just missing out on pole, the Alpine Academy driver inherited the top spot after Oliver Bearman’s F1 call-up and drove a solid race to finish second, earning his first podium of the season.

It has been a great start to 2024 comparatively for Invicta, after they struggled in the early phase of the 2023 campaign. Five scoring results out of a possible eight leaves them just seven points from the top spot, and well within striking distance to Rodin. Bortoleto’s first visit to Jeddah didn’t go according to plan for the Brazilian, but next up is Melbourne, the scene of his second F3 Feature Race win last season on his path to the title.

READ MORE: Kush Maini’s Jeddah Weekend in his Words

MP MOTORSPORT

The third and final team to achieve five points finishes from eight races, MP Motorsport have hit the ground running in 2024 with the new car in the hands of Dennis Hauger in particular. The Norwegian secured back-to-back podium finishes in Jeddah, taking the Sprint victory after Richard Verschoor’s disqualification on Friday. He added a P3 result in what was a thrilling fight to the line against DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford and the Hitech Pulse-Eight of Amaury Cordeel. It has put him third in the Drivers’ Championship at this early stage, but it’s a promising start to the year for Hauger undoubtedly.

Franco Colapinto was another rookie to struggle in Jeddah, though he was far from alone around a circuit that demands the absolute most of the drivers at all times with such a high-speed layout. Still, the Argentine’s start to F2 life has been positive on the whole, just four points outside the top 10 in the Standings. MP will look at Melbourne as a great opportunity too after Hauger’s Sprint win their last season.

HITECH PULSE-EIGHT

The top rookie in 2024 at the moment is Paul Aron, and the Estonian looks to be going from strength to strength in his maiden Formula 2 campaign. Alongside his two points-scoring finishes, Amaury Cordeel added to the team’s tally in the Feature Race with a hard-earned P5 finish, unlucky to miss out on the podium by less than two-tenths of a second. Aron’s adaptation to his new team and the Championship has been impressive to say the least, and he looks to be performing consistently from the off.

Cordeel’s drive was somewhat overshadowed by the excitement of the three-wide fight to the finish line in Jeddah, but the Belgian’s performance on the alternative strategy was actually a very strong showing. Managing supersoft tyres that were well past their best by the end, he drove tactically and used all of the experience he has in F2 to earn a decent points haul that elevates him to the cusp of the top 10 in the Drivers’ Championship. Hitech look to be in a great position at the moment and may well continue to build on their impressive opening to the campaign.

READ MORE: Cordeel ‘sad’ to miss out on a maiden podium on the last lap of the Jeddah Feature Race

VAN AMERSFOORT RACING

He had been threatening a performance and result like that since joining the Formula 2 Championship, but it was finally Enzo Fittipaldi’s time on Feature Race day. The Brazilian pulled off a magnificent overtake full of bravery and risk to take the lead of the race at Turn 1, and then just drove off into the distance such was his speed this weekend in Jeddah. The day before, he’d fought for what turned into a P3 finish in the Sprint, and it has hauled him up the Standings to second heading into Round 3.

Rafael Villagómez looked to be climbing up an impossible mountain following his crash in Practice, but the Mexican driver was resolute on Saturday to battle his way to P9 and his first F2 points. He paid tribute to his teammate and was very satisfied to have fought back from such a setback around what is a very tough track. He has been learning quickly and is trending in the right direction, it’s now up to him to find another strong performance in Melbourne to keep up the momentum as Van Amersfoort rocket up to fourth in the Championship having left Sakhir scoreless.

READ MORE: Villagómez pleasantly surprised to score maiden F2 points in Jeddah Feature Race

CAMPOS RACING

After such a strong start to 2024, Jeddah was not what Campos Racing will have envisaged. Josep María Martí’s P7 in the Sprint Race was the only points the Spanish outfit earned this weekend. Back-to-back stoppages for Isack Hadjar left him on the sidelines prematurely, while Martí was eliminated after a spin on Lap 1 of the Feature Race on Saturday. The Red Bull Junior Team duo will have a chance to bounce back with one last flyaway round before the traditional European phase of the season begins around familiar venues. Martí remains in the top 10, currently sixth in the Drivers’ Championship but Hadjar will be targeting big points to begin his climb from 13th.

DAMS LUCAS OIL

Jak Crawford carried on his consistent form in Jeddah, adding P5 and P4 finishes in the Sprint and Feature Races respectively to lead the DAMS Lucas Oil charge. The American was battling for the podium on Saturday but fell just 0.031s short of Hauger in their drag race to the finish line. Juan Manuel Correa’s alternative strategy didn’t quite pay off for him in the end, but the team looks to be in a good spot with the new car early on this year.

Crawford scored one of his four podiums at Albert Park last season, so he will be hoping to replicate that this time around. Correa is still searching for his first points of the season, so will not be short of motivation to turn things around in Australia next time out.

HIGHLIGHTS: Fittipaldi wins Jeddah Feature Race with fightback drive

ART GRAND PRIX

It has been a tough opening to the 2024 season for reigning Champions ART Grand Prix. Many had picked Victor Martins as an early favourite to battle for the initial race wins, but the 2023 rookie of the year has endured difficult two weekends in Sakhir and Jeddah. The Frenchman lost his first points finish of the season after a post-race time penalty in the Feature Race for contact with Paul Aron. Like in 2023 when he made a slow start to the year, he will be aiming to turn things around sooner rather than later.

Teammate Zak O’Sullivan leads the way for ART, still inside the top 10 in the Drivers’ Championship but he too failed to score points in Jeddah. One of the rookies to struggle around the narrow street circuit, a spin into retirement in the Feature capped off a tough weekend for the French squad. A lot of work will be underway at the team’s base ahead of Melbourne as they look to get on top of their early issues with the 2024 car before rivals get out of reach, though as Champions, they should be more than capable.

PREMA RACING

There is an asterisk next to the Jeddah weekend for PREMA Racing, as the Italian team ultimately fought with one arm behind their back. Oliver Bearman’s 11th-hour F1 promotion left Andrea Kimi Antonelli to fly the PREMA flag by himself, but he did an admirable job considering, bringing home points in both races thanks to two P6 finishes. The Italian fought a scrappy pair of races, losing positions to experienced rivals around him, but it is more positive momentum for the Mercedes Junior driver after a difficult opening round for the team.

Bearman’s pole position indicated that the team’s Round 1 struggles were a one-off, and as was the case last year, PREMA were back firing on all cylinders in Jeddah. Melbourne will be another new test for Antonelli, while Bearman will receive a hero’s return following his exploits in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Ferrari.

TRIDENT

Trident looked as though they had put together a great weekend when Richard Verschoor won the Sprint Race and Roman Stanek achieved a top 10 finish on pace. Unfortunately for the Italian team, a post-race disqualification for a technical infringement resulted in both losing their results. The Dutch driver bounced back on Saturday to achieve points with a P8 finish, though Stanek was a Lap 1 retirement following contact. The team’s improved pace from Round 1 is a good sign going into the next few rounds, especially with a return to Europe coming soon.

PHM AIX RACING

Joshua Duerksen earned his first top 10 finish in Formula 2, ending the Jeddah Sprint Race in ninth while teammate Taylor Barnard added two P13 finishes by keeping out of trouble where others made mistakes. The Briton’s slide out of the top 10 on the alternative strategy in the Feature was a case of inexperience showing through, but it was still a decent weekend for the only all-rookie lineup on the 2024 grid to finish both races without much issue. Another street circuit beckons with Albert Park up next, another opportunity for the team to make progress.