YEAR TWO OF THE ‘NEW’ F2 – How teams are handling the current generation of car in 2025

19 June 2025

After the current generation of Formula 2 car was unveiled in 2023 and hit the track in anger in 2024 for its first full campaign, teams have had plenty of time to improve their understanding of it.

Designed to be a closer relative to the cars used in Formula 1, the revamped aerodynamics of the F2 car meant teams had to re-learn what was required to get the best from their cars.

And after a full racing season and almost half of the 2025 campaign, along with pre-and-post-season tests now under their belts, that understanding is now fully mapped out.

“The new car has provided some really close racing,” Rodin Motorsport Team Manager Benn Huntingford summarised. “The results are really close and that keeps the team stimulated, along with the drivers. It really pushes everyone to get the best out of everything.

“The only difference (compared to 2024) tends to be that you’ve got some more data the second time you go to a circuit. So, if anything, there’s a bit more to look at, but it doesn’t take any more time trying to work it out from nothing.”

Those sentiments were echoed by fellow Team Manager, Clive Hatton, with Hitech TGR improving processes and combing through data from last year to identify the best route for race weekends in 2025.

Rodin Team Manager Benn Huntingford says the new F2 car has brought really close racing

“I wouldn’t say there’s any more or less in terms of workload,” Hatton said. “You still do the same no matter if it’s the first or second year.

“You look at the setup, you run your pre-event simulations, you have the driver in the sim. Even though it’s the old car to the new car, you’re still referencing the drive in that way.

“We’re continuously improving it. It’s not like we’re going to put the exact same car down (one year to the next). So there’s little improvements we’ve made over the last year, so it’ll be slightly different when we return to each track.”

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Having a season worth of data to compare to versus relying solely on numbers from the previous generation of car has also had the effect of closing up the field.

With everyone starting from scratch in terms of their understanding of the new car, the gaps have been fine, with PREMA Racing Team Principal René Rosin saying it’s a credit to the level of competitiveness of the F2 grid.

“Competition is very tight. Six different drivers have been on pole in the first six rounds. I think that’s a demonstration of the extremely high level Formula 2 is at.

Hatton talked through the process Hitech TGR go through before each race weekend

“We’re happy for sure. I would like to be further at the front, fighting for wins. So that’s an extra push for us to do an even better job.

“I think we need to continue working. We’re fighting and we always fight in a fair way. We are looking forward to great competition in the upcoming races.”

The top five in the Drivers’ Championship are now separated by 14 points in the Standings, further evidence of the closing-up of the pack.

Hatton added that it was on full display in Qualifying for the last round in Barcelona, with fifth to 17th position separated by less than half a second.

“Formula 2 over the past year has been very, very close. There’s always been different people up there in Qualifying. We saw in Barcelona how close it was in that mid-pack.”

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Though teams now have a greater understanding of the car, more data to fall back on and a year of experience at each of the venues on the 2025 calendar, the fine details make all the difference.

Rosin says that while the processes the teams undertake ahead of a race weekend remains unchanged, they count for much more than ever before in Formula 2.

“In the end, you need to prepare the weekend the same way with prep at home, discussions between engineers to decide on a run plan on Friday for Free Practice and Qualifying.

“The preparation is the same, you just add more data to look at instead of starting from a blank piece of paper. We’re continually improving year-on-year, but in terms of workload, it’s absolutely the same.”