2024 Formula 2 Season Review Part 2: Close to the very end

After the first half of the campaign shaped the title picture, the contenders battled it out over the remaining rounds to give us the closest title fight in F2 history entering the final round.

Gabriel Bortoleto ultimately triumphed to go back-to-back in F3 and F2, joining an elite club in the process, but here is how the Brazilian achieved glory in 2024.

Round 8: Silverstone

Having enjoyed an outing for Red Bull in FP1, Hadjar returned to the F2 cockpit and put his Campos on Pole.

In a torrential Sprint Race, Andrea Kimi Antonelli lined up on reverse grid pole and was in imperious form, going on to win his maiden F2 race by eight seconds ahead of Maloney and Maini.

Onto the Feature Race and Hadjar did not convert his Pole, losing out to Martins and Bearman on the opening lap.

Jak Crawford led the field after the pitstop phase but was handed a time penalty for an unsafe release. It meant that the DAMS Lucas Oil driver dropped behind Hadjar and Maloney, going on to finish third. Hadjar’s promotion and victory along with Aron’s non-score propelled the Frenchman into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship.

Round 9: Budapest

Aron rebounded with Pole in Budapest ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi and new Championship leader Hadjar.

Richard Verschoor led the Sprint Race from reverse grid Pole, but Antonelli took over from the Dutchman as he went aggressive in the early phase. Eventually, the Italian’s tyres cried enough, allowing those behind to close back in on the PREMA Racing driver, losing the lead back to Verschoor. The Trident driver went on to claim victory, but was disqualified after the race due to a technical infringement. It promoted Kush Maini to the top step for the first time in F2.

On Sunday, Antonelli earned redemption and his first F2 Feature Race win. Aron lost the lead to Victor Martins. The Estonian’s day was over shortly afterwards following contact with fellow title hopeful Zane Maloney. Antonelli took advantage of a Safety Car to make his strategy work and earn his second win of 2024 ahead of Martins and Verschoor.

Round 10: Spa-Francorchamps

Once again, Aron was on Pole ahead of a resurgent Bortoleto and Hadjar, but the weekend was impacted by rain on Saturday, leading to a delayed and ultimately shortened Sprint Race.

Zak O’Sullivan started from reverse grid Pole and was a winner for the second time in 2024 after a Safety Car and eventual Red Flag brought Saturday’s race to a premature close. Dennis Hauger and Verschoor completed the podium.

Sunday was a titanic fight between the top three in the Championship, as Aron, Bortoleto and Hadjar fought throughout the race. Swapping places in the early stages, Hadjar eventually took the lead from Aron ahead of the pitstops, but an undercut got Aron back on terms and the Hitech driver re-took the lead briefly before Hadjar found a route back through. Bortoleto closed on both after his stop and overtook Aron to set off in pursuit of the lead Campos. Aron’s day was made worse as he pulled off to retire on the final lap while Hadjar claimed win number four in 2024. Bortoleto took an important P2 finish ahead of Crawford in third.

Round 11: Monza

Zane Maloney was back at the front and on Pole around Monza ahead of Hadjar, while title rival Bortoleto suffered a spin and started both races from P22 and last on the grid.

In the Sprint, reverse grid pole man Fittipaldi fought for the lead with Josep María Martí, but repeated lock-ups for the Brazilian left him with major flatspots and eventually out of winning contention. It allowed Oliver Bearman to capitalise, taking the lead from Martí and going on to win for the second time in 2024. Bortoleto and Hauger crossed the line in P8 in a dead heat, meaning both were awarded half a point each for the final scoring position.

Sunday brought more woe for Aron, as he was left out of the race following contact with Martí at Turn 1 while Campos teammate Hadjar struggled himself. Bortoleto was on a charge however, and worked his way into the top 10 by the halfway stage on the alternative strategy. The Brazilian continued on his way and after a fortuitous Safety Car played into his hands, he emerged from the pitlane with the effective race lead. He went on to win to become the first driver in F2 history to win from last on the grid. It transformed the title picture, as he closed to within 10.5 points of leader Hadjar going to Baku.

Round 12: Baku

Verschoor earned Pole Position for Trident in what turned out to be his final weekend with the Italian team. Rookie teammate Christian Mansell was on reverse grid pole in his debut in F2, and he led the Sprint in the early running. Eventually, Joshua Duerksen claimed the lead of the race and went on to win in Azerbaijan for AIX Racing. Jak Crawford and debutant Gabriele Minì rounded out the podium places for PREMA Racing, the Italian replacing Bearman who once again was on F1 duty, this time to replace Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

Pole sitter Verschoor earned redemption, winning the Feature Race from P1 on the grid ahead of Martins and Antonelli. In the title stakes, Bortoleto secured two points-scoring finishes across the weekend to take the lead of the Championship ahead of Hadjar, who missed the points in both Baku races.

Round 13: Lusail

A double-header in the desert to end the season included plenty of drama, but it was Aron, who maintained a slim chance at the title, who wound up on Pole ahead of Bortoleto, while Hadjar finished up in P9.

The Campos driver went aggressive on strategy, starting the Sprint on the Supersoft compound tyres and he took the lead from reverse grid polesitter Bearman. It was a strategy that looked to be paying off until the closing laps where the PREMA driver overhauled the Frenchman. Hadjar then suffered a spin to drop him to fourth. Crawford and Verschoor moved up onto the podium as a result.

Sunday’s Feature was a titanic fight between all three title protagonists, but Bortoleto gained the early advantage, taking the lead at lights out from Aron. The Brazilian’s race was running to plan until a Virtual Safety Car was deployed just as he looked to pit, leaving him to bail out of the pit entry but not before passing the commitment point. It earned the Brazilian a five-second time penalty. That VSC was converted into a full Safety Car, allowing him to conduct his mandatory stop, putting him back out ahead of Aron and rival Hadjar, who’d profited to run an effective third.

In the closing laps, it became a game of cat and mouse as Bortoleto tried to extend the gap to Hadjar to beyond five seconds, ultimately falling just short at 4.6s. Aron inherited the win with Hadjar climbing to second after Bortoleto’s penalty was applied to leave the Invicta Racing driver third.

The result meant Bortoleto and Hadjar entered the final round separated by just half a point.

Round 14: Yas Marina

Martins took Pole for the finale with Bortoleto second, Aron third and Hadjar fourth. Amaury Cordeel started the Sprint from Pole, but it was Josep María Martí who surged up from fourth on the grid to take the lead by Turn 1.

Bortoleto moved himself up to P5 while Hadjar sustained front wing damage and fell to P11. The former’s charge wasn’t over, as he climbed up to P2 in the opening 10 laps and set off in pursuit of Martí. Hadjar meanwhile was able to recover himself and secured points in fifth at the chequered flag. Martí was uncatchable in front, earning his first win of the year ahead of Bortoleto and Dino Beganovic, who claimed his first F2 podium for DAMS Lucas Oil.

Sunday’s decider had drama right from lights out as Hadjar stalled, leaving Bortoleto to take the lead unchallenged following after a slow pull away from Martins. The Campos driver eventually got going but was off the lead lap and his hopes of the title were all but over.

Bortoleto lost out to AIX’s Duerksen following the pitstop phase and despite pressuring the Paraguayan in the closing laps, was unable to re-take P1. It didn’t matter though, as he won the F2 Drivers’ Championship, finishing second as Verschoor captured a P3 result for MP following his mid-season switch to the Dutch squad.