Twists and turns in Jeddah: F2 weekend wrap-up

Four races, four winners, 2023 continues to keep everyone guessing after the Jeddah weekend. While ART Grand Prix looked ready to cement their early season speed, things turned on their heads once again.

Campos Racing emerges from Round 2 with their Teams’ Championship lead intact, and Ralph Boschung narrowly has the advantage in the Drivers’ stakes too. Here are how the teams stand leaving Jeddah.

TOP OF THE TABLE

A strong start to the weekend gradually faded for Campos Racing by the time the chequered flag fell on Sunday. The Spanish team still leads the way in the Teams’ Standings after a decent points haul in Saturday’s Sprint, but the longer Feature Race was more of a struggle for both drivers.

Boschung pointed to a lack of Qualifying pace as the area which set Campos’ weekend on the difficult path. Eighth for Kush Maini and ninth for the Swiss translated to fifth and fourth respectively in the Sprint, but neither scored in the Feature Race. Maini couldn’t continue his points-streak either, but his P5 finish in the Sprint ensures that he’ll arrive in Melbourne as the highest-placed rookie in the Drivers’ Championship.

COSTLY MISTAKES

Another pole by 0.7s left rivals well adrift, but the weekend peaked early for the team. An unfortunate misjudgement by Théo Pourchaire in the Sprint resulted in contact with Oliver Bearman, leaving both to watch from the sidelines and denting his hopes for the rest of the weekend. He was handed a grid penalty and ended up P13 on Sunday at the chequered flag.

Teammate Victor Martins had been on course to win but a spin out of the effective race lead put him out too. ART left Jeddah with six more points than it arrived with, a disappointing return considering the team was set to line up P1 and P3 on the grid after Qualifying. It will be on both drivers to put together a clean weekend in Melbourne and bounce back from what was ultimately a disappointing weekend in Jeddah.

MR CONSISTENT

There is one driver who retains a perfect record in 2023 in terms of points-scoring finishes and that is Ayumu Iwasa. The Japanese driver is four for four so far this season, and added a Sprint Race win to his record in Jeddah. P4 in the Feature Race and non-scores for Boschung and Pourchaire ahead means he is now two points from the top spot, with just two points covering the top three in the Drivers’ Championship.

Arthur Leclerc made the alternate strategy work for him to rescue eighth in the Feature to help DAMS close up the Teams’ Standings. Now on 44 points, the French outfit is now just eight from P1. The team is still lacking some pace from where it expects to be, but scoring these positive results while things aren’t perfect is a good sign for the French outfit.

SCORES ON THE DOORS

MP Motorsport was the only team on the F2 grid to score points with both cars in both races across the Jeddah weekend. Dennis Hauger recovered from 15th on the grid in both races to finish eighth and fifth in the Sprint and Feature Races respectively. Jehan Daruvala went even better, achieving back-to-back podiums with two P3 finishes. That is much more like the MP that claimed the Teams’ Championship in 2022.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT

There was no panic following the Sakhir weekend at PREMA Racing. Instead, the team kept heads down, worked hard ahead of Jeddah and reaped the rewards during Round 2. Overcoming his Sprint Race grid penalty, Frederik Vesti took the team’s first points following a P6 finish, but he was far from done. His Feature Race win on Sunday was far more reflective of where PREMA’s true performance stands according to Team Principal, René Rosin, and was an impressive statement by the Dane.

Teammate Oliver Bearman was unfortunate to be taken out of the Sprint Race after contact with Théo Pourchaire. His Feature Race faded too, but Rosin is pleased with the rookie’s speed at this early stage of the season. There’s a feeling that the Italian team can build on Round 2’s performances and it will approach Melbourne in the same fashion it did Jeddah. Will the results follow in the same fashion down under?

EXPERIENCE PAYS OFF

It was another mixed weekend for Rodin Carlin, with the high points shining brightly but there are weaker spots still to improve. After Zane Maloney shone in Round 1, it was Enzo Fittipaldi’s turn to impress, showing his experience to come through from P14 to P7 in the Feature Race for more valuable points.

The team will need to improve its form on Fridays to ensure both drivers are starting with the best possible chance of stronger points finishes. Expect continued improvement from Rodin Carlin with each race.

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Jack Doohan took his first podium finish of the year after a disappointing Sakhir weekend for Invicta Virtuosi Racing. Jeddah was a much better time for the team, but the team isn’t satisfied. Doohan said that he was getting more comfortable with the car in 2023, but that he was still lacking the feeling he’d had during his best moments of last season. He’ll be hoping that the team can continue to find performance with his home race up next.

Invicta Virtuosi believes it has sorted the issues that affected both drivers in Sakhir and resulted in a better performance in Jeddah, and there should be more time to come. Sticking with the principals that helped Doohan earn three race victories last season should put the team in a better position as the final wrinkles are ironed out heading to Melbourne.

BOUNCE BACK ABILITY

It’s never over until it’s over. Van Amersfoort Racing and Richard Verschoor are testament to that, recovering from a Qualifying spin and P20 on the grid for P6. It was hugely impressive, particularly after the team was a little lost after Friday’s Free Practice session in terms of the setup direction for the remainder of the weekend according to the Dutch driver.

Saturday's Sprint proved tough but after an overnight rethink, the team was rewarded with points. Improved Qualifying performances will bring points for both drivers, who have impressed so far internally. The team had a car in Jeddah that was quick but difficult, an area which will be worked on for Melbourne. Great strategy by the team and the experience of Verschoor paid off in the end, and better races are expected for Correa, who will benefit with more experience.

BRIGHT SPOTS TO WORK ON

Another up and down weekend for Hitech Pulse-Eight but the bright spots are filling the team with promise. Jak Crawford nailed a lap that put him on reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race. Isack Hadjar showed the team has strong race pace, using the alternate strategy to rise from P19 on the grid to ninth by the chequered flag. Hadjar is one of only two rookies to have scored in both Feature Races so far this season, sharing the feat with DAMS’ Leclerc.

Both of the Hitech rookies will need to put together a better weekend from start to finish in order to show their full potential, but both are capable. Having the inverse goal of each other, Crawford’s focus will be on race pace and Hadjar’s on single-lap speed. The pair could benefit from the visit to Melbourne, with everyone starting as equals with no prior experience of the venue.

EARLY PROGRESS

The early rounds of 2023 will continue the theme of learning at PHM Racing by Charouz, but the team is satisfied with its work so far. Once again, Roy Nissany was agonisingly close to scoring the team’s first point in Formula 2, ending the Feature Race in 11th once again. If the team can keep their race pace on the current trajectory, points in the next races will likely follow.

It hasn’t lost any appetite to find improvements, acknowledging there’s still room to grow alongside positive steps. Qualifying speed will go a long way to aiding the team’s pursuit of maiden points, and one-lap speed will be the target ahead of Melbourne in just under two weeks’ time. The feeling within the team is that they will be able to achieve their goals sooner rather than later.

MOVING ON TO MELBOURNE

Things didn’t go according to plan at Trident in Jeddah. Minor errors in push laps in Qualifying prevented a better grid position. An ill-timed Red Flag prevented both drivers from improving. Clément Novalak did achieve a promising P11 spot on the grid but a team error and failure to hand back Qualifying tyres resulted in grid penalties for both, only making things more difficult for the Italian team.

Lacking in race pace, the team is under no illusions that improvements must be made, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Trident indicates that it knows where the improvements can come from, and there is a lot of working going on to improve results as quickly as possible. The drivers will be on the simulator a lot between races, as attention switches from Jeddah analysis to Melbourne preparations early this week. The new venue might be just what the team needs, levelling the playing field entirely as everyone visits for the first time.