2024 Formula 2 Season Review Part 1: Title picture takes shape

The festive season means teams and drivers are taking time away from competition to unwind after an incredible season of racing, so there’s no better time to recap what happened from start to finish.

We crowned a rookie Champion, witnessed some special races and waved goodbye to five drivers who will be stepping up to Formula 1 next year.

Here is how the immense 2024 season unfolded, race-by-race.

Round 1: Sakhir

Invicta Racing set the tone for their season as Kush Maini secured Pole in Sakhir with teammate Gabriel Bortoleto second to him on the grid. That was until Maini was excluded from the Qualifying results for a technical infringement.

Jak Crawford started from reverse grid Pole, but it was Zane Maloney that earned the first victory of the new campaign, going from eighth to first in the Sprint to earn his maiden F2 win. He then followed that up on Sunday with a measured drive to go back-to-back and sweep the weekend. Josep María Martí and Paul Aron finished second and third for Campos Racing and Hitech Pulse-Eight respectively to put two rookies on the podium.

Round 2: Jeddah

PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman was a busy man in Jeddah as the Briton claimed F2 Pole Position but vacated the spot after being called up to replace Carlos Sainz for the remainder of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend. It meant Invicta’s Maini started on Pole for the Feature.

Richard Verschoor crossed the line first in the Sprint Race to win for Trident, but he was later disqualified from the results for a technical infringement. It meant Dennis Hauger inherited the win with Aron in second and Enzo Fittipaldi third.

The Brazilian wasn’t done for the weekend however, as he put on a storming drive on Sunday to capture Feature Race victory for Van Amersfoort Racing. He led Maini and Hauger home in the podium places.

Bearman’s F1 debut resulted in points, as he secured P7 for Ferrari.

Round 3: Melbourne

Hauger earned Pole for the first time in his F2 career around Albert Park, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli second for PREMA and Verschoor in third.

Eventual title rivals Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar collided at lights out in the Sprint Race, but the Frenchman was able to continue on his way. The Campos driver eventually crossed the line in first but was later dropped to fifth having been handed a post-race time penalty, judged by the Stewards to have caused the collision with Bortoleto and teammate Martí. It promoted Roman Stanek to the top step for Trident.

Hauger and Antonelli fought for the lead early on, but a Safety Car changed the complexion of the race. The MP Motorsport driver spun off on his outlap following his mandatory pitstop, but it played into the hands of Hadjar, who pitted and emerged with the effective race lead. He won for the first time in F2 ahead of Aron and Maloney, who completed the podium.

Round 4: Imola

The return to Europe brought another big moment in the title race as Bortoleto claimed Pole Position ahead of Bearman and Hadjar.

In the Sprint, Aron took the lead from Hitech teammate Amaury Cordeel but he was chased down by MP rookie Franco Colapinto. The Argentine driver slowly but surely made inroads into the Estonian driver’s lead, closing to within DRS range in the closing laps. An error out of the final corner on the penultimate tour gave Colapinto his opening, and he claimed P1 on the last lap, going on to take his maiden F2 win ahead of Aron.

A slow getaway for Polesitter Bortoleto dropped him down the order, giving Bearman an early lead. That was undone though at the pitstops as a stall dropped the Briton out of the podium places. It left Hadjar to take the lead and despite a fightback from Bortoleto, the Frenchman held on for his second Feature win of the season. Joshua Duerksen was on the podium for the first time in his rookie campaign, while Maloney remained in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship by five points over Aron.

Round 5: Monte Carlo

Verschoor earned Pole for the first time in F2, but the weekend didn’t end how the Dutchman hoped. First, in the Sprint Race, Taylor Barnard led convincingly from reverse grid pole position and took his and AIX Racing’s maiden win in the Championship. Bortoleto and Hauger joined the Briton on the podium.

In a wild Feature Race, Verschoor converted Pole into an early lead but ahead of the pitstop phase, the Trident driver reported an issue on his car. He eventually dropped down the order and was forced to retire from the race in heartbreaking fashion.

It left Hadjar to lead the pack comfortably, but ART Grand Prix ran both cars on the alternative strategy. Victor Martins eventually pitted but teammate Zak O’Sullivan remained on track as long as he could and dived into the pitlane moments after contact between Maloney and Duerksen warranted yellow flags.

It was converted into a Virtual Safety Car, but because O’Sullivan was in the pitlane prior to the VSC deployment, his mandatory stop was legal, and he emerged ahead of Hadjar. He resisted pressure across a final lap shootout to earn his first F2 win, leaving Hadjar perplexed as to how the win got away from him. The results lifted Aron to the lead of the Championship with Hadjar in second and Maloney down to third.

Round 6: Barcelona

Aron took pole for the first time in his F2 career ahead of Crawford and Colapinto, the top three separated by just 0.006s, but it was Maini that started the Sprint from reverse grid Pole.

Martins took the lead in the early stages and would not be denied as he earned his first win of the campaign. Maini and Aron rounded out the podium after post-race penalties were applied.

Onto the Feature Race and Aron was eventually overhauled by Crawford following the pitstops having led early on. The American driver was in command from there, converting it into Feature Race victory ahead of Colapinto and Juan Manuel Correa, who rounded out the podium places. It was a momentous result for the latter as it marked his first podium since his return to the Championship.

Round 7: Spielberg

Hauger was back on Pole around the Red Bull Ring ahead of Duerksen and Bortoleto. The latter’s teammate started from reverse grid Pole in the Sprint, though it was Bearman who capitalised, going on to earn his first win of the 2024 season ahead of Martí and a consistent Aron.

In the Feature, Bortoleto was in form and the Brazilian controlled things from the front to take his first victory of the campaign. He was followed home by Colapinto, who made the alternative strategy work to climb to second late-on, ahead of Bortoleto’s title rival Hadjar.

The results meant that at the halfway stage in the 2024 season, Aron led the Standings on 117 points ahead of Hadjar on 106 and Bortoleto on 85 in third.