Richard Verschoor on his return to MP Motorsport, "curses", title hopes and why it’s finally his time

While his rivals either side of him on the podium in Jeddah might have been ruing how things played out on Sunday, plenty others were watching on, happy that Richard Verschoor took to the top step.

Having lost the Sprint Race the day before to a time penalty, the MP Motorsport driver bounced back emphatically to win the Feature and take the lead of the Drivers’ Championship.

The weekend was the epitome of Verschoor’s career in F2: clear speed and talent, some misfortune along the way but an ever-popular figure in the paddock.

So, what does the man himself make of how things played out? He viewed it as vindication and that his decision to return to the Championship and MP in 2025 were right.

“I’m happy and proud of the team. It’s been a pleasure to work with them again"

“It was a good weekend,” he explained looking back on how things played out. “I think after Friday, we didn’t expect to have such a good weekend. Mainly after FP, where I was struggling quite a bit and ended up P11, we made some good changes going into Qualifying.

“Then we had the good Qualifying session, a bit compromised by the Red Flag, but ended up P9. Then the Sprint Race – unfortunately I got the penalty, but it is what it is. I wasn’t happy with it, but you have to accept it and move on. But I think that frustration fuelled us a bit for Sunday.

“I’m happy and proud of the team that we managed to turn it around. It was definitely a good weekend. I think we showed what we’re capable of and I was just very happy. It’s been a pleasure to work with them again.

“It was a major factor and a reason to re-sign with MP because from the outside, they looked like a very stable team. I did Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and I can understand why they’re performing well over the last two or three years.

“I’m happy to be back. How things are going at the moment is exactly the reason why I wanted to come back. I’ve done a few years in F2 and never really had this feeling or been able to show what I can do. It doesn’t reflect on how good of a season I’ve had in the past.

“It’s still early, I know there are a lot of things that can happen, but at the moment I’m feeling very confident within the team, so that’s a positive sign.”

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While the team went on to turn things around, it felt all too familiar on Saturday night, as he looked to be cruising to Sprint Race victory until, fate confounded him once more.

The Dutchman played down the idea of a ‘curse’ but admitted that positive results being taken away had become an unwanted theme alongside his successes.

Recounting memories of victories and podiums lost to post-race sanctions or misfortune, Verschoor said he couldn’t remember them all, but one event sticks out in his mind, and is squarely in his sights in 2025 for one last dose of redemption.

“I’ve lost count to be honest. I can’t change it. I’m just trying to do my best. Losing the win in Jeddah wasn’t the worse one I’ve had in my F2 career, so it wasn’t too hard to swallow. The penalty was harsher because of the Safety Car, but we made up for it in the end.

“For example, last year with TRIDENT, we had so many good moments but then others where points unfortunately got taken away.

“I think it’s obvious the one I want most. Monaco is the biggest one for me. Qualifying will be very important. I know that TRIDENT has always been strong in Monaco, but I’ve also felt strong around there driving-wise.

“I’m looking forward to going back there and bouncing back there because I feel like a potential win there got taken away. It was a very hard moment, but I’m eager to get it back.”

"I feel like a potential win there got taken away. It was a very hard moment, but I’m eager to get it back.”

With his Jeddah win, Verschoor summited the F2 mountain to lead the pack going into the European leg of the season, something he’s just once before, leading briefly after winning the Sakhir Sprint Race in 2022.

But expectations for this season are firmly on the biggest prize. Verschoor is currently in the middle of the longest-active points-scoring streak in F2, scoring points for seven consecutive races alongside Josep María Martí, dating back to 2024.

It’s the type of form he believes is necessary to take that final step and achieve what he’s been aiming for over the past few years, and with his move to MP, he believes he’s in the perfect place to do so.

“I’ve always said you have to perform in the moments where you’re strong. It sounds obvious, but it’s not always easy. On track, there are moments where you’re not so strong, and you still need to maximise those and score as much as you can.

“In Jeddah, we were very strong, and we performed at a very high level, together with myself and the team. Those are the moments where you must deliver, and that’s exactly what we did.

“Now we have to keep pushing for more. I know just on my side the tracks I need to make sure I can score points. If I can make it into the points around certain tracks, I know I can score more points at others. I just have to go with the flow but stay focused.

“At the moment, things are going well, but it’s never a certain thing over the course of a season. I know that it’s long and we’ll keep pushing.” 2025 marks Verschoor’s fifth campaign in F2 and through that time as previously mentioned, he’s seen it all before.

“I would never deny that it’s a big plus to have experience in a Championship like this"

It’s something that the Dutch driver won’t deny plays into his favour and was a talking point amongst the top three finishers in Jeddah. Each had visited the Jeddah Corniche Circuit previously and used their learnings to good effect.

“Yeah, I feel like the experience will help. We actually had a bit of a chat about it in Jeddah with Martins and Crawford. They’re both experienced drivers and that experience is helping us in certain ways.

“I would never deny that it’s a big plus to have experience in a Championship like this, especially with the tyres and how to manage the races in Formula 2.

“But I also think that as a rookie, you have no idea what’s to come, what the grip will be like and what the track will be like, how much it will improve. Basically, as a rookie, you go in blind.

“Sometimes I look back to my first year and things worked very well. Sometimes if you’re experienced and have expectations based on what happened in the past, but they turn out to be completely different, whether it’s the track or the grip – it can be good to not know things.”

After the flyaway rounds to start the campaign arguably playing to the experienced drivers’ strengths, everyone is now readying themselves for a return to Europe for the bulk of the 2025 season.

Around tracks all know well by now, it remains to be seen who will sustain their early season form into the coming months. But for Verschoor, it’s about making one final charge towards glory that has evaded him.

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“In the end, you want to score points all the time. So, whether I’m second or third, I just want to be scoring good points and I’ll be happy in terms of the Championship view.

“But that Monaco race - it will be my last opportunity to win it in F2, so I want to take that opportunity.

“Every track we go to is different. I feel like we always start from zero in racing just in general. Every session you have to go out there and perform, whether you’re feeling good or not.

“That one lap in Qualifying can make all the difference, so we have to stay focused and do our jobs. I think we can be good on all the tracks that are coming up, and I’m in a good place and looking forward to each race as they come.”