Talking points from Barcelona

With the dust settled at the end of another enthralling FIA Formula 2 race weekend, at The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, we take a look at five talking points from the track.

Gallant Ghiotto

It was a strange weekend for Luca Ghiotto, who had struggled in Round 2 of the Championship in Baku. All of the early indications pointed towards a whitewash for the UNI-Virtuosi man, with perfect performances on the Thursday and Friday. He was quickest in Free Practice and then followed this up with pole position in Qualifying – his luck would soon run out.

The Italian started sluggishly in the Feature Race and dropped down to fourth, before being dumped to the back of the grid when he was walloped by the Campos of Dorian Boccolacci, which forced him into a front-wing change.

So why is he gallant? Simple. He was resilient and refused to admit defeat despite staring at the behinds of the entire grid. The 24-year-old was forced to pit twice but still somehow managed to slice his way through the field and finish in fourth place. He would produce another imperious drive on the Sunday and seal a second place finish on the final lap, with a searing overtake of Callum Ilott.

Points for everyone

We’re on just Round 3 of the season, but every team on the grid has already snatched at least one point in the current campaign. The fact that anyone can get into the points yet again reinforces the competitiveness of this crop of teams and drivers at the start of another enthralling FIA Formula 2 season.

Going into the weekend, only Trident were yet to score, but Ralph Boschung swiftly set this right and secured 10th place in the Feature Race. Ahead of them, a mere five points separate ninth and sixth in the Team’s Championship, with small margins between those at the top as well. Long may it continue!

The rookies are alright

We are just three rounds into the new season, but three of this season’s rookies have now made the podium – a considerable feat. Juan Manuel Correa got the wheels rolling last time out in Baku, when he seized third place in the Sprint Race.

Guanyu Zhou was arguably the most impressive of the three: the UNI-Virtuosi driver looked like a potential winner in the Barcelona Feature Race. Zhou led for a large proportion before being overtaken in the dying embers by teammate Ghiotto and Campos Racing’s Jack Aitken. Nevertheless, the taste of Champagne will have still been sweet for the Renault Junior.

Not-quite-a-rookie Ilott completes the trio, following his heroic Sprint Race drive. In 2017, the Ferrari Junior raced once for Trident in F2, but he is in his first full F2 season, this time with Sauber Junior Team by Charouz. Barcelona proved a weekend to remember for the British racer who secured his first points of the season in the Feature Race, with eighth place. He followed this up with third place and a podium finish in the Sprint Race.

Espresso anyone?

Omitted from the prior talking point, Anthoine Hubert is yet to taste Champagne this campaign, but has shown his impressive skillset on more than one occasion and he appears to revel in charging through the grid, when starting further back.

The GP3 Series champion received plenty of plaudits in Bahrain when he rose from P11 to P4 on his F2 debut in the Feature Race and he achieved a similar feat in Spain. Starting further back in P15, the cool Frenchman chose the alternate strategy and had found his way to P6 by the finishing line.

Hubert followed this with a surging start in the Sprint Race when he squeezed through the middle of first and second place Ilott and Jordan King to take an early lead – he would finish up in an impressive fifth place. The 22-year-old rookie has since joked via Twitter that his espresso was strong that morning, and if that’s the case, we hope he’ll be drinking plenty more of it this season.

Does De Vries have a new lucky suit?

Finally, we couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room… Or the Dutchman in a German racing suit. Nyck de Vries got his hands on a well-deserved first race win of the season in the Sprint Race on Sunday, but all wasn’t as it seemed.

As is standard in the Championship, the ART driver arose from his chamber with a fist in the air following his drive to first on Sunday. What wasn’t expected was the racing suit wrapped around him. Sat at the top of his arm was the German flag, while the name “Beckmann” was scribbled across his stomach – slightly unusual for a Dutchman named De Vries.

The 24-year-old had been forced to borrow his FIA Formula 3 counterpart’s racing suit for the weekend, after his was accidentally thrown out. While another one will swiftly be with him, he may not be changing back anytime soon after earning his first victory of the season in David Beckmann’s clobber.