WHAT WE LEARNED: The main takeaways from Round 2 of the 2024 season in Jeddah

The second round of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 season was one for the books as the drivers put on a show at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit this weekend.

Some teams left Saudi Arabia feeling very satisfied with their efforts, while a few will be looking to go back to the drawing board in a bid to improve ahead of Round 3 in Melbourne next week.

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But what can we take away from the second weekend of the year in Jeddah?

FITTIPALDI AND VAN AMERSFOORT MAKE A STATEMENT

It was a great weekend for Enzo Fittipaldi as he scored his maiden Feature Race victory in phenomenal fashion in Jeddah.

This result followed a Sprint Race in which the Van Amersfoort Racing driver was promoted up to third after Trident’s Richard Verschoor was disqualified following a technical infringement.

Following an opening weekend where they scored no points in Sakhir, bouncing back in such fashion in Jeddah is exactly what he and his team had been hoping for and even though it is still early, there is never a bad time to go up to second in the Championship.

Additionally, Fittipaldi’s rookie teammate Rafael Villagómez was impressive in his own right as he recovered from a crash in Free Practice that ruled him out of Qualifying and left him starting at the back of the grid to finish ninth on Saturday.

It was the Mexican driver’s first points finish in Formula 2 and one that should give him and the team confidence going forward as they aim to continue that positive momentum.

A new order emerging: Jeddah team-by-team round-up

HAUGER AND MP MOTORSPORT CONTINUE TO IMPRESS

Fittipaldi was not the only driver beaming from ear to ear on their way out of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday evening as so too was Dennis Hauger.

It was a strong weekend in which he inherited the Sprint Race victory before also winning a drag race to the line against DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Amaury Cordeel to take P3 in the Feature that means he leaves Saudi Arabia with two trophies.

The Norwegian had looked in tremendous form early on in Jeddah when he set the fastest times of Free Practice.

Unfortunately, he suffered a setback in Qualifying as he revealed that by clipping the wall, he broke a wishbone on the car which left him with a bent steering wheel and down in P7.

However, the team will see this as a positive as they will know that contending for pole position is on the cards if they can stay incident-free in Qualifying.

But even with that minor setback, that is two podiums in the bag making it a fine start to the season for the MP Motorsport driver. One he hopes will continue in Melbourne.

PREMA RACING RETURN TO FORM

Ollie Bearman had an outstanding weekend deputising for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Formula 1. But it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had he not withdrawn from the F2 weekend.

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Following a disappointing Bahrain outing where they also scored no points, Bearman and PREMA Racing seemed to be back to their best in Jeddah, as the British driver beat Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini to take pole position.

However, in fulfilling his F1 duties it promoted Maini up to pole while Fittipaldi dominated the Feature Race, but could Bearman have competed with the VAR racer across the 28 laps?

His teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli also impressed as he qualified in sixth, which is the same position the rookie finished in both the Sprint and Feature Races, scoring some good points for him and the team.

Bearman, however, remains without a point this season ahead of Round 3 in Melbourne, but if he and the team can replicate the form they showed in Jeddah, it will not be a surprise to see the red and white car fighting at the front.

RODIN AND MALONEY CONFIRM THEIR PACE

After an outstanding first weekend of the year in Sakhir where Zane Maloney and Rodin Motorsport won both the Sprint and Feature Races, there was plenty of intrigue as to whether they could carry that form over to Jeddah.

However, the Bajan driver revealed that an issue in Qualifying hampered their hopes in the pole position shootout. This left him starting both races down in P16 while his teammate Ritomo Miyata lined up in 20th.

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But Maloney showed that pace was not the issue for Rodin by coming through the field in the Sprint Race to finish fourth.

He returned to do the same in Saturday’s 28-lap event but this time he ended the race in P7. Yet, from 16th on the grid, making as many overtakes as he did at a track where they did not score in 2023 certainly bodes well for their hopes moving forward.

They will be looking to start higher up the grid in Melbourne because if they can, they have already proven this year what they are capable of doing.