Formula 2: Mid-Season Rookie Report

Ella Bebbington

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At the beginning of the season, 10 drivers advanced to the ranks of Formula 2 for their rookie debuts. They all graduated from Formula 3 at the end of the 2022 season, but how have their performances in their next step up in the ranks faired for them so far? Let’s take a look at the class of 2023…

Viktor Martins

In Silverstone earlier on in the season, Martins showcased his skill as he overcame a 5-second time penalty to secure both the fastest lap and his maiden win at the legendary British Grand Prix circuit.

The driver, who currently sits 5th in the drivers’ standings with 120 points, has been compared to the likes of Piastri as fans reminisce on their fight for the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019. Whilst Piastri prevailed and won the cup, the French racing driver has since advanced through the ranks of motorsport to Formula 2. Here he will hopefully progress enough to secure a seat in Formula 1 in the coming seasons.

Oliver Bearman

“continues to impress viewers as he can fight for top positions”

Bearman is a British racing driver who currently sits 6th in the drivers’ standings with 102 points. A driver who is usually found racing near the front of the grid, Bearman continues to impress viewers as he can fight for top positions, much like his teammate at PREMA Racing Frederik Vesti (who is currently locked in a title fight with Theo Pouchaire).

As a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, lots is expected of the young Brit and many are excited to see what his future holds.

Roman Stanek

After competing in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for the last three seasons, Stank came to Formula 2 to continue his racing career with Trident. The Czech racing driver currently places 17th with a total of 13 points. Nearly half of his total points were scored during the feature race of the Monaco Grand Prix, where a safety car and a red flag played in his and Trident’s favour.

Despite a lack of consistent results, Stank remains determined that better things are ahead for himself and his team.

Zane Maloney

Barbadian racing driver Zane Maloney sits 10th in the drivers’ standings with a total of 78 points. The Rodin Carlin driver has a 22-point lead over Kush Maini in 11th.

Ahead of the start of the season, the driver signed as the F1 reverse driver for Oracle Red Bull Racing after impressing with placing as the runner-up for the 2022 Formula 3 Championship.

“there’s still a chance for the driver to catch up”

Despite not scoring points at every weekend this season, in the weekends he has scored he has always been in the double digits. As well as this, he remains only 20 points behind his teammate Enzo Fittipaldi. With only three races left this season, there’s still a chance for the driver to catch up.

Arthur Leclerc

As the younger brother of F1’s Charles Leclerc, Arthur Leclerc has a lot of expectations of his performance. The rookie joined DAMS at the start of the season and currently sits 14th in the drivers’ standings with a total of 39 points.

He is also a Ferrari driver academy member, the second on the grid alongside Oliver Bearman, and has been since 2020. The Monagesque racing driver has scored points at all but 4 weekends this season, an impressive stat from the rookie.

Isack Hadjar

The French-Algerian racing river continues his journey with Hitch by joining Hitech Pulse–Eight for his Formula 2 season. As one of six Red Bull Junior Team drivers on the grid, Hadjar is currently 15th in the drivers’ standings with a total of 39 points, tied with both Leclerc (14th) and Crawford (13th).

“only failing to score points in 3 weekends this season”

Despite DNF’ing in the Belgian Grand Prix, the driver has shown an impressive display of results, only failing to score points in 3 weekends this season.

Jak Crawford

Jak Crawford has four podium finishes and one race victory so far in his rookie season, as he joined Hitech Grand Prix after graduating from the F3 PREMA racing team at the end of the 2022 season. The American racing driver is currently 13th in the drivers’ standings, tied with Hadjar and Leclerc.

His maiden Formula 2 victory came in the sprint race during round eight of the championship, at the Red Bull Ring no less, an achievement I am sure the Red Bull Junior Team racing driver was thrilled with. Since then, the driver has only scored one point in the last three races, but the driver still has three more races to go to fight against his fellow rookies for a higher finishing position.

Juan Manuel Correa

2023 sees Correa return to Formula 2 as a rookie following his horror crash in 2019 at Spa-Francorchamps, which saw the tragic death of fellow French racing driver Anthoine Hubert and a series of injuries to himself. After over 20 operations to fix shattered bones and trauma, Correa returns to the ranks of Formula 2 and currently stands 18th in the drivers’ standings with a total of 12 points.

Kush Maini

Kush Maini is an Indian racing driver who has come to the FIA Formula 2 season following an impressive array of entries in different formula categories, including FIA Formula 3 and the Formula Renault Eurocup.

The driver currently sits in 11th with a total of 56 points. After an impressive start to the season with points scored in the first four races, he seemed to break form in Barcelona with a pointless weekend.

“The driver said this was a one-off and proceeded to come back to form in Spielberg”

The driver said this was a one-off, and proceeded to come back to form in Spielberg, which the driver put down to tyre management. Since then, the following races have seen the driver score a few key points for the championship, allowing for a 3-point lead on Jehan Daruvala in 12th.

Brad Benavides/Joshua Mason

Brad Benavdies was the rookie driver for PHM Racing by Charouz at the start of the season. After failing to secure any points or podiums in the first half of the season, the racing team chose to replace the American racing driver with Joshua Mason, a British racing driver who most recently competed in the Euroformula Open Championship.

Having only one chance to complete the race, the rookie has not had a chance to prove himself following the tough, wet conditions he faced in Spa-Francochamps. The rest of the season will hopefully tell us more about the young talent.

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Featured image courtesy of Roman Skelton on Pixabay. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.