2021 [F2/F3/Super Formula etc] Junior Formula Series discussion

[MonteCristo]

Bottom post of the previous page:

I'd love to know what the points for F3 and F2 would be without the reverse-reverse grid races counted.

[MonteCristo]

Horrible start for Zhou. Down to 8th from a 4th place start. Piastri leads.

[MonteCristo]

Now just for Dan .

[Everso Biggyballies]

Jack Doohan to make Formula 2 step for 2022

F3 Championship runner-up Jack Doohan is set to move upto the FIA Formula 2 Championship for 2022.
No exact details as yet as to with whom, but he is in discussions to finalise the deal. Clearly he is looking to move from Trident (who he was with this year) to either of the two big name teams

While Trident has a presence in Formula 2, the benchmark operation in recent seasons has been Prema Racing. They run Oscar Piastri, and last year helped Mick Schumacher to championship success. Since being reintroduced in 2017, only Prema Racing and ART Grand Prix have won the Formula 2 title so that is where he is wanting to be.

While the F3 season has finished for the year,, two rounds remain for F2, supporting F1 at the Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

Doohan hopes to have his future locked away in the very near future as he suggests things are moving very quickly..

[MonteCristo]

Fingers crossed.

[MonteCristo]

No one really cares enough about Formula E to have a separate thread anymore. And probably for good reason. So we can put this here...

But they're going to have a new qualifying format: https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/fo ... d=msedgntp

Of the old format: "heavily criticised by drivers for being too contrived"

So the new format is... Knock outs of quarter, semis and finals.

Oh dear.

[Everso Biggyballies]

No one really cares enough about Formula E to have a separate thread anymore. And probably for good reason. So we can put this here...

But they're going to have a new qualifying format: https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/fo ... d=msedgntp

Of the old format: "heavily criticised by drivers for being too contrived"

So the new format is... Knock outs of quarter, semis and finals.

Oh dear.

No doubt with Fanboost and Attack Mode enabled!
Next step is reverse grid based on how many Facepalm Friends they have.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Doohan joins Formula 2 grid for final rounds

With the F3 championship now all done and dusted, Jack Doohan will join the F2 Championship grid for the final two events of the 2021 season.

JD finished second in this year’s F3 Championship, with his F2 graduation with MP Motorsport coming ahead of a full campaign next season.

Doohan will replace Richard Verschoor for events in Jeddah and Yas Marina, supporting both the Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

It should be a bonus for him to get some bum in seat time in race conditions so he can hit the track running, and with familiarity into the car and what its like from the start of next year's title run.

[MonteCristo]

Doohan joins Formula 2 grid for final rounds

With the F3 championship now all done and dusted, Jack Doohan will join the F2 Championship grid for the final two events of the 2021 season.

JD finished second in this year’s F3 Championship, with his F2 graduation with MP Motorsport coming ahead of a full campaign next season.

Doohan will replace Richard Verschoor for events in Jeddah and Yas Marina, supporting both the Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

It should be a bonus for him to get some bum in seat time in race conditions so he can hit the track running, and with familiarity into the car and what its like from the start of next year's title run.

Excellent .

[Everso Biggyballies]

As mentioned this weekend is the penultimate round of the F2 championship, and Oscar Piastri is the man in the box seat. Zhou is still in with a chance to take the title...... as are others. Mathematically I think anyone in the to 8 'can' take the title, but really either 3rd or 4th atm would be a stretch of the imagination. 130 Points still on the table though. In a nutshell it wont (likely) be won this weekend and it will go down to the final meeting at Yas Marina.


How the Formula 2 standings look with two rounds to go – and can anyone stop Oscar?

F1.com did a bit of a season review of Zhou and Piastri

Oscar Piastri (PREMA Racing): 1st – 178 points

Piastri’s rise up the junior ranks has been remarkable. With two titles in as many years, he’s on course for an unprecedented third, as he looks to add the Formula 2 crown to a trophy cabinet that also includes the 2020 Formula 3 title and the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup Championship.

As is regularly the case in F2, what has set the Australian apart from his rivals is the level of consistency he’s produced throughout the season. All four of the drivers below Piastri have experienced tough rounds – Zhou even went four races without a point between Baku and Silverstone – but Piastri has delivered everywhere he’s been.

Piastri’s lowest haul of points in a single round is 21, whereas those below him have all scored fewer than 15 at least once. He’s finished in the top three in five of the six feature races (where you start in your qualifying position, as opposed to the two reverse grid sprint races) and has been in the top five 11 times, from 17 races.

It's not only in the races that Piastri is pacey either, the Australian having also taken three successive poles, making him only the fourth driver to achieve that particular feat in F2, along with Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Alex Albon.

His statistics simply haven’t been matched this year.



Guanyu Zhou (UNI-Virtuosi): 2nd – 142 points

Zhou is the man most likely to stop Piastri, with the UNI-Virtuosi racer currently 36 points adrift.

An electric start to the season that included one pole, two wins and a third podium gave Zhou a 16-point lead at the top of the standings heading into Azerbaijan.

Another podium in the first sprint race increased his advantage at the top, but he then suffered from a lack of pace in the second and crashed out in the feature race. A spin on the opening lap of the first Silverstone sprint then cost Zhou the championship lead as he spent a further two races out of the points.

Although he failed to charge into the top 10 in the second sprint race, he showed his resilience on the Sunday by recovering in fine fashion, beating polesitter Piastri to victory in the feature race. The 22-year-old’s return to form has continued since then with a further two podiums notched.

The problem for Zhou is that Piastri’s on an even stronger run. In Silverstone, Zhou scored 25 points, but Piastri took 35. In Monza, Zhou nabbed an even stronger tally of 31 points, but Piastri went and added 41.

Matching his rival won’t be enough, either. Zhou needs to find a way to better Piastri in Jeddah and Yas Marina.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... k0RH7.html


Any others in the fight? Yes, mathematically.

If you listen to Trevor Carlin, Dan Ticktum is the man! He believes Dan Ticktum’s only real rival in the title fight is Piastri..... Ticktum is currently fourth, 49 points off him. Outside of Piastri, Ticktum has actually been the most consistent driver on the grid this season, He has had some impressive Fails though.... as he does. Win or bin is his style.

Robert Shwartzman is third, ahead of Ticktum, and behind Piastri and Zhou. Shwartzman is only 43 off Piastri, and on a run of six successive top-six finishes, as well as six podiums and two wins in his last 11 races.


Could the title be decided in Jeddah?

Technically yes. Piastri could clinch the championship, but that would need him to increase his advantage over Zhou by 30 points,.... that hasnt happened that this season.

The biggest difference between the leading two drivers this year was at Sochi, where Piastri took 21 more points than his rival, so it would need more than that.

He’d also need to outscore Shwartzman by 23 points, Ticktum by 17 and fifth-placed Theo Pourchaire by eight.

It will go to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Piastri qualifies fastest in Saudi F2

He is doing what he can to stay ahead.... he took his 4th consecutive pole position. The problem is of course that for the first race of the weekend pole isnt where it should be..... the reverse grid and subtract the number you first thought of nonsense or whatever it is will no doubt see him start nearer the back than front.. Anyway he gets pole which I think means he. gets to start the Sunday race from pole.

[MonteCristo]

Piastri qualifies fastest in Saudi F2

He is doing what he can to stay ahead.... he took his 4th consecutive pole position. The problem is of course that for the first race of the weekend pole isnt where it should be..... the reverse grid and subtract the number you first thought of nonsense or whatever it is will no doubt see him start nearer the back than front.. Anyway he gets pole which I think means he. gets to start the Sunday race from pole.

Indeed.

The swimsuit section and much hated interviews come first. But if it's somebody's birthday, all bets are off and we go straight to the high stakes double points candle blowing competition.

[MonteCristo]

Doohan and Novalak both did alright in qualifying. 16th and 12th respectively.

Very nicely done by Novalak I have to say. If he only stepped into an F2 car for the first time like Doohan yesterday then that's a terrific performance. And it's not like MP Motorsport are a leading team.

Meanwhile, Zhou was 6th. So he's kinda in the middle of nowhere for the first and third race. God knows where he'll be for race two.

Meanwhile, Ticktum (4th in standings) was 13th. He's now in a world of bother in terms of the championship.

And Shwartzman (3rd in standings) qualified 2nd. He's still in the hunt.

Qualifying results:

Pos. No. Driver Team Time Gap Grid
1 2 Australia Oscar Piastri Prema Racing 1:40.878 - 1
2 1 Russia Robert Shwartzman Prema Racing 1:41.043 +0.165 2
3 10 France Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:41.218 +0.340 3
4 9 Denmark Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:41.297 +0.419 4
5 4 Brazil Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:41.302 +0.424 5
6 3 China Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:41.350 +0.472 6
7 21 Switzerland Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:41.532 +0.654 7
8 8 Estonia Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:41.610 +0.732 8
9 17 New Zealand Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:41.618 +0.740 9
10 7 New Zealand Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:41.619 +0.741 10
11 6 India Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:41.861 +0.983 11
12 12 France Clément Novalak MP Motorsport 1:41.890 +1.012 12
13 5 United Kingdom Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:41.960 +1.082 13
14 24 Netherlands Bent Viscaal Trident 1:41.972 +1.094 14
15 16 Israel Roy Nissany DAMS 1:42.076 +1.198 15
16 11 Australia Jack Doohan MP Motorsport 1:42.114 +1.236 16
17 25 Japan Marino Sato Trident 1:42.466 +1.588 17
18 14 Brazil Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:42.870 +1.992 18
19 20 United Kingdom Olli Caldwell Campos Racing 1:42.919 +2.041 19
20 15 Brazil Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:43.422 +2.544 20
21 22 United States Logan Sargeant HWA Racelab 1:43.481 +2.603 21
22 23 Italy Alessio Deledda HWA Racelab No Time Set - 22

[theracer120]

F2 is go.

Two safety cars/vscs in 4 laps...

Zhou just got spun by Lundgaard and dropped to 20th, which will help Oscar a lot.

[theracer120]

It looks more like Zhou might have spun himself there actually.

[theracer120]

Pourchaire just crashed.