Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula 2 and F1 Academy return for one final Middle East jaunt to round out their respective 2024 seasons. The upcoming rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are set to determine champions across both championships, apart from giving new names an opportunity to showcase their talent. Vyas takes us through five important storylines for the upcoming two weekends of action.....
Championships up for grabs in F1 Academy
F1 Academy witnessed an uptick in coverage after Formula One's involvement in the series in 2024. Being on F1's support bill meant it would be telecast live on F1 weekends, allowing fans to watch the races live and interact with the drivers too.
Furthermore, each Formula One team was mandated to sponsor a driver in the series, thereby allowing the drivers greater exposure to the state-of-the-art technology on the teams' premises, and opportunities to interact with the team's Formula One drivers.
The series has also attracted talent from across the field, with racers such as Mercedes-backed Doriane Pin and Williams-backed Lia Block moving from endurance and Extreme E to the all-female single-seater series.
The increased competition and the sheer talent of the drivers has opened up an exciting battle for the constructors' championship, with reigning champions PREMA Racing only seven points ahead of leaders Rodin Motorsport with two weekends to go.
PREMA's charge has been spearheaded by Doriane Pin and Maya Weug. Pin sits second in the championship, having taken victories at Jeddah and Zandvoort, alongside four further podium appearances.
Weug, on the other hand, hasn't won a race in the season, but a series of podiums, including a hat trick of second places in the last three races, sees her sit third in the standings.
While neither driver has been quick enough to challenge the supremely quick Abbi Pulling for the drivers' championship, their consistency has seen PREMA hold on to the top spot in the constructors standings.
The duo would be looking to hold on to their championship lead into Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and if they continue their current run of form, there's no doubt the Italian squad would be on for their second constructors' championship in the series.
In the drivers championship, Rodin Motorsport's Abbi Pulling has all but secured the championship. With her lead to Pin standing at 95 points, and 104 points up for grabs in the final two weekends, all Pulling needs to do is ensure she has a clean weekend in the points, to be crowned F1 Academy champion.
Can anyone challenge Bortoleto and Invicta's lead in the Formula 2 championships?
It really has been Gabriel Bortoleto's season. Signed into the McLaren Driver Development Programme at the beginning of the year, he has experienced a sterling debut season in Formula 2. He now stands the rare chance of winning the F3 and F2 championships back to back, a feat only achieved by Formula One racers Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri in the past.
Bortoleto will no doubt be racing alongside them next year, having signed a contract with KICK Sauber to join Nico Hulkenberg at the team in green. With his future now secured, Bortoleto's focus will be on maintaining his lead in the Formula 2 championship.
Having started the year slowly, the Brazilian picked up pace as the season progressed. Victory in the Austrian feature race proved to be a turning point in his season, as he gradually closed in on the leaders ever since.
The Invicta racer backed up consistent points in Silverstone with a podium in the Spa feature race, before his unbelievable showing at Monza backed up his talent. Having spun off during qualifying, the 20-year-old's overtaking spree saw him net the final point in the sprint, from 22nd on the grid.
He would then go from last to first in the Sunday feature, albeit with a dose of luck induced by a safety car period early in the race. Even still, this wouldn't take away from the skills he displayed across the weekend to bounce back from adversity.
Further points in Baku meant Bortoleto rose to the head of the championship by a mere 4.5 points from long time championship leader Isack Hadjar, with drivers awarded proportionate points in the Baku feature as the race had run for more than 50%, but less than 75% of its total distance.
Bortoleto will certainly be looking to outscore the Frenchman across the final two weekends, and will know the task at hand in his quest for a Formula 2 championship. Hadjar, on the other hand, will be looking for flashes of his form prior to the summer break. Heading into Qatar, the Red Bull junior hasn't scored a point across the past two outings in Monza and Baku.
In the constructors' championship, Invicta Racing hold a healthier lead, sitting a comfortable 35.5 points ahead of Campos. The British manufacturer have been aided by Bortoleto's and teammate Kush Maini's consistent run of podiums across the year.
Five new faces on show in Formula 2
Formula 2 has been no stranger to F3 graduates stepping up for the final weekends of the season after their campaigns, and this year is no different. The grid will wear a newer look to the one that took to the track in Baku.
For starters, four new faces will be making their debuts in Qatar. Max Esterson steps up to Trident for the final two weekends, alongside fellow F3 graduate Christian Mansell, who replaced Roman Stanek at the Italian team from Baku.
Esterson will replace the MP Motorsport-bound Richard Verschoor, the latter moving to replace Dennis Hauger, who left the series to join Andretti in the Indy NXT series for 2025. This means MP Motorsport will end the season with a completely different line-up to the drivers they began the season with, as Franco Colapinto stepped up to an F1 race seat with Williams ahead of the Italian Grand Prix weekend.
Elsewhere, Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic will join the DAMS Lucas Oil outfit for the final two weekends of the year, replacing Juan Manuel Correa at the French outfit. A seasoned F3 campaigner, the Swede finished sixth in the Formula 3 standings in 2024 for champions PREMA Racing, and will be looking to put in a good impression for an F2 seat next year.
The other changes for Qatar see GB3 vice champion John Bennett step up to a seat at Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) for the final two weekends of 2024, alongside Rafael Villagomez. Hitech Pulse Eight racer Cian Shields will partake in the final two weekends for AIX Racing alongside Joshua Durksen, replacing Niels Koolen.
Formula E-bound Zane Maloney will bid goodbye to the championship after Qatar, and will be replaced by Formula 3 champion Leonardo Fornaroli.
It's always an exciting time when so many new talents take to the series at the same time, and while they'll be taking part in the final two weekends of the year, it's certainly an interesting prospect to see how the quintet go about their respective debut weekends in the series. They could well be racing on the grid next year.
An exciting wild card in F1 Academy — one to watch out for
F1 Academy's wild card entries have opened up opportunities for exciting new names to race in the championship, and showcase their talent at an international level.
The likes of Reema Juffali, Courtney Crone, Nina Gademan and British F4 racer Ella Lloyd have received the rare opportunity to race alongside established female talents from across the world. Two of these talents will be stepping up to F1 Academy next year, with Crone set to don Haas colours, while Lloyd will be in the papaya of McLaren.
Another exciting talent will receive a chance to display her talent to the world, with GB4 runner-up Alisha Palmowski announced as the wild card entry for the Qatar round.
The 18-year-old has been exemplary all year. Having taken three victories in her GB4 campaign, the driver from Glossop then tested for Envision Racing in the all-female Formula E test.
One of the hottest rising prospects in females across motorsport, Palmowski will be looking to display her speed and talent when the F1 Academy grid takes to Qatar this weekend. With five racers announced for the 2025 grid, an outstanding showing this weekend could catch the attention of F1 teams, and put her in the frame for a full-time race seat in 2025.
An all-new circuit for both racing series
F2 and F1 Academy have never raced at Qatar before. As such, this is certainly set to be a step into the unknown for both championships.
The 16-turn, 5.4 km (3.3 mi) track is known to be harsh on tyres — just ask the Formula One drivers, who have faced tyre blowouts and punctures after running extended stints on tyres in the past.
The kerbs are also known to be hard on the tyres, and last year's Formula One race in Qatar saw drivers run tyre stints for a maximum of 18 laps on any compound, responding to concerns over potential tyre punctures for running the same set of tyres for longer periods of times.
The challenges would be even greater for Formula 2 and F1 Academy, with less durable tyres for both series as compared to Formula One. It will be a challenge for drivers to maintain their tyres across the length of a sprint or a feature race.
Despite cooler temperatures in December are set to come as a relief to drivers and teams, there's no doubt the circuit's high speed corners will certainly test the drivers' endurance and the skill.
All in all, it's set to be an exciting weekend of racing, mixed in with the elements of heading into the unknown. The stage is set for the best to come to the fore and take victory to strengthen their championship bids
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