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More than three months have passed since Mick Schumacher sealed the 2020 Formula 2 title, and while the German is busy preparing for his Formula 1 debut with Haas, a new generation of potential future stars are starting their own. championship challenge in the second level of motorsport.
The F2 field is overflowing with drivers looking to emulate Schumacher as the racing action resumes in Bahrain this weekend. We have selected five of them to keep an eye on …
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Robert shwartzman
Mick Schumacher’s PREMA teammate last season and the pre-season title favorite. No one on the Formula 2 grid is as eager to perform as Robert Shwartzman this season.
The Ferrari junior is the best-placed returning driver and occupies the seat of last season’s winning car. Scoring more wins than any of the 2021 F1 graduates, the 2019 Formula 3 champion is known as one of the most, if not the deadliest, passers on the grid.
Proof of his prowess could be seen in the feature film race in Hungary, where he scored a breathtaking victory from 11th place. However, the victory also illustrates his downfall – he should never have started from so low on the grid.
Still without pole position in F2, Shwartzman qualified only once on the front row in 2020 and came out of the top 10 on five occasions. Performances like the one in Budapest just don’t happen week after week and Shwartzman gives himself too much to do, too often.
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Even a marginal improvement on Friday could help the Russian significantly – after all, Schumacher won the title without ever qualifying first.
Schumacher and Charles Leclerc both won the F2 title with PREMA as junior Ferraris and the exact same will be expected of Shwartzman this season if he follows them into the F1 seats full time. Second place wasn’t enough to win a Callum Ilott Academy reader in 2020, and the Briton is waiting behind the scenes if Shwartzman’s campaign falls short.
F2 2020 Round 3: Hungary presents the highlights of the race
Christian Lundgaard
The best of tests and another big favorite for the title. There is no doubt about the speed of Christian Lundgaard – the Alpine Junior has it in abundance.
The total dominance shown by the Dane at Mugello last season was not only proof of his abilities, but also provided a glimpse into his mentality. Taking pole, Lundgaard lost the lead in the Feature Race late after a Safety Car overturned the race and snatched the victory from him. But he responded emphatically, winning the Sprint race over Louis Deletraz by a mega 14s.
READ MORE: Lundgaard seeks to benefit from continuity with ART Grand Prix (FIA F2 site)
The question mark surrounding Lundgaard is consistency. There have been too many scoreless finishes in F2 and F3, with a round of five of the last six races ending his title challenge last season.
If the Dane can start delivering more consistently then there is every reason to believe he could win the title. And who knows, there might be a seat waiting for him at Alpine in 2022.
Felipe drugovitch
F1 teams “should watch it,” said Felipe Drugovich’s Callum Ilott after the Brazilian’s Feature Race victory in Bahrain. Despite Ilott’s advice to F1, Drugovich remains unaffiliated as 2021 approaches.
The Brazilian is a bit curious. Finishing 16th in the 2019 Formula 3 Championship, he was a surprising promotion to F2, yet he finished the season with the second most wins.
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There is no doubt that he deserved his chance in one of the fastest teams on the grid, UNI-Virtuosi, but he is still a bit of an underdog. Surprising given his accomplishments with MP last season, where he carried what is normally a three-win midfield car. He also finished the season in scorching form, with four points, including two podiums and one win, in the last four races.
The prospect of seeing the Brazilian line up in title-defying machines is tantalizing, while it will be fascinating to see how he handles the pressure of driving for a top-level team.
Oscar Piastri
Alpine Academy star Oscar Piastri used to win, winning two titles in as many years. The 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup champion – who is led by former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber – did a light job of his time in Formula 3, winning twice and taking six podiums in total to beat Theo Pourchaire at the title.
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Piastri could even compete with his new PREMA teammate Robert Shwartzman as the deadliest passers-by on the grid, running further and further down the pitch several times last year, like Monza, when he dropped from 12th. in third place in the featured race.
He may not have won the title as convincingly as Robert Shwartzman did in 2019, but to have won the crown in his first year is a serious achievement. And he will now have the chance to ride with the 2019 champion as teammates, which should prove to be a fascinating battle.
Formula 3 season 2020: the road to Oscar Piastri’s glory
Theo Pourchaire
The youngest on this list, by far. Pourchaire’s rise on the junior motorsport ladder was swift – so much so that he even exceeded his own expectations.
At the dawn of his fourth single-seater season, the Sauber junior is still only 17 years old, but can already count the French Formula 4 junior title and the ADAC F4 title among his achievements, as well as second place in F3. Last year. .
READ MORE: ‘I know I can be fast, but I have a lot of work to do,’ says Pourchaire as he anticipates tough rookie campaign (FIA F2 site)
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Pourchaire’s F3 rookie campaign wasn’t his race victories either, but his consistency. Finishing out of points just three times – with two coming in his first weekend – he made sure he was consistently putting points on the board. This, linked to an insane streak of five podiums in the last six races, put him close to the title, dropping just three points to Oscar Piastri.
Going full-time in F2 will be much more of a challenge for Pourchaire – who had originally planned to run two seasons in F3 – and it may take a few laps, maybe even half a season, to get up to speed. comfortable, but once he finds his rhythm, he will be quick.
Honorable mentions
Falling in love with the title last season, things didn’t quite go as planned for Guanyu Zhou. Although he managed to score more points and finish a place higher than in 2019, much more was expected of the Alpine Junior, but his challenge for the title just never started. On the eve of his third season at this level, it’s pretty much a winner or busted one. Improving both Christian Lundgaard and Oscar Piastri will be a must if he is to win a chance in F1.
READ MORE: Chinese rising star Guanyu Zhou aims for F1 seat in 2022
Substituting 2019 champion Nyck de Vries at the ART Grand Prix, Marcus Armstrong appeared to have set for the title with two podiums in the first two heats, but things quickly unfolded and he completed six heats without another finish. of points. Moving on to DAMS, the junior Ferrari hopes to be able to regain the form which led him to second place in F3.
After enjoying a four-lap stint with DAMS in 2020, Juri Vips will move to F2 permanently this year with Hitech. Rewind 12 months and the Estonian was actually the favorite among Red Bull juniors for a seat in F1, before seeing Yuki Tsunoda overtake him in the pecking order with a heroic rookie campaign. Given Red Bull’s willingness to promote from within, Vips knows there is a way for him, if he plays.
The F2 season will start on the same weekend as F1, March 26-28, in Bahrain. Don’t want to miss a minute? Subscribe to F1 TV Pro for each live session and visit the F2 official website for more.
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