2022 Formula 2 Championship

After having ended their commitment in FIA Formula 3 beforehand, HWA Racelab ended their Formula 2 operations at the end of the 2021 season.[4] Van Amersfoort Racing joined the series, taking over their entry.[5]

Prema Racing compete with a new driver lineup; reigning Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri signed as a reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team and his teammate, Robert Shwartzman, exited after two years in the series to become a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari.[6][7][8] They were replaced by reigning FIA Formula 3 champion Dennis Hauger and fellow Red Bull Junior Team driver Jehan Daruvala, who switched from Carlin.[9]

Virtuosi Racing's Zhou Guanyu left the team and the series after three years to graduate to Formula One with Alfa Romeo Racing.[10] Felipe Drugovich also left the team to rejoin MP Motorsport, with whom he had raced in 2020. Their seats were filled by Marino Sato, who switched from Trident, and FIA Formula 3 runner-up and new Alpine Academy driver Jack Doohan, who contested the final two rounds of Formula 2 in the previous season with MP Motorsport.[11]

Carlin driver Dan Ticktum left the series to join NIO 333 in Formula E.[12] Carlin hired Red Bull junior and former Hitech Grand Prix driver Liam Lawson alongside FIA Formula 3 graduate and Williams Driver Academy member Logan Sargeant – who contested the penultimate round of Formula 2 in 2021 with HWA Racelab – to replace Ticktum and the departing Jehan Daruvala.[13] [14]

Hitech Grand Prix signed DAMS departee Marcus Armstrong, who left the Ferrari Driver Academy, to replace Liam Lawson.[15]

ART Grand Prix driver Christian Lundgaard left the team and the series after two seasons to join the IndyCar Series, racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.[16] He was replaced by FIA Formula 3 graduate and Mercedes Junior Team member Frederik Vesti.[17]

MP Motorsport partnered Felipe Drugovich with Clément Novalak, who replaced Lirim Zendeli at the team for the final two rounds in 2021 after finishing third in FIA Formula 3.[18]

Campos Racing hired new Alpine Academy member Olli Caldwell, who already competed with the team in the last two rounds of the 2021 season, on a full-time contract.[19]

DAMS signed Red Bull junior and FIA Formula 3 graduate Ayumu Iwasa, who joined Roy Nissany and replaced the departing Marcus Armstrong.[20]

Trident hired FIA Formula 3 graduate Calan Williams and Richard Verschoor, who had competed in the previous Formula 2 season with MP Motorsport and Charouz Racing System. They replaced Virtuosi-bound Marino Sato and Bent Viscaal, who left the championship to drive in the European Le Mans Series.[21][22]

Charouz Racing System signed former Formula One eSports competitor and Euroformula Open graduate Cem Bölükbaşı to replace Guilherme Samaia alongside Enzo Fittipaldi.[23][24]

New entrant Van Amersfoort Racing signed Jake Hughes, who joined the category full-time after making temporary appearances with HWA Racelab in 2020 and 2021.[25] He was partnered by Amaury Cordeel, graduating from FIA Formula 3 after a single season in which he came 23rd.[26]

Charouz Racing System driver Cem Bölükbaşı was ruled out of the third round at the Imola Circuit with a fractured rib.[27] He was replaced by David Beckmann, who previously raced for the team during the first half of the 2021 championship.[28]

The championship returned to a two-race format for its race weekends, after coming under criticism during the 2021 season that the gaps between the rounds were far too large.[30]

• The Imola Circuit will feature on the calendar; the first time it has appeared on the F2 schedule.
• The Circuit Zandvoort will also feature on the calendar after it was cancelled in 2020 and not included in 2021.
• The Barcelona, Red Bull Ring, Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps rounds return after being initially dropped in 2021.
• The Sochi Autodrom was due to host a round on 24–25 September, but it was suspended in late February due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.[31] It was eventually cancelled the following week along with the Russian Grand Prix.[32]

The championship has a reprofiled scoring format. The points for pole position and fastest lap were each cut in half; now awarding 2 points for pole, and 1 for the fastest lap in each race. The sprint race points were changed significantly, with 10 points being awarded for the winner, 8 points for 2nd, then 6 for 3rd, and it descends all the way to 1 point for 8th. Changes were also applied for Formula 1's other feeder series, the FIA Formula 3 Championship.[33]

The season began at the Bahrain International Circuit, where Jack Doohan set the fastest time in qualifying to take pole position for the feature race.[34] Tenth-place qualifier Felipe Drugovich started the sprint race from reverse-grid pole position,[35] but dropped places at the start, allowing Richard Verschoor to take the lead. The race was briefly interrupted by a safety car as Marcus Armstrong stalled on track after being spun around by Jake Hughes. Verschoor maintained his lead to take Trident's first FIA Formula 2 race victory.

Pole-sitter Doohan lost the lead of the feature race to Jüri Vips at the start, but a slow pit stop later caused Vips to lose places. As Doohan left the pits after his stop, his front wing clipped Théo Pourchaire and broke, forcing him to stop again for a replacement. Pourchaire took the lead after every driver had pitted. A late-race safety car caused by a collision between Verschoor and Enzo Fittipaldi prompted some drivers to make extra pit stops. Dennis Hauger and Calan Williams were prematurely released from their pit boxes, causing both drivers to have a wheel detach and roll down the pit lane. Pourchaire held his lead at the restart to claim victory and the lead of the championship after the first round, one point ahead of Liam Lawson.

Felipe Drugovich took feature race pole position at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, whilst an engine failure for championship leader Pourchaire caused him to qualify 21st. Dennis Hauger started the sprint race from pole position. The race was twice interrupted by a safety car, firstly after Amaury Cordeel crashed and secondly when Jack Doohan and Logan Sargeant collided as the race restarted. Drivers were initially ordered to follow the safety car through the pit lane, however the pit lane was closed shortly after as the two stricken cars were located at the pit entry. Amidst the confusion, race leader Hauger was the only driver to enter the pits, losing his lead and later receiving a penalty for entering the pit lane when closed. Calan Williams led the race at the restart but was soon passed by Jake Hughes, who was himself then overtaken by Liam Lawson for the race victory.

Championship leader Lawson was running in third place in the feature race before the pit stops, but a loose wheel forced him into retirement. Drugovich won the race from pole position to take his fourth Formula 2 race win. Jehan Daruvala finished on the podium having started the race fourteenth. At the conclusion of the round, Drugovich led the drivers' championship by 11 points over Lawson.

Jüri Vips set the fastest qualifying time at the Imola Circuit and Logan Sargeant took pole position for the sprint race. A poor start from Sargeant dropped him to fifth at the first corner, allowing Marcus Armstrong into the lead. The safety car was then briefly deployed to recover David Beckmann's car, which had spun. Armstrong held his lead for the remainder of the race to claim his second Formula 2 victory, followed by Jehan Daruvala in second and Dennis Hauger third with his first Formula 2 podium finish.

Pole-sitter Vips dropped to fourth place at the start of the feature race whilst Roy Nissany passed five cars to take the lead at the first corner. Meanwhile, a start-line collision between Jack Doohan and Dennis Hauger resulted in a safety car period to recover Hauger's car. The safety car was deployed again on lap six when Vips spun and crashed. This allowed drivers who started the race on super-soft compound tyres to pit for medium tyres and gain a time advantage. Nissany remained in the lead of this group of cars until he crashed on lap 21, after which Théo Pourchaire led the group. The race ended under safety car conditions as Liam Lawson crashed with three laps remaining. Felipe Drugovich was the final car to make a pit stop on the penultimate lap, allowing Pourchaire into the lead to take his second victory of the season. Enzo Fittipaldi finished second having started fifteenth. At the end of the round, Pourchaire led the championship by two points over Drugovich.

Points are awarded to the top eight classified finishers in the Sprint race, and to the top ten classified finishers in the Feature race. The pole-sitter in the feature race also receives two points, and one point is given to the driver who sets the fastest lap in both the feature and sprint races if that driver finishes inside the top ten. No point is awarded if the fastest lap time is achieved by a driver who is classified outside the top ten. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race as the grid for it is set by reversing the top ten qualifiers.

Sprint race points

Points are awarded to the top eight classified finishers, excluding the fastest lap point which is given to the top ten classified finishers.

Feature race points

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers. Bonus points are awarded to the pole-sitter and to the driver who sets the fastest lap and finished in the top ten.

Pos. Driver BHR JDH IMO CAT MON BAK SIL RBR HUN SPA ZAN MNZ YMC Points SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR 1 Théo Pourchaire Ret 1 13 Ret 7 1 52 2 Felipe Drugovich 5 6 3 1 5 10 50 3 Jehan Daruvala 2 12 7 3 2 9 36 4 Liam Lawson 3 2 1 Ret 8 Ret 35 5 Richard Verschoor 1 Ret 5 2 13 14 32 6 Ralph Boschung 4 4 15 15 Ret 3 32 7 Marcus Armstrong Ret 5 Ret 5 1 16 30 8 Jüri Vips 7 3 2 10 15 Ret 30 9 Ayumu Iwasa 8 16 6 7 9 5 20 10 Enzo Fittipaldi 11 13 10 11 12 2 18 11 Logan Sargeant 6 7 Ret 12 6 7 18 12 Dennis Hauger 9 19† 16 6 3 Ret 14 13 Jake Hughes Ret 9 DSQ 4 18 12 14 14 Roy Nissany 12 8 9 8 4 Ret 13 15 Clément Novalak 18 Ret 11 14 19 4 12 16 Frederik Vesti 13 Ret 12 18† 10 6 8 17 Jack Doohan 10 10 Ret 9 11 Ret 6 18 Calan Williams 15 18† 4 13 14 15 5 19 David Beckmann Ret 8 4 20 Marino Sato 16 11 8 17 16 11 1 21 Olli Caldwell 19† 17 14 16 17 13 0 22 Cem Bölükbaşı 14 14 WD WD 0 23 Amaury Cordeel 17 15 Ret WD DNS 17 0 Pos. Driver SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR SR FR Points BHR JDH IMO CAT MON BAK SIL RBR HUN SPA ZAN MNZ YMC

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Did not enter (cell empty) Text formatting Meaning Bold Pole position Italics Fastest lap

Notes:

• † – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.