Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Round nine of the FIA Formula 2 world championship at Hungary gave us a 14th different race winner, in the form of Richard Verschoor first, before the Trident racer was disqualified for his car being underweight on scrutineering, handing the win to Invicta Racing's Kush Maini. With the Dutch driver taking a podium the following day, it meant 19 drivers had stepped on a Formula 2 podium this year.
It's safe to say the new era featuring the ground effect Formula 2 cars have been a resounding success for the sport, with so many drivers finding themselves on the rostrum this year. As many as 14 different race winners means this season goes down as one of the best so far, atleast in the statistics.
Zane Maloney became our first winner this year, the Rodin racer winning both the sprint and feature race at Formula 2's opening weekend in Bahrain, before a Richard Verschoor disqualification handed the victory to MP Motorsport's Dennis Hauger at Jeddah's sprint event.
VAR racer Enzo Fittipaldi had converted fifth on the grid into victory in the feature event on Sunday, finishing ahead of pole-sitter Maini on the road.
Melbourne saw two more new faces on the winner's step, as Verschoor's teammate Roman Stanek took victory in the sprint, while championship leader Isack Hadjar won his first race of the season in Sunday's feature race.
Imola saw a talented Williams junior named Franco Colapinto take to the top step of the podium in the sprint, denying Paul Aron victory with a last-lap pass into the Tamburello chicane. Hadjar won the feature race once again, this time from Gabriel Bortoleto.
Monaco saw underdogs step up to the fore, with AIX Racing and Taylor Barnard clinching the sprint event, while Zak O'Sullivan and ART Grand Prix gambled in the land of the famous casino and played their cards right, taking a shock victory in the feature race.
Two more names were added to the list in Barcelona, as Victor Martins converted a front row start in the sprint to victory, while DAMS had their moment in the sun as Jak Crawford took a special victory in the feature race.
Austria witnessed two more names take the centrestage, with highly-touted Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman winning out in the sprint, while Bortoleto finally got to taste victory in Formula 2 in the feature race on Sunday.
Another highly rated talent became a race winner in the following round at Silverstone, as Prema's Andrea Kimi Antonelli took victory in a rain-affected sprint, while Hadjar took a decisive third feature race win on Sunday.
The 14th name to win this season was Bortoleto's teammate Kush Maini, who inherited the win after another first-time winner in 2024, Verschoor was dealt a major blow after being disqualified. Antonelli won the feature race on Sunday with a drive to remember.
Five others have podiumed this year but not won a race: The aforementioned Verschoor, along with the likes of championship contender Paul Aron, DAMS racer Juan Manuel Correa, Hadjar's teammate Pepe Marti, and AIX Racing's Joshua Durksen.
Three drivers are yet to finish on the podium this year: VAR racer Rafael Villagomez, Aron's teammate Amaury Cordeel, and Maloney's Rodin teammate, reigning Super Formula champion Ritomo Miyata.
With 14 winners and 19 of the 22 on the grid having a podium on their name, it only highlights the sheer competition in the series, and how hard it is for drivers to string together a run of multiple podiums easily. They will need to be at their best to capitalise on opportunities handed to them and score the big points.
The sprint podium finishers had their thoughts to share on this statistic brought to their notice, with sprint race winner Verschoor added to the list, albeit for the time being on Saturday:
"It feels good to be added to the list (of podium finishers), finally. The level of F2 is very, very high; I think there's many on the grid that can do well even if they get a chance in Formula One," Verschoor spoke highly of his peers during the press conference.
"Not everyone can be in F1, and the level (of competitiveness) is very, very high," Verschoor reinstated. "If you give a lot of drivers a good car, they can win the race, which is normal," the Dutchman spoke.
The Trident veteran then draws a comparison between football and motorsport, highlighting the instance of fewer opportunities in the higher echelons of single-seater Formula racing.
"Even in F3 next year, there will be many, many good drivers. I always make a comparison, in football, you have many teams in football with many players, but in Formula One, you have only 20 (seats), Formula 2, 22 (seats), and Formula 3, 30 (seats). There are many good drivers there (in F3) that can do a good job," Verschoor responded.
The spotlight then shifted to our most recent winner, Maini, who highlighted the competitiveness in the standings, more so in the context of ultra-competitive qualifying sessions.
"Yeah, exactly, it is a super competitive championship, you know. Even in quali (qualifying), I make a slight mistake, which is tiny, but it will cost you because the field is so close," the Indian driver said.
"Like Richard (Verschoor) said, the front-running drivers in the championship can jump into Formula One and do a good job. Everyone is not going to get this chance (Formula One), but it's a pleasure racing these drivers, because I'm growing as a driver," Maini concludes, speaking on his personal growth as a racer too.
Martins is the final driver to have his say on the close nature of the grid, talking of the finer details often costing the drivers the most.
"Yeah, as they (Verschoor and Maini) said it too, the competitiveness of this year is massive. I think the small mistakes you do is taking a lot of positions out in qualifying and the race. Even the smaller details, if you don't do it well, you pay the price than (what I've seen) in the years before.
"It's good, you know, because it's pushing you to the limit every time, it's pushing the teams to the limit too, and with the new car, the field has changed a bit, and it's put a bit of mix everywhere, which is nice to see."
As a racer himself, Martins believes he wants to be on the top step of the podium always, but highlights how the competitiveness helps him improve as a driver.
"When you speak of yourself, it's always good to be on the top (of the podium) there, and winning. But, of course, it's good to grow as a human and a driver, and be ready for Formula One, one day," the Frenchman concludes.
The sprint win helped Maini firm his place in the top ten, while Martins edged ever closer towards the fringes of the top ten with another second place in the feature race on Sunday. As for Verschoor, he made up for the events of Saturday in some way, with a fine drive on the alternate strategy to finish on the podium, elevating himself to 15th in the standings.
Even still, there's no doubt the drivers will have to scrap ever harder to earn their positions on the podium, and this will get even harder as the season wears on, and heads into the final stretch of flyaway races for the season.
Formula 2 heads to the mighty Spa-Francorchamps this weekend to round out five race weekends in six races, with the championship evenly poised as ever, and an intriguing wait to see if we get another race winner, and who enters the much-awaited summer break on a high.
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