The last race of the F2 season and there remains still plenty to fight for right down to the last lap.
F2 arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit for the season finale. Despite the Drivers’ Championship being wrapped up last time out in Monza, there are still plenty of other fights happening throughout the grid. There is also the small matter of driver pride on the line.
With many still fighting for a seat for next season, the Teams’ Championship to play for, the battle for Rookie of the Year, and an F1 seat still to be confirmed. The weekend should have plenty of action to look forward to and will be far from a damp squib!
What’s Still To Play For
2023 Seats
If you’ve been following our recent coverage of the F1 feeder series then you’ll know many seats still remain available for next year. Fatima Ahmed has been keeping everyone up to date with who’s been moving where in both F2 and F3.
One of the most exciting confirmations is, Ferrari-backed, Ollie Bearman making the step up to F2 after such a strong year in F3. Those drivers on the grid without a seat will be desperate to impress. And those teams without confirmed lineups will be out there window shopping. Expect many more announcements after this weekend, so keep an eye on our socials to see who goes where!
Team’s Championship
MP Motorsport and ART Grand Prix sit level on points at the top of the championship. Carlin is nibbling at their heels and mathematically PREMA are still in with a shout.
We’ve got a teams’ title battle to bring to a conclusion ⚔️#AbuDhabiGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/9BaSrZ7FIj
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 17, 2022
The last two races will decide who walks away as the top team. As a lot of the drivers have nothing to race other than pride, expect all their effort to go into the team game. We could have team orders, last-ditch moves and everything in between as this battle goes down to the wire.
Top Rookie
Obviously, every driver wants to top the standings but this year with that decided the next best thing is Rookie of the Year. Winning the Anthoine Hubert Award is an honor for any F2 driver and six are in contention.
Logan Sargeant is leading the way with a 9-point lead and potentially has more riding on this than anyone else. His future could depend on his results this weekend and so expect him to be ‘elbows out’ fighting for any position.
Level on points behind him is Jack Doohan and Enzo Fittipaldi. After some recently impressive results and even an F1 practice session with Alpine, this writer’s pick is Jack Doohan to finish the season on top.
Logan Sargeant
Sargeant has already been announced as the expected second Williams F1 driver for next year. However, this is pending him receiving a Super Licence. To drive in F1, a driver needs to earn 40 points in a 3-year period. As it stands, and there is a little debate on the exact points needed for Sargeant, if he finishes 6th or higher in the Championship he will be in F1 next year.
That means Sargeant has a 9-point buffer to the three drivers tied on points behind him. Any slight issue could end his chance in F1 if others drive well which is why I expect some feisty racing from the American. Sargeant has driven several F1 practice sessions and will hopefully get more points for a clean F2 season. However, these ‘bonus’ points are a little complex to be sure of so he will be gunning to leave no doubt and finish as high as possible.
The Circuit – Yas Marina
One of the newer generation circuits and the finale of the F1, and this year F2, season. Constructed in 2009 the original 5.554 Km layout was amended to 5.281 km in 2021. I’m sure everyone remembers what happened last year!
It is not always the most loved track with the layout not always the best at overtaking. With last year’s changes and with F2 drivers having something on the line, you can still expect plenty of action. If the weather forecast is accurate, and it usually is for Abu Dhabi, expect a fully dry weekend.
Feature Race Predictions
The title battle is decided and a lot of people would expect Drugovich to relax a little. I am actually of the opinion that this weekend, with his new position at Aston Martin, he will be desperate to lay a marker down about his ability.
Therefore, I’m going to say Drugovich will take another win. Behind him, I think Doohan will be fighting all the way and will jump in the standings but I think Sargeant will do enough to get his Super Licence.
Podium
- Felipe Drugovich
- Jack Doohan
- Theo Pourchaire
F2 Championship Standings
The standings show just how close some of the fights still are in the championships.
Drivers
- Felipe Drugovich – 241 points
- Theo Pourchaire – 164 points
- Logan Sargeant – 135 points
- Jack Doohan – 126 points
Teams
- MP Motorsport – 281 points
- ART Grand Prix – 281 points
- Carlin – 258 points
- PREMA Racing – 224 points
How to Watch F2 – EDT & GMT
- Practice 11/18 – 2:35 AM on ESPN3 (7:35 AM Sky Sports F1)
- Qualifying 11/18 – 6:30 AM on ESPN3 (11:25 AM Sky Sports F1)
- Sprint Race 11/19 – 7:20 AM on ESPN3 (12:15 PM Sky Sports F1)
- Feature Race 11/20 – 4:00 AM on ESPN3 (8:55 AM Sky Sports F1)
