{"id":11972,"date":"2022-10-21T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=11972"},"modified":"2022-11-28T18:38:56","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T23:38:56","slug":"2023-f2-driver-lineup-bearman-to-prema-leclerc-to-dams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/10\/21\/2023-f2-driver-lineup-bearman-to-prema-leclerc-to-dams\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 F2 Driver Lineup: Bearman to PREMA? Leclerc to DAMS?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Formula 3 drivers Ollie Bearman and Arthur Leclerc will potentially be the latest additions to the F2 Driver Lineup for 2023.<\/h3>\n<p>According to French magazine<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autohebdo.fr\/actualites\/monoplace\/formule-2\/f2-qui-roulera-ou-lannee-prochaine-nos-infos-sur-la-grille-2023.html#\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> AUTOhebdo<\/a>, Formula 3 rookie Ollie (Oliver) Bearman and Arthur Leclerc will be the third and fourth drivers joining Formula 2 for the 2023 season. Previously, fellow rookie <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/09\/14\/f3-rookie-set-to-join-formula-2-for-the-2023-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Isack Hadjar<\/a>\u00a0and fellow PREMA teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/09\/13\/f3-red-bull-racing-jak-crawford-announced-hell-be-joining-formula-2-next-year\/\" target=\"_self\">Jak Crawford<\/a> announced their intentions. Bearman is expected to continue racing for PREMA in F2, while Leclerc could be heading to DAMS, replacing Roy Nissany.<\/p>\n<h3>Bearman to PREMA?<\/h3>\n<p>The seventeen-year-old Brit made a name for himself this past season finishing third in the championship, just seven points behind <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/09\/15\/formula-3-champion-who-is-victor-martins\/\" target=\"_self\">Victor Martins<\/a>. Bearman&#8217;s season saw him earn one win and eight podiums. However, during the controversial season finale at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/09\/08\/f3-5-battles-to-watch-the-season-finale-at-monza\/\" target=\"_self\">Monza<\/a>, Bearman found himself P2 and battling for the lead before a red flag heartbreakingly ended his efforts. Martins was crowned champion in the pits as a result.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">PODIUM vibes \ud83e\udd29\ud83d\udc4a<\/p>\n<p>Bravo <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OllieBearman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@OllieBearman<\/a>! \ud83d\ude4c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FDA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#FDA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AustrianGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#AustrianGP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F3<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rNNA31SjHF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/rNNA31SjHF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy (@insideFDA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/insideFDA\/status\/1546082188080414727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>PREMA&#8217;s 2022 lineup saw Bearman join Leclerc and Crawford, both of whom were in their second season. However, Bearman didn&#8217;t let his rookie status faze him as he consistently found himself out-scoring both of them. Over the course of the season, Bearman found himself prone to time penalties, particularly track limits. Bearman has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiaformula3.com\/Latest\/6evJdoM3bHnMYe5sOJN8BD\/evolving-from-rookie-to-title-protagonist-now-oliver-bearmans-coming-of-age\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">admitted<\/a> that these mistakes were the reason he was unable to win the title.<\/p>\n<p>Reports indicate that Bearman will team up with Mercedes Academy driver Frederick Vesti, who already has a year in Formula 2. With Bearman finishing the 2022 season on top form, can he keep that momentum in 2023?<\/p>\n<h3>Arthur Leclerc to DAMS?<\/h3>\n<p>The 22-year-old Monegasque driver finished sixth in the F3 championship, taking one win and two podiums. Leclerc found himself in the championship fight, along with eventual champion <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/09\/15\/formula-3-champion-who-is-victor-martins\/\" target=\"_self\">Victor Martins,<\/a> for a while before a string of costly errors saw him drop down to sixth behind his teammate Bearman.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his two seasons in F3, Leclerc built a reputation for his overtaking ability, a skill that was essential as he tried to rectify his poor qualifying performances.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Arthur Leclerc made up 11 positions to secure P2 \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n<p>No surprise <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Charles_Leclerc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Charles_Leclerc<\/a> was there to cheer him on! \ud83d\ude06<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BahrainGP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BahrainGP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F3<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/itlHEZDLx5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/itlHEZDLx5<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Formula 3 (@Formula3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Formula3\/status\/1505479852366962688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Leclerc is the younger brother to Ferrari star <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2022\/05\/21\/charles-leclerc-on-pole-in-spain-as-aston-martin-woes-continue\/\" target=\"_self\">Charles Leclerc<\/a>, and, following his brother, joined the Ferrari Drivers Academy (FDA) in 2020. Many fans have speculated that Leclerc&#8217;s familial connections are a primary reason he could land a Formula 2 seat.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Leclerc&#8217;s up-and-down performance, it is evident he has talent. As he proved when he became the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Champion (FRAC) driving for PREMA Racing. All three of PREMA&#8217;s 2022 Formula 3 drivers could be graduating to the next level. However, Leclerc&#8217;s seat only looks guaranteed if DAMS driver Roy Nissany fails to secure a seat.<\/p>\n<h3>Hadjar &amp; Crawford teammates at Hitech?<\/h3>\n<p>AUTOhebo is also reporting that Formula 3 competitors Hadjar and Crawford will be teammates in Formula 2. Both have apparently signed for Hitech Grand Prix, the team that Hadjar raced for in 2022 in F3.<\/p>\n<h3>2023 F2 Driver Lineup:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>PREMA Racing: <\/strong><em>Ollie Bearman &amp; Frederick Vesti<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Hitech Grand Prix: <\/strong><em>Jak Crawford &amp; Isack Hadjar<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Italics indicate reported lineups that have yet to be confirmed by the team.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Formula 3 drivers Ollie Bearman and Arthur Leclerc will potentially be the latest additions to the F2 Driver Lineup for 2023. According to French magazine AUTOhebdo, Formula 3 rookie Ollie (Oliver) Bearman and Arthur Leclerc will be the third and fourth drivers joining Formula 2 for the 2023 season. Previously, fellow rookie Isack Hadjar\u00a0and fellow [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4286,"featured_media":11986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,544,1746],"tags":[1749,445,548,1750,1775,112,1751],"class_list":["post-11972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-formula-2","category-formula-3","tag-arthur-leclerc","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-dams","tag-isack-hadjar","tag-ollie-bearman","tag-prema-racing","tag-victor-martins"],"modified_by":"Nathan Reynolds","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4286"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}