Formula 1 has always relied on junior categories to feed it with the next generation of drivers, and its teams are eager to snap up the brightest talents within them.
The “old” Formula 2, a ruleset rather than its own separate entity, would sometimes share grids with F1, before a change in regulations made the two their own distinct championships.
The second-tier category was rebranded in 1985 as F3000, as the series switched to a naturally aspirated engine formula and prolonged the life of the Cosworth DFV lineage in the early years. Different engine and chassis suppliers came and went throughout F3000’s lifespan, with the likes of Reynard, Lola, Ralt, and March all producing cars before the championship became a single-spec formula.
When the F3000 championship started to fade away amid reducing interest from teams and a drop in quality on the grid, the second tier was reborn in 2005. Bernie Ecclestone had sought to bring a junior championship onto the F1 undercard and, with Flavio Briatore and Bruno Michel, helped produce the GP2 Series.
GP2 became the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017, but many of the key hallmarks of the series from the early GP2 days have stood the test of time. The GP3 Series, a third-tier category designed to compete with the myriad Formula 3 championships around, joined the F1 bill in 2010 and became FIA Formula 3 in 2019.
There are key differences in the way that F2 is run relative to F1, with subtle variations in format and larger disparities in overall car performance. Here’s a look at the key areas where F1 and F2 contrast.