Which F2 driver deserves an F1 seat? The talent just waiting for a chance

With a maximum of 11 points on offer from Saturday’s sprint and a further 27 available from Saunday’s feature race, Pourchaire would have to have a disastrous weekend to miss out on the F2 title: he needs  just one race win on either day to become uncatchable. But aside from a championship trophy, the feat will come with very little external reward.

After a string of positive performances in Sao Paulo and Las Vegas, Logan Sargeant‘s immediate F1 future looks to be more assured, and a contract extension at Williams more likely. That would see the 2024 grid full, leaving the current field of F2 stars will be forced to spend another year waiting in the wings.

This poses a question for Pourchaire and Vesti especially, as whoever ultimately claims the F2 title will be unable to return to the series next year. It’s a common issue which motor racing has grown accustomed to, with the likes of Felipe Drugovich and Nyck de Vries finding themselves on the F1 sidelines just as they were hoping to build on their F2 success.

That situation may not last for long, because several F1 contracts end ahead of the 2025 season, when a number of seats could open up. Several of the contenders were given a shot in F1 machinery during this weekend’s first practice session, which may help teams to answer the question: which driver deserves their F1 shot the most?

 

Théo Pourchaire

Sauber Driver Academy

Théo Pourchaire is considered by many as an F1-worthy talent. He has finished no lower than fifth in the drivers’ standings since his rookie F2 campaign in 2021 and currently leads the way in 2023 by a 25-point margin. The Frenchman has secured just one feature race victory so far this season, but his consistency is what has ultimately shot him to the top of the standings and will have F1 team bosses keeping a close eye.

Pourchaire is currently a member of the Sauber Driver Academy, making him a perfect candidate to replace Zhou Guanyu or Valtteri Bottas in the years to come, but his chances look slim. Both drivers were confirmed for the 2024 season as Alfa Romeo begins its transition back to Sauber and then into Audi by 2026 — the team wanting to keep “an element of consistency” during a period of change, as stated by team principal Alessandro Alunni Bravi.

While the chance to race for the German car giant in its debut F1 season is an exciting proposition for any driver on the grid, Pourchaire could arguably be a contender — but needs to make a sizeable impression over the next few seasons. He has also not yet been confirmed as Alfa Romeo‘s reserve driver for 2024.

During his FP1 outing at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix for Alfa Romeo, he was the only driver not to set a lap time due to technical issues on his car, but in Abu Dhabi the Frenchman found pace. He finished 14th out of all on-track runners after completing 20-laps on a mixture of tyre compounds — posting a final time quicker than the majority of rookie talent but slower than fellow F2 title contender Vesti. Maybe it’s a sign of things to come this weekend…

 

Frederik Vesti

Mercedes Driver Academy

Second in the current F2 standings and with a shot at the title, Frederik Vesti has often been the class of the field throughout the 2023 campaign, with feature race wins in Jeddah and Monaco. But if he conquers F2, it’s not clear where he goes next. As part of the Mercedes Driver Academy, his options could be limited.

If he is successful in claiming the 2023 F2 title over Pourchaire, Vesti will most likely be moved into a reserve role alongside Mick Schumacher — the pair then becoming competitors for open seats around the grid. With more teams’ driver line-ups leaning towards experience over youth, Schumacher would likely be the better option for most, leaving Vesti on the sidelines and unable to return to F2.

But the Dane’s performance during his latest FP1 outing for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi turned heads. Not only was he the fastest of the F2 drivers participating in the session, for a time he was also the second-fastest runner over all. He was still a whole seven-tenths off the pace of George Russell — who topped the timesheets — but he’s got more than enough time to work on closing the deficit before a realistic shot at an F1 seat comes along.

 

Ollie Bearman

Ferrari Driver Academy

At just 18 years old, Oliver Bearman is arguably the greatest prospect the current F2 grid has to offer. Showing talent beyond his years, the Briton has scored impressive victories in Baku, Spain and Monza and sits sixth in the drivers’ standings — all achieved under the watchful eye of the Ferrari Driver Academy in his first F2 campaign.

An impressive first FP1 outing in Mexico City for Haas continued to spark interest around the young Prema driver, who set a faster pace than Fernando Alonso. In Abu Dhabi, he finished 1.4sec off the pace of George Russell’s Mercedes — in a Haas. But even with a seat in Maranello off the table, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has confirmed that many more F1 weekend appearances are in store.

“We have three tests during the winter,” said Vasseur. “It means that it’s quite difficult to adapt to the F1 [car] and the rookies [are] not always successful.

“We have to prepare in advance and it’s why we give him two FP1s this season with us and, probably, much more next year, and we will prepare him for the future. So far, he’s doing a very good job in the junior series but we know that it’s a long way.”

On an F2 grid filled with talent which has been flourishing since 2021, teams could be more inclined to choose the likes of Drugovich and Pourchaire should a seat become available — unless of course, Bearman’s F2 performances become too good to ignore.

 

Ayumu Iwasa

Red Bull Driver Academy

After numerous victories and podium appearances over the past two seasons in F2, Ayumu Iwasa is an increasingly promising member of the illustrious yet cut-throat Red Bull Driver Academy. In 2023 alone, the Japanese driver has scored a feature race win in Melbourne, alongside sprint race wins in Jeddah and Monaco.

Competition to step up to the next level is fierce though. With four drivers split between two cars on the grid, Red Bull and AlphaTauri have more options when it comes to appointing driver line-ups, and have earned a reputation for quickly promoting prospective talents and demoting them just as fast.

In 2024, there are arguably four drivers looking to prove themselves: Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson fighting for their futures at AlphaTauri, while Sergio Perez is under pressure after a underwhelming campaign with Red Bull in 2023.

As much as he may deserve a chance to prove himself at the next level, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Iwasa fits in amongst the chaos. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has admitted that he is “ready for Formula 1” should the team require his services — the Japanese driver was briefly considered to replace Nyck de Vries — but will more likely be forced into a reserve role should he win an F2 title in the next two seasons. At 22 years old, he’s got some time to spare.

 

Jack Doohan

Alpine Driver Academy

As the son of five-time MotoGP title winner, Mick Doohan, similar success could be expected of Alpine‘s Jack Doohan in the years to come; the 20-year-old is in the midst of an impressive second season in F2. The Aussie is currently 53 points shy of title leader Pourchaire after securing impressive feature race wins in Budapest and Belgium, while enjoying his reserve driver role under Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

Although the French pairing is unlikely to be broken up anytime soon, Doohan’s impressive pace among other prospective rookies during his latest FP1 outing in Abu Dhabi was an indication of his bright future. The Aussie finished 0.05sec shy of Vesti’s best time in a Mercedes and showed experience and reflex beyond his years to avoid a high-speed collision with Logan Sargeant. Perhaps, in the years to come, Doohan may be one of the names in contention for the American’s seat.

Ahead of his departure from the team after the 2023 Belgian GP, former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer said: “He is really, really good. He is very professional for a young man, and he works hard, he prepares himself well. He drives within himself too… so, he’s got great potential.”

“His goal should be to win an F2 championship.”

Achieving such a feat over the next two seasons would almost certainly catapult Doohan’s name among many F1 prospects, but much like Bearman, time is very much on his side.

 

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Who else could be considered for an F1 seat? 

 

Felipe Drugovich

Aston Martin Driver Academy

While Max Verstappen dominated the F1 season in 2022, Felipe Drugovich was his F2 equivalent: scoring four feature race victories across the season and claiming the title with a race to spare by an impressive 101-point margin. The young Brazilian had shown significant improvement over his first two seasons in the junior series — having finished a distant ninth in 2020 and eighth in 2021 — but when his time to shine at the front finally came, Drugovich was left with no real reward.

While he added a championship trophy to the mantlepiece, the F1 field instead chose Logan Sargeant as the only driver to be promoted into the top ranks. Drugovich was picked up by Aston Martin, who made him the first member of its new driver academy while taking on the reserve driver role for the 2023 F1 season. For someone of his talent and skillset, it was likely a bitter pill to swallow.

Testing and FP1 outings have kept the Brazilian’s skills sharp in the meantime, most recently finishing an impressive second during FP1 in Abu Dhabi — temporary team-mate Lance Stroll finishing three-tenths behind him. But although the Canadian’s performance has been lacklustre when compared to team-mate Fernando Alonso, it’s unlikely Drugovich will get the call up to a full-time seat anytime soon as Stroll’s father Lawrence remains in command.

Instead, he will be forced to look elsewhere — possibly as a replacement for Sargeant at Williams — or wait patiently until Alonso or Stroll decide to move aside.

 

Liam Lawson

Red Bull Driver Academy

After stepping up to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo at the 2023 Dutch GP, Liam Lawson has undoubtedly impressed during his first F1 outings for AlphaTauri — finishing 13th on debut in Zandvoort, 11th in Monza, 9th in Singapore and 11th again in Japan. The performances were marked as “outstanding” by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, as the New Zealander consistently bested his temporary team-mate Yuki Tsunoda and gained considerable standing in the F1 paddock.

But when it came time for AlphaTauri to announce its 2024 driver line-up, it elected to stay the course — retaining Tsunoda and Ricciardo and returning Lawson to his reserve driver role.

His long-term membership of the Red Bull Driver Academy has seen Lawson compete in several categories while delivering mixed results — winning on debut in every single-seater category he had entered but failing to deliver a drivers’ title in F2 or F3. He is now pressing his case with his most recent performances in the Japanese Super Formula, where he is in title contention, and more importantly, F1.

Rumours of a guaranteed seat for 2025 have begun to circulate, as the futures of Tsunoda, Ricciardo and Perez are all thrown into question, but for the time being, he will be forced to play the waiting game. “I’m a Red Bull driver,” he said. “All the Red Bull seats are filled and unfortunately for me that means that, for now, I’ll be reserve driver.”

 

IndyCar Stars

Alongside those racing in F2, there could also be opportunities for drivers in other categories to make the F1 leap.

IndyCar star and 2023 title winner Alex Palou was heavily linked with a move to McLaren before his agreement with the team broke down, leaving him with the Chip Ganassi Racing Team for the foreseeable future. With its F1 driver line-up secured until at least 2025 — Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris signing long-term deals — the Woking-marque now turn to Pato O’Ward for testing and reserve driver duties.

The young Mexican was impressive throughout the 2023 IndyCar campaign, ultimately finishing fourth in the drivers’ standings and earning enough super licence points to grant him a chance at an F1 seat. McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed that O’Ward will be testing with the McLaren F1 team in the coming months, and ahead of the Abu Dhabi race weekend, he was announced as the teams official reserve driver for 2024. The news was followed by a solid FP1 outing, where he finished 15th while posting similar times to some of F2’s stars.

Similarly, Colton Herta could also become an option, should his IndyCar performances improve.

The rise of prominent female drivers could also give teams a chance to make history, by selecting from an every-improving pool of talent to become only F1’s sixth female F1 driver. Jamie Chadwick is the most obvious candidate after dominant performances in the W-Series from 2019-2021 and subsequent promising drives in the IndyNXT series. More recently, Aston Martin’s Jessica Hawkins became the first woman to test drive an F1 car since 2018 — piloting the AMR21 in a private test at the Hungaroring — highlighting herself as a future prospect.