2022 F2: The Mid-Season Rookie Round-Up

Following the exciting closure of round 8 of the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship in Spielberg last weekend, we are now just past the half-way point of the season meaning that a summary of how the latest rookie class have got on in their first eight races is fairly due.

Just like last season which saw Oscar Piastri triumph in his first season in F2, the rookies have been well within the fight and account for six of the possible sixteen race wins so far.

With Hitech Grand Prix being the exception, every other team has fielded at least one rookie in their 2022 line-up with Logan Sargeant sitting in second place and being the highest placed driver in the standings. He is the first driver we’ll take a look at:

#6 – Logan Sargeant (Carlin)

Current Championship Position: 2nd

The Williams junior is having an extremely solid rookie season and has two Feature Race wins to prove it. He has been one of the most consistent drivers on the grid since the start of the season, only finishing outside of the points three times which includes one DNF.

The American Carlin rookie has featured on the podium in his last three Feature Race’s, with these results kickstarting his campaign which could see him on his way to a championship push in the final leg of the season.

He currently sits thirty-nine points behind the championship leader Felipe Drugovich who is leading comfortably, but there is still plenty of time until the end of the season to see things turn around.

#1 – Dennis Hauger (PREMA Racing)

Current Championship Position: 7th

The 2021 FIA Formula 3 champion had a difficult start to the season which he has turned around with some very good results as the season has progressed. A Feature Race win in Baku stands out as the main highlight with a Sprint Race win in Monaco being up there as well.

The Norwegian rookie has been fairly unlucky on track, resulting in three DNF’s across the sixteen races and it wasn’t until his fourth race of the season where Hauger scored his first points finish.

While he has shown glimpses of his undeniable talent throughout the year, the Red Bull junior will be hoping for a string of more consistent results in the final seven rounds.

#3 – Jack Doohan (Virtuosi Racing)

Current Championship Position: 9th

After taking the first pole position of the season in Sakhir, it looked as if Jack Doohan would be a hot favourite for the championship crown heading into the first round.

However, luck hasn’t been on the young Australian’s side with some on track clashes resulting in Doohan missing out on a lot of big points hauls.

His first F2 win came at Silverstone in a soggy Sprint Race where the Alpine junior showed his class in the tricky conditions. He was easily the fastest man on the track on that day and when it is his day, Doohan is a very difficult man to beat.

#9 – Frederik Vesti (ART Grand Prix)

Current Championship Position: 11th

Coming off the back of two season’s in F3, Vesti had a difficult first few rounds with his first points finish coming on Imola’s Feature Race. He seemed to have struggled with getting up to speed in the Dallara F2/18 but his recent results have thrown that completely out the window.

A podium finish in the Barcelona Sprint Race was followed up by a Sprint Race win a few rounds later in Baku, showing clearly that the Mercedes rookie has made some good progress since the start of the year.

He then followed that up with his first pole position in F2 at Spielberg where he was unfortunate to choose the wrong strategy in the wet-to-dry Feature Race which dropped him down the order.

#17 – Ayumu Iwasa (DAMS)

Current Championship Position: 13th

After spinning out on the first corner of Qualifying in Sakhir, the Japanese driver put on an overtaking clinic in Bahrain and was unfortunate not to finish higher due to a late safety car which flipped the order.

He has taken some strong results throughout the season including two podiums in the Barcelona and Silverstone Sprint Race’s respectively, but the Red Bull junior has struggled with keeping the results coming in consistently.

Iwasa has only finished inside of the points in eight of the sixteen races and with him being one of the few drivers to finish every race so far, he is sure to feel that there have been a lot of missed opportunities.

#12 – Clément Novalak (MP Motorsport)

Current Championship Position: 16th

The Frenchman is paired up with the current championship leader, Drugovich at MP Motorsport and is having a very tough season alongside the brilliant Brazilian.

After finishing third in the 2021 F3 championship and winning the 2019 British Formula 3 championship, it seems that the French rookie has struggled with adapting to the second-tier of single-seater racing.

One thing to note is that Novalak usually takes a season to get to know his car before the performances come, spending a season in both British F3 and FIA F3 before establishing himself as a front runner the following year.

#14 – Olli Caldwell (Campos Racing)

Current Championship Position: 19th

The Campos Racing youngster is another driver who is having a difficult season after moving up into F2 with a glimpse of promising talent.

A race winner in the 2021 F3 Barcelona Sprint Race, Caldwell had failed to score a single point in Formula 2 until the most recent round in Spielberg where he finished in sixth place during the Feature Race.

The Alpine junior raced for PREMA Racing in F3 and recently had his first outing in the Alpine A521 at Silverstone in a team testing session.

The British driver will be hoping to take this momentum from his first points finish and convert that into more top ten’s later down the line.

#21 – Calan Williams (Trident)

Current Championship Position: 21st

Williams made the move up into Formula 2 after finishing nineteenth in the standings last season with a podium at Paul Ricard to his name while racing for Jenzer Motorsport.

He has found life in F2 rather difficult, with a single points finish coming in the Jeddah Sprint Race where he finished a very respectable fourth place.

Since then, however, the Australian driver has failed to make it into the top ten finishers with an eleventh place in the Barcelona Feature Race being his closest attempt to date.

The key for Williams will be to try and break into the top ten qualifiers on a Friday evening so that he can attempt to steal some points with the reverse grid in the Saturday evening Sprint Race.

#23 – Cem Bölükbasi (Charouz Racing System)

Current Championship Position: 23rd

The sim-racer turned professional is another who has had a difficult season but due to other circumstances.

A nasty shunt in Jeddah ruled the Turkish driver out of the two races of the weekend as well as the next round in Imola meaning he missed four races which would have been massively beneficial in terms of experience and getting to grips with the car in the early stages of the season.

Since his return at round four in Barcelona, Bölükbasi has failed to finish in the points scoring positions with his best finish being eleventh place in the Monaco Feature Race.

The Charouz Racing System driver still has more to offer, with his previous experience in the 2021 Euroformula Open Championship speaking for itself. He joined the championship half way through the season and ended with eight podiums which includes two wins.

#25 – Amaury Cordeel (Van Amersfoort Racing)

Current Championship Position: 24th

The Story of Cordeel’s season hasn’t been defined by championship points and rather the penalty points the Belgian has racked up instead.

Through numerous offences such as speeding through the pit lane in Sakhir, failing to slow for red flags in Jeddah, track limits and further pit lane speeding in Imola, he had finally reached twelve by the sixth round in Baku.

This meant he was banned from competing in the following round at Silverstone.

His race results were also tarnished by the various penalties, with his best finish of the season being thirteenth place in the Baku Sprint Race.