The fourth season of the current Formula 2 era and the 16th season of the series saw one of the most hard fought junior titles in recent memory. With seats in Formula One to be fought for, the stakes were as high as I personally could remember them going into the new season. Multiple drivers from a single driver academy fighting for a seat, leading to what became a thrilling title fight with multiple drivers looking like they had a chance of taking it.
Ilott and Shwartzman hit the ground running
Guanyu Zhou for UNI-Virtuosi was in fine form in the first qualifying session of the 2020 season, taking pole convincingly, and in an action packed race. He resisted the charges from his team-mate Callum Ilott and and Prema’s Mick Schumacher and looked on course for his maiden Formula 2 win. However bad luck would strike Zhou, his car unfortunately let him down and all his efforts came to nothing. Mick Schumacher also fell by the wayside, and Callum Ilott took the season opening win. The surprise of the weekend however was Felipe Drugovich for MP Motorsport, who no one expected to be a consistent contender for points. However he qualified in an excellent second, and despite falling back in the Feature Race, made good use of the reverse grid to take a convincing win.
Formula 2 remained in Austria for Round 2, which saw Yuki Tsunoda take pole position for Carlin. In a wet Feature Race he appeared to have it all under control. But an issue with his radio meant he did not pit on schedule. This enabled reigning Formula 3 champion in the form of Prema’s Robert Shwartzman to take the lead, and to take his first victory of the season, followed by Tsunoda who worked his way back up to second. However things did not go Shwartzman’s way in the Sprint Race, as he lost it and stalled the engine at the first corner. It was a bad day for Prema as well, as Mick Schumacher’s fire extinguisher went off in his cockpit, putting him out of the race. The race was won by ART’s Christian Lundgaard, who’d had a really solid start to the season. Despite his retirement, Robert Shwartzman led the standings ahead of Callum Ilott.
A week later saw Formula 2 head to the Hungaroring, which became the scene of a statement drive from Robert Shwartzman that got everybody talking. After qualifying in eleventh, Robert mastered the alternate strategy, making his tyres last an unbelievable distance, and when he pitted, he was in striking distance to take the lead, which on the grippier tyres he managed with ease, taking a stunning win. The Sprint Race proved to be just as thrilling, with many taking the unusual route to pit in a Sprint Race. Luca Ghiotto for Hitech stayed out, and with his experience, he was able to hold off a rampant Callum Ilott on fresh tyres to take the victory, in a race where literally one more corner and Ilott would’ve taken the victory. Leaving the first triple header, Shwartzman held an 18 point lead over Callum Ilott.
Ilott strikes back but stumbles as well
Robert Shwartzman had an awful weekend in the first weekend at Silverstone, struggling in qualifying and failing to score a point. This gave an opportunity to Callum Ilott to gain points on his championship rival, however he stalled on the grid in the first race, though he fought his way back to fifth. In the second race he lost it at Club corner and stalled the engine which put him out of the race. The weekend saw two first time winners in Formula 2, Race 1 was won by Hitech’s Nikita Mazepin, whilst Race 2 saw Dan Ticktum take his and DAMS’ first victory of the season. Shwartzman’s lead survived the first weekend at Silverstone, however Callum Ilott won the Feature Race in the second weekend convincingly and taking the lead of the drivers standings. However Robert Shwartzman had reverse grid pole and had a chance to take the lead back. He led most of the Sprint Race, but his tyres ran out towards the end and both his team-mate Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda had closed the gap. Mick got a run down the Wellington Straight, but the pair made contact going into Brooklands, destroying Shwartzman’s front wing. Mick immediately took the blame for the contact, though no penalty was given. This allowed Yuki Tsunoda to take the lead and win for the first time in Formula 2.
Barcelona would prove to be a massive missed opportunity for Callum Ilott. He took pole and led most of the race. But he fell victim to an unfortunately timed safety car after Giuliano Alesi’s HWA became stranded, and in a frantic restart he was unable to fend off the cars behind him and he dropped down to fifth. Nobuharu Matsushita for MP Motorsport came from eighteenth on the grid to take a shock win, making his mandatory pitstop under the safety car and taking the lead and the victory, ahead of Robert Shwartzman, who closed his lead gap. The sprint race saw a second victory for Felipe Drugovich ahead of Luca Ghiotto in second with Mick Schumacher finishing in third place. It was a bad race for the two main contenders, both Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman having tyre issues, which saw Ilott drop to eighth and Shwartzman to thirteenth.
Schumacher takes command
Formula 2 made its emotional return to Spa for the first time since the tragic loss of Anthoine Hubert. There were a lot of tributes throughout the weekend, which included a minute silence before both the Formula 2 and the Formula 1 races. The Feature Race proved to be exciting and controversial, with a duel between Yuki Tsunoda and Nikita Mazepin coming right down to the wire. Mazepin won the race on the road but was penalised for pushing Tsunoda off the road at Les Combes. This gave Tsunoda his second victory of the season. Roy Nissany for Trident was on reverse grid pole and had a massive opportunity for a great result. However a collision with Dan Ticktum put him out of the race and left the DAMS driver nursing his car for the rest of the race. This gave Robert Shwartzman the lead and the win. With Callum Ilott having a miserable weekend, finishing in a lowly tenth in the Feature Race and retiring on the first lap after contact with Tsunoda in the Sprint Race, Shwartzman now was back in front by 10 points. Mick Schumacher finished in second place, and was on a run of consistent results. He was slowly starting to creep into title contention.
Formula 2 then headed to Monza. Callum Ilott took pole position however he had a mishap in the pits, where he stalled his engine, resulting in him dropping down the order, though he fought back to sixth. This allowed Mick Schumacher to inherit the lead and finally take his first victory of the season and put himself right into title contention. A win for Callum Ilott in the Sprint Race, inherited after Dan Ticktum was disqualified, saw him maintain the championship lead leaving Monza by six points. In Mugello, Prema did not seem to have the pace and it looked like both Mick and Robert were going to lose points to Callum Ilott, however Callum picked up damage in a restart incident with Jack Aitken and Guanyu Zhou, resulting in him finishing out of the points. The race was won by Nikita Mazepin, who made a decisive move on the safety car restart, whilst Christian Lundgaard, who dominated most the race dropped down the field on aging tyres. Lundgaard would make up for that in the sprint race, taking the lead on the first lap and not looking back. Mick Schumacher led the standings leaving Mugello by 4 points after a rough weekend for Ilott.
Whilst Robert Shwartzman did not score a point due to a mechanical failure in the Feature Race. Mick Schumacher would further extend his lead as Formula 2 headed to Sochi, passing Yuki Tsunoda in the closing stages of the race to take the lead and extend his championship lead over Callum Ilott, who finished the race in third, whilst Robert Shwartzman’s weekend was ruined by a botched pitstop, and the Russian driver was slowly starting to drop out of title contention. The Sprint Race was shortened as a result of a heavy crash between Luca Ghiotto and Jack Aitken, the pair making contact and going into the Tecpro at speed, thankfully both drivers emerged unscathed. Guanyu Zhou finally took his maiden victory but with only half points awarded. Going into the final double header, Mick Schumacher led the standings by 22 points ahead of Callum Ilott in second place.
The season run in
Callum Ilott took pole position in the Feature Race of the first weekend in Bahrain. However he would lose out to Felipe Drugovich, once he got to the front he pretty much controlled the race to take the victory. Mick Schumacher had made a great start after a slightly difficult qualifying, however the alternate strategy didn’t quite work out as he had hoped and he finished in fourth. With Callum Ilott finishing in second the gap was down to 12 points. However Callum Ilott would make a terrible mistake in the Sprint Race, locking up and clouting the Carlin car of Jehan Daruvala, damaging his wing and picking up a penalty for good measure, putting him out of the points. However Mick Schumacher did not take full advantage of the situation, finishing in a lowly seventh, meaning the gap was at 14 points. This race was dominated by Robert Shwartzman, taking a much needed victory after a tough past few races. The win kept him mathematically in title contention, along with Nikita Mazepin and Yuki Tsunoda, who despite a problematic weekend where he spun in qualifying, and picked up a puncture on the first lap of the second race after a great fightback on Saturday.
The title deciding weekend started badly for Mick Schumacher, he struggled in qualifying and then had an incident with the Trident of Roy Nissany, meaning he would start down in eighteenth. However he’d claw his way back through the field in the Feature Race to sixth, finishing just one point behind Callum Ilott, with the fastest lap as well, meaning the gap remained at 14 points. This race proved to be a thriller, with an exciting lead battle between Nikita Mazepin and Yuki Tsunoda. Mazepin took the lead at the start and led most of the way but towards the end, his tyres began to fade, and Tsunoda muscled his way through to take the lead and the victory.
The Sprint Race would settle the championship, and it could be said that the odds were in Mick’s favour. However a lock up at Turn 4 caused a massive flat spot. Mick tried his best to drive round the issue, but repeated lockups meant the tyre began to fade and he was forced to pit. This meant his title was extremely vulnerable with a rampant Callum Ilott fighting his way towards the front. But his tyres then began to fade and he dropped outside the points. The race was won by Jehan Daruvala who had grappled with an underpowered engine for the majority of the season but finally was able to see the top step of the podium. He led home a Carlin 1-2, with Yuki Tsunoda finishing second, both managing to get past the DAMS of Dan Ticktum who finished in third.
The next chapter in the Schumacher legacy
But the title went to Mick Schumacher, who became the sixteenth champion in the series history and the fourth champion of this era of Formula 2. He joins the likes of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and many more highly regarded drivers to have won this championship, and in 2021 we will have a Schumacher on the Formula One grid, as he graduates to Formula One with Haas. It can be said it was his consistency that saw him gradually creep into title contention and take the lead from Callum Ilott, who to the disappointment of many was unable to find a Formula One seat for 2021 despite a very impressive second season in the championship. He will be in a reserve driver role for Ferrari, which is what led to a seat in Formula One for Antonio Giovinazzi. Yuki Tsunoda deservedly won the Anthoine Hubert Award for top rookie after an incredible season, taking 3 victories and had it not been for a few strokes of bad luck, he may have mounted a title challenge. He graduates to Formula One as a highly regarded driver, he will drive for AlphaTauri and become the first Japanese driver in F1 since Kamui Kobayashi. Robert Shwartzman showed he had what it takes to be in the top level, taking the most victories out of anyone and pulling off some unbelievable drives, however he wasn’t that consistent which prevented him from winning the title. Nikita Mazepin scored two wins and as things stand he graduates to Formula One with Haas, however he has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the past couple of weeks, many are calling for him to be dropped by the Haas team. Christian Lundgaard showed flashes of speed, taking two wins and finishing in seventh, ahead of Louis Deletraz in eighth, that maiden win in F2 still eludes the Charouz driver. Felipe Drugovich was arguably the surprise of the season, after a fairly anonymous F3 campaign last year he was regularly at the sharp end and scored three victories. Whilst the experienced Luca Ghiotto rounded out the top 10.
Bouncing back from a miserable 2019, Prema returned to being a championship winning outfit in 2020, taking the constructors crown by 39.5 points back to second placed UNI-Virtuosi. Carlin had a strong campaign to finish in third place ahead of series rookies Hitech, who adapted to F2 machinery well. Whilst it was a disappointing season for ART, finishing in a lowly fifth after winning the drivers championship in the past two seasons. MP Motorsport had a strong season to finish in sixth ahead of Charouz in seventh. Whilst it was a poor season for reigning constructors champions DAMS, who finished in eighth. Campos struggled and finished in ninth ahead of HWA who had a miserable maiden season in tenth. Whilst Trident finished bottom of the table with just six points.
Conclusion
The 2020 Formula 2 championship proved to be one of the most exciting second tier campaigns to date, with the championship lead changing hands multiple times, and many F1 seats were at stake. In the end it was consistency that proved to be the winner, as Mick Schumacher’s consistency, whilst Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman faultered, meant he was able to establish an advantage when it mattered and he took the title in an extremely competitive season. It is certainly going to be interesting to see how the drivers who graduate to Formula One will get on in the top series.
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