Why experienced drivers are invaluable to Formula 2? CEO Michel answers
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- Ludo van Denderen
Richard Verschoor will set to start his fifth season in Formula 2 in the 2025 season. An unprecedented number, as usually (young) drivers spend two, maximum three years in the feeder series a step below Formula 1, after which they leave for another series or graduate to the aforementioned competition. That is not the case for Verschoor, similarly to Ralph Boschung and Artem Markelov. Bruno Michel, the CEO of Formula 2, is actually happy to have drivers like Verschoor on the grid, he answered GPblog's question.
The F2 champion can never defend his title in the competition. Once a driver is crowned, they cannot return to the series. That means if Gabriel Bortoleto would not have been signed by Sauber, he could have needed to look for a drive elsewhere. This however does not apply to the rest of the grid. So it can happen that a driver is active in F2 for many years, just like Verschoor. With MP Motorsport, the Dutchman will aim for the title in 2025.
Experienced drivers are important for Formula 2
Bruno Michel, the CEO of the competition, understands why it is asked what's the reason behind not having a maximum limit of seasons spent in the series? "We are part of a pyramid, for sure. So normally, you go up at the end, or you do something else. On the other hand, we have 22 cars. All the drivers are not going to go to Formula 1. We know that. We are very happy because this year we're going to have quite a lot of them going there, but it's not going to be the same every season."
"And I'm quite happy to see drivers we had in the past, some drivers that have done as many races as Richard is going to do for next year. We had Ralph Boschung who spent, I think, four or five years in F2. I don't see an issue with that. I would see an issue if those guys were taking places of really bright talents that have to come up."
Indeed, Michel argues, "I think it's very important for young drivers who want to achieve Formula 1 also to fight with these kind of drivers with this kind of experience, because that gives a very, very important, very precise level of where they are when they race with a driver like Richard," the CEO concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
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