Formula 2, Formula 3 and W Series: Why F1's support races are great

Take a bunch of young, eager drivers with egos to match, throw them in some fast race cars on the same tracks as their idols, knowing that they’re one step away from the biggest of big leagues. Congratulations, you’ve described Formula 2.

Photo by Reuben Rohard on Unsplash

Lower down the order, imagine a load of even younger racers starting to find their feet on the world stage. These young rookies are not just racing everyone else, but themselves, perfecting their driving style for a chance higher up in a slightly slower car than F2, like a bunch of rats in a sack made out of Pirelli rubber. That’s basically Formula 3.

And this season, there’s a new addition in the form of the all-women W-Series championship, offering a different way to get to the elite playground, again on the same tracks as F1, with the eyeballs of the elite watching every move.

All three of these series are worth your time, not just so you know the names of tomorrow, but in their own right. Unlike most sports, the action in the feeder leagues can be just as compelling as the stuff at the top, and in some cases, even more so.

There are different formats this year, as a means to divide the classes and save money — understandable as the world continues to deal with the pandemic. But throwing three races into one weekend is great for geek fans, and for these young drivers, gives them less time to process any beef they have with rivals on the grid, meaning viewers can see rivalries intensify.

Let’s start with Formula 3, which has had its first race weekend in Spain.

FORMULA 3: The hard work starts now

There’s a lot of raw potential in Formula 3, and some names you’ve definitely heard of. There’s a Leclerc, a Schumacher, a Nannini, a Fittipaldi and even a Doohan. Motorbike legend Mick’s son Jack is making a name for himself on four wheels and working his way up the junior formula. 

There’s also the extra pressure on the American racers. Drivers like Logan Sargeant, Kaylen Frederick and Jak Crawford must be hyper-aware of F1’s owners wanting that American star to come through and challenge on the elite grid, seeing the plot of a movie in front of their eyes. Especially with the crop of young drivers bringing up IndyCar's profile in the US and beyond.

And then there's Juan Manuel Correa, who races under a US license. He was involved in Anthoine Hubert's fatal F2 crash. After a year out recovering from injury, Correa has dropped back to Formula 3 with ART, a team that’s proved it can successfully move drivers up the field.

And as if those weren't enough to watch for, there's plenty of quality across the grid.

Like Crawford and Doohan, and a few more drivers, Norwegian Dennis Hauger is a Red Bull junior, so he’s got the significant vote of confidence and backing that comes with their track record — as well as the pressure, knowing the prize could be the missing piece of the Milton Keynes team. That number 2 driver behind Max, with the goal of one day usurping Verstappen as the franchise. Ferrari and Alpine also have young drivers on the grid as they gain experience.

There are so many exciting racers, all of whom are frighteningly young, too many to mention individually, but there’s a visible blend of maturity and youthfulness in all their driving styles. Along with the mistakes and the controversial spins, there are moments of ingenuity which must have the F1 drivers thinking “I can do that”.

But the one to watch might be Brazilian Caio Collet. He’s part of the excellent Alpine academy and is probably closer to an F1 seat than most, with Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso in far-from-secure long-term seats. 

Collet, a champion in French Formula 4, spoke to website The Checkered Flag in 2020, saying “Since I started, F1 was the main goal. It’s a great opportunity in my career, they [Renault] give us some precious moments that I think money can’t buy and they always try to help us develop ourselves to achieve the best results as possible in the track.”

In his first weekend, he grabbed a podium and was one of only five drivers to score in all three races. He could be a dark horse in a series that is far too under the radar at present.

Oh, and the series also has a fun rule. If you win the Formula 3 championship, you’re not allowed to defend your title. It’s time to move up to F2, which has the same rule.

FORMULA 2: And you thought it was hard before?

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably watched a Formula 2 race before, or chanced your arm at driving an F2 car on the video games (hey, video game makers, put F3 and W Series in your games please? Thanks), but this is proper nosebleed territory. A decent showing here could be all you need for an F1 team to take a chance on you and put you in one of their 20 hallowed seats.

The opposite is also true. Flame out, and there’s a good chance you’re going to be the answer to a quiz question on Ted’s Notebook in a couple of years time. 

Three of the four previous champions are now global names in F1, with the other racing for Mercedes EQ in Formula E.

And you don't have to be Charles Leclerc, George Russell or Mick Schumacher to progress. Yuki Tsunoda also made the step up, as did Nikita Mazepin, although neither have quite found their feet yet, the Japanese Alpha Tauri driver has showed some potential. 

This year's grid has plenty of names to watch with clashes of driving styles up and down the grid. Jarun Daruvala is a brilliant defensive driver and can position his car in a frustratingly effective way from cars trying to streak past. Exciting Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou did well in 2020, and could be next in line for the Enstone-based team in F1.

I mentioned way back at the start of this about young drivers who are supremely confident. Meet Dan Ticktum. The Brit was dropped by Red Bull's junior program in a handy step-by-step journey, before being picked up by Williams who are taking a risk on a talented, but potentially volatile driver.

Take Red Bull as an example. There are three drivers in their academy who are on the Formula 2 grid. Daruvala, Liam Lawson and Juri Vips are no longer racing themselves or the rest of the timing tower. They've got these pseudo-teammates and inbuilt rivals. It's even more awkward for the latter two who are actual teammates this year at Hitech. All three know that there's a clear shot to a seat at Alpha Tauri and after that, who knows? There's a wider look at who is at which academy here.

Also, with Monaco coming up, the last Formula 2 winner at the track? Anthoine Hubert.

W SERIES: The alternative path to the top

In the driving seat, Formula 1 is a massive boys’ club. There hasn’t been a woman behind the wheel of an F1 car in a race for over 40 years, and while they’re fun to watch, F2 and F3 doesn’t exactly scream gender diversity either. 

But it can’t be the case that women aren’t interested, or good enough to drive single-seater cars at high speeds, but instead, it’s the high barrier to entry and a complete lack of equality of opportunity. 

To emphasise the boys' club point, years ago, W Series driver Emma Kimiläinen was offered a drive with an Indy Lights team, but one of the conditions of getting the seat was to do a topless photoshoot.

W Series removes both of those barriers with a women-only grid that's free to enter if you're good enough. And if you're really good, your career could get a financial shot in the arm with $500k for the winner. It's not for everyone, they've had accusations levelled at them for segregation and making things worse by putting a light on inequality, but there's more of a long-term argument to make. When W Series looks like it's no longer needed, that's when it would be time to discuss whether its future.

Jamie Chadwick is the reigning champion. She's also part of Williams Driver Academy and last season, she was the clear winner, finishing on the podium in all but one of the six rounds in support of the DTM series. Reducing the costs of entry so drivers can get a chance at success can only be a good thing.

After a year out, they're back, and this year, they're going to be supporting F1 on several rounds of the Championship, giving fans who may not have watched the first season their first experience of W Series, and in the first Austrian race and in Mexico, they're the only support series, putting their season opener and closer solely in the spotlight, and quality racing is quality racing. Who knows what lies in store in this series or the other more established junior Formulas.

Sprint races, compressing rivalries into an intense period of time, putting a spotlight on a new generation of racers... the races happening on the same weekend as Formula 1 are well worth your time.

PREVIOUSLY THIS SEASON:

🇪🇸 Round 4: Getting out-thought if not outfought

🇵🇹 Round 3: Portimão and the benefits of a rule change

🏁 The pros and cons of sprint qualifying

🇮🇹 Round 2: Max Verstappen and the Italian curse

🇧🇭 Round 1: Bahrain and comparing qualifying pace with 2020

🔮 Four odd predictions for F1 2021