The 2024 Formula 2 season will have a bright new look thanks to a larger than usual intake of new drivers and a change of chassis.
Dallara’s striking F2 2024 design, with its eye-catching and steeply curved rear wing, was shown off for the first time at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix last year. Since then all 11 teams had the chance to shake down a single chassis each at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The full field assembled for the first time in Bahrain over the last two days. However to widespread surprise the first day of running was disrupted by the one thing seldom seen at the desert track: Rain.
That presented challenges for teams seeking to suss out the new car before the season-opening round at the same circuit at the beginning of next month.
“We can see that maybe the main difference between [the] cars could be the aero,” said Campos team principal Adrian Campos during the last day of running yesterday. “But for the race, we still don’t know, it’s too early.
“Yesterday was raining, Barcelona was only to check everything was working properly, only with one car.”
However Campos admitted the teams were encouraged by the early signs from the performance of the new car, which is designed to match the styling of Formula 1 cars more closely.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“The first thing that we have been surprised, let’s say, on the first feeling, was in Barcelona when we had the few laps with dry it was that it was very stable on quick corners, even more than the last car.”
The 2024 field features a large intake of rookies, however, with only a limited frame of reference to last year’s car. As usual the majority of entrants have arrived from Formula 3.
Those stepping up directly from the category beneath include last year’s F3 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, now backed by McLaren. The four drivers who completed last year’s F3 top five have also moved up: Zak O’Sullivan, Paul Aron, Franco Colapinto and Pepe Marti, as have Taylor Barnard and Rafael Villagomez.
The field’s other new entrants include a couple of eye-catching and surprising names. Rodin’s Ritomo Miyata beat Liam Lawson to the Japanese Super Formula crown last year. Paraguay’s Joshua Duerksen is a surprising arrival in the series having finished 19th in Formula Regional Europe last year.
But the driver who won the same championship – long-time Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli – has long been…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…