The new chassis Formula 2 has introduced this year will make overtaking easier, Oliver Bearman has predicted.
Having tested the new car at Bahrain International Circuit, where the championship begins this weekend, Bearman predicted its distinctive arched rear wing will give a more powerful speed boost when drivers activate the Drag Reduction System.
“Mainly the differences between last year’s car and this one starts with the rear wing,” he told the official F2 website. “It creates a bit more drag which hopefully means the DRS is more effective. So the racing and overtaking should be slightly easier and make it even more interesting.”
Bearman, who won four races in his rookie F2 season last year, says other changes to the cars should also improve the racing.
“The downforce created with this car is more from the floor than the old car, there are channels for the air to go under the car. That’s a bit different to the previous year and hopefully it means we can follow other competitors more closely and in turn, make the racing even better.”
Zane Maloney, who like Bearman is entering his second season in the series, also found the car handles much like its predecessor.
“It feels similar,” he said, “if someone drove one day in the old one, one day in the new one, they’re not going to feel massively different. But after doing a full year in the old one, you do feel those small, different things.
“It’s a different way of driving in certain corners but generally they’re quite similar.”
“It does feel a bit different in certain areas like in the high speed, the wings are new, so the downforce levels are a bit different,” he added. “But, when you jump in, you can still tell it’s an F2 car with a turbo and Pirelli tyres, 18-inch wheels. The big things feel the same.”
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Formula 2
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