What is Formula 2?
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is the second tier of single-seater racing below Formula 1 and the last step of the FIA’s ladder to it. Every round is an official support race on a Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend, and the championship is run by the same promoter as Formula 3 under chief executive Bruno Michel. The grid is closed: eleven teams — Campos, MP Motorsport, Rodin, Invicta, ART Grand Prix, DAMS, Trident, Hitech, Van Amersfoort, Prema and AIX — hold the entries and sign the drivers, most of them members of Formula 1 teams’ junior academies.[1] [3]
How does it work?
The 2026 calendar has 14 rounds from Melbourne on 6–8 March to Yas Marina on 4–6 December, taking in Miami, Montréal, Monaco, Barcelona, Spielberg, Silverstone, Spa, Budapest, Monza, Madrid, Baku and Lusail. Each weekend has qualifying, a Saturday Sprint Race with the top ten of qualifying reversed on the grid, and a Sunday Feature Race. All cars are identical Dallara chassis. The championship’s top three receive 40 FIA Super Licence points each — the maximum, and the number required over three seasons to be eligible for a Formula 1 seat — so a top-three finish qualifies a driver outright.[2] [7]
Since when does it exist?
The championship began in 2005 as the GP2 Series, successor to Formula 3000, and was rebranded FIA Formula 2 in 2017, its first season under that name won by Charles Leclerc. George Russell (2018), Oscar Piastri (2021) and Gabriel Bortoleto (2024) are among the champions now in Formula 1; Leonardo Fornaroli won in 2025 a year after taking the Formula 3 title, following Bortoleto in doing the double in consecutive seasons.[4] [6] [8]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Leonardo Fornaroli (Invicta Racing) | Teams’ champion Invicta Racing |
| 2024 | Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing) | Teams’ champion Invicta Racing |
| 2023 | Théo Pourchaire (ART Grand Prix) | Teams’ champion ART Grand Prix |
| 2022 | Felipe Drugovich (MP Motorsport) | Teams’ champion MP Motorsport |
| 2021 | Oscar Piastri (Prema Racing) | Teams’ champion Prema Racing |
| 2020 | Mick Schumacher (Prema Racing) | Teams’ champion Prema Racing |
| 2019 | Nyck de Vries (ART Grand Prix) | Teams’ champion DAMS |
| 2018 | George Russell (ART Grand Prix) | Teams’ champion Carlin |
| 2017 | Charles Leclerc (Prema Racing) | Teams’ champion Russian Time — first season as FIA Formula 2 |
| 2016 | Pierre Gasly (Prema Racing) | GP2 Series; teams’ champion Prema Racing |
Drivers’ champions of the last ten seasons, with the teams’ champion.
Why does it matter?
In the nine seasons since 2017, 22 drivers have graduated to Formula 1 from Formula 2, and the 2026 Formula 1 grid carries twelve F2 alumni among its 22 drivers; Bruno Michel counted 16 of the 20 drivers on the 2025 grid as having raced in F2 or F3. Its Super Licence points are the FIA’s own measure of a driver’s standing, and the championship is the one that Formula 1 teams’ academies are built to win.[4] [5]
References
- FIA Formula 2 — official site. Accessed September 2026.
- FIA Formula 2 — 2026 calendar. Accessed September 2026.
- FIA Formula 2 — Teams’ standings. Accessed September 2026.
- FIA Formula 2 — The FIA Formula 2 Championship celebrates a decade of success. Accessed September 2026.
- Formula 1 — F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel on F1’s exceptional rookie intake. Accessed September 2026.
- Wikipedia — FIA Formula 2 Championship (background). Accessed September 2026.
- Wikipedia — FIA Super Licence (background). Accessed September 2026.
- Wikipedia — GP2 Series (background). Accessed September 2026.