Red Bull Motorsports
F1
F1 vs F2: what’s the difference?
Ever wondered what sets these two championships apart? From the construction of the cars to the format of the season, we explain the major differences.
Years before he was a back-to-back Formula One World Champion, Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen had just one year of racing at the Formula Three level under his belt and no experience at Formula Two.
He was F1’s youngest-ever competitor at just 17 years old and earned the accolades of youngest points scorer and youngest race winner at just 18 years and 228 days old.
Verstappen after his first F1 race win at the Spanish Grand Prix
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
"I did only one year in F3 and getting into F1 is a big jump, so I guess you make a few mistakes which maybe others have made in F2," said Verstappen.
F2 is considered a second-tier single-seater racing championship. It’s where drivers spend time working on and developing their racing styles before hopefully being elevated to F1.
Aside from driver experience, this article will dive into what sets these two championships apart, from the construction of the cars to the format of the season.
01
F1 vs F2 cars
Build
In F1, every racing team is responsible for building their own cars, with the teams being named after the manufacturers who built the chassis and/or the engine. In 2021, in an effort to make the playing field more even and more competitive, F1 introduced a cost cap of €130 million. This means the maximum budget a team can spend on all parts of the car, and all the elements needed to run it. In 2022, the cap was decreased to €127.7 million and for 2023-2025 seasons, it has been set at €121 million.
Verstappen leading from the front at the Bahrain Grand Prix
© Clive Mason/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Ayumu Iwasa excels on Melbourne's famous street circuit
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
In F2, all the cars are the same, from the chassis (built by Italian race car manufacturer Dallara) to the gearbox (built by English manufacturer Hewland). This is to showcase the true skill set of the drivers behind the wheel rather than the abilities of the racing teams to build superior cars.
Weight
F1 cars weigh about 798kg with the driver.
F2 cars weigh about 755kg with the driver, meaning they are slightly lighter.
Engines and speed
The engines in F1 cars are much more powerful than their F2 counterparts. F1 engines have about 1,000 horsepower, while F2 cars max out at around 620hp. This allows F1 cars to go about 10-15 mph faster on average. The top race speed for an F1 car is over 230mph, while the top speed for a F2 car is less than 200mph.
02
F1 vs F2 formats
The racing formats between the two series have their differences, from the structure of the race weekends to the configuration of the seasons.
Race weekends
Most F1 race weekends feature three practice sessions (Friday morning, Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday morning) and three qualifying periods (all on Saturday after the third practice session). The race is held on Sunday.
However, in each of the past two F1 campaigns, three tracks were selected to feature sprint qualifying.
F2 ace Enzo Fittipaldi comes from a family of F1 racers
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
In sprint qualifying, there's only one practice session then a traditional qualifying session held on Friday to establish the starting field for the sprint. The sprint is held on Saturday and determines the starting field for the actual race on Sunday.
F2 uses a qualifying format very similar to F1’s sprint qualifying format for all of its race weekends, but there are two main differences.
- F2 races use the results from the Friday qualifying session to set the starting grid for the main race on Sunday; the Saturday sprint race is instead used as a standalone event for drivers and teams to earn points.
- The starting grid for a F2 Saturday sprint race is based on the results from the Friday qualifying session with positions 1-10 being inverted (first in qualifying starts at P10, second starts at P9, etc.) and positions 11-22 remain the same.
Length
F1 and F2 host their races at the same track on the same day, with F2 racing first.
F1 and F2 races share the same event dates and locations
© Ryan Pierse/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Since F2 races are run earlier in the day than F1 races, they are much shorter in comparison. F2 races are run for either an hour or roughly 105 miles) whichever one comes first. F1 races are run for a minimum of 305 around 190 miles, the lone exception is the Monaco Grand Prix.
While every F2 race is held before a F1 race, the two series don’t share every single weekend. Last season, the F2 season was only 14 races long, meaning that there were eight F1 race weekends that did not feature F2.
Points system
Learn more about the Red Bull Racing Junior Team
The points systems for the driver and team standings between Formula One and Formula Two are very similar, but not identical.
The scoring system for the main races in both F1 and F2 are the same. This is how it works:
- 1st place: 25 points
- 2nd place: 18 points
- 3rd place: 15 points
- 4th place: 12 points
- 5th place: 10 points
- 6th place: 8 points
- 7th place: 6 points
- 8th place: 4 points
- 9th place: 2 points
- 10th place: 1 point
- 11th-20th place: 0 points
However, this is where the two points systems start to divide. With F1, one point is added to the driver with the fastest lap if that driver finishes in the top 10 of that race.
Zane Maloney is one of the rising stars in F2
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
If there is sprint qualifying, eight points are given to the sprint winner, with every position behind them receiving one fewer point. Positions 9 through 20 gain no points.
In F2 however, things are a bit different. It rewards drivers with a point each for the fastest lap in the main race and/or in the sprint race if that driver finishes in the top ten of that race. F2 also awards two points to the driver who qualifies in pole position from Friday’s qualifying session.
The points system for sprint qualifying is also different in F2. Ten points are given to the sprint winner and eight points are awarded to second place. Third place receives six points and every position behind third receives one fewer point, with positions nine through 22 receiving no points.
This means that the maximum number of points a F2 driver can win on a given race weekend is 39:
- 25 points from winning the main race
- 10 from winning the sprint race
- 2 from qualifying in the pole position
- 1 point for getting the fastest lap in the sprint race
- 1 point for getting the fastest lap in the main race
03
F1 vs F2: the drivers
For anyone who competes in formula racing, the pinnacle of the sport is F1. Therefore, those currently racing in F1 have already reached the highest level and the only dream left to achieve is becoming world champion – or in Verstappen's case, adding to his tally of titles.
Those competing in F2 see the series as a stepping stone to bigger things, with a seat in F1 being the ultimate goal. Many drivers have graduated to Formula One after a successful season in Formula Two, including Ferrari's Charles LeClerc, Mercedes' George Russell and former Scuderia AlphaTauri racer Nyck de Vries.
F2 is currently loaded with talent, including numerous drivers from the Red Bull Racing Junior Team. These include American Jak Crawford, Norway's Dennis Hauger, Frenchman Isack Hadjar and Japan's Ayumu Iwasa, as well as Brazilian Enzo Fittipaldi and Zane Maloney from Barbados.
