Red Bull Motorsports
F1
F1 vs F2: What’s the difference?
What sets these two championships apart? From the construction of the cars to the format of the season.
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 3 level under his belt and no experience at Formula 2.
He was F1’s youngest ever competitor at just 17 years old, and eventually earned the accolades of ‘Youngest points score’ and ‘Youngest race winner’ at just 18 years and 228 days old.
Max after his first F1 race win at the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix 2016
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
"I’ve done 90-plus starts,” Verstappen said in a 2019 interview. “So of course, I did only one year in F3 and getting into F1 is a big jump, so I guess you made a few mistakes which maybe others have made in F2."
F2 is considered a second-tier single-seater racing championship. It’s where drivers spend time working on and developing their racing styles before being elevated to F1 racing.
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 $145 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 $142.4 million, and for 2023-2025 seasons, it has been set at $135 million.
Max Verstappen driving on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Ayumu Iwasa at the FIA Formula 2 Championship at Albert Park 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 drivers’ true skill sets behind the wheel rather than the abilities of the racing teams to build superior cars.
Weight
F1 cars weigh about 798 kg (1,759 lbs) with the driver.
F2 cars weigh about 755 kg (1,664 lbs) with the driver, meaning they are slightly lighter.
Engines & Speed
The engines in F1 cars are much more powerful than the ones in F2 cars. F1 engines have about 1000 horsepower, while F2 cars max out at around 620 hp. This allows F1 cars to go faster than their second-tier counterparts, about 10-15 mph faster on average. The top race speed for a F1 car is over 230 mph, while the top speed for a F2 car is less than 200 mph.
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 F 1 World Championship campaigns, three tracks were selected to feature sprint qualifying.
In sprint qualifying, there is 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 its 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 (1st in qualifying starts at P10, 2nd starts at P9, etc.) and positions 11-22 remaining the same.
Length
F1 and F2 host their races at the same track on the same day, with F2 racing first.
F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on April 2023
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship at Albert Park Street Circuit
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
Since F2 races are run earlier in the day than F1 races, F2 races are much shorter in comparison. F2 races are run for either an hour or 170 kilometers ( about 105 miles), whichever one comes first; F1 races are run for a minimum of 305 kilometers (about 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.
Point System
The point systems for the driver and team standings between Formula 1 and Formula 2 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
F1 Grand Prix of Australia
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The FIA Formula 2 Championship at Jeddah Corniche Circuit
© Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool
However, this is where the two point systems start to divide.
With F1, one point is added to the driver with the fastest lap if that driver finishes in the top ten of that race.
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.
Unlike F1, F2 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 the pole position from Friday’s qualifying session.
The point system for sprint qualifying is also different in F2. Ten points are given to the sprint winner and eight points are given to 2nd place. Third place receives six points and every position behind third receives one fewer point, with positions 9 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
Conclusion
F2 is a great place for racing teams to develop young drivers before they make the jump to the F1 level. Liam Lawson performed well racing in F2, while also serving as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing’s F1 team. The New Zealander finished the 2022 campaign with two wins and ten podium finishes en route to finishing third in the driver’s standings at 149 points.
