Friday’s first follow session in Abu Dhabi was an intriguing watch. On a weekend which is alarmingly missing a lot intrigue, precisely half the grid have been absent. Substituted of their place have been 10 “rookie” drivers, as a part of F1’s necessary younger drivers programme launched final yr. One driver, and extra so how they carried out, amplified one of many sport’s most peculiar points – and one the place an answer may amp up the closing races of the season.
It is likely one of the FIA’s – the game’s governing physique – most peculiar guidelines that the Components 2 champion can’t compete within the sequence once more. Such a regulation would suggest that there’s a ready-made pathway to F1 for the winner, however this isn’t the case. For 2022 champion Felipe Drugovich, a second yr in a row begrudgingly watching from the sidelines beckons subsequent season. A disgrace as a result of (who’d have thought it), he’s truly fairly quick.
In FP1 on Friday, Drugovich recorded the second-quickest lap on the timesheet. Most notably, the Brazilian was virtually three-tenths faster than Lance Stroll within the different Aston Martin automobile. Whereas it was certainly follow – with drivers and groups typically on completely different run plans all through the weekend – the tempo was nonetheless notably important. But whereas F1 stays a 10-team-20-driver sport, the obstructions for junior drivers with a lot promise however no established path to the highest desk will stay.
Felipe Drugovich gained Components 2 final yr however is ready for a second straight season with out racing
(Getty Pictures)
However what if there was a really real incentive to win Components 2? What if these grappling for factors on the backside of the F1 standings had their future on the road?
As a result of title-runaways occur, in all sports activities. Manchester Metropolis have gained 5 of the final six Premier League titles; two of these have been at a canter. Simply ask German soccer followers in regards to the simplistic boredom of the Bundesliga title race; Bayern Munich have gained 10 in a row. However the end-of-season battles in soccer not often cease on the prime. The highest six spots are incentivised with European soccer, whereas these down on the backside frantically attempt to escape the clutches of relegation.
F1 is, after all, a unique beast. All 10 groups are entities in their very own proper with the 2 driver spots their most prized belongings. As such, workforce principals understandably need full reign on who to select and the way lengthy to select them for. And this easy mannequin isn’t about to vary anytime quickly.
However, only for a second, have a little bit of enjoyable and contemplate the additional spice of another actuality this weekend. Ignoring Nyck de Vries who was dropped from AlphaTauri after 10 races in July, Logan Sargeant is at the moment backside of the charts with one level. Liam Lawson, who raced 5 instances because of Daniel Ricciardo’s harm, has two factors. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen is on three factors, with Zhou Guanyu and Ricciardo forward of him on six.
Logan Sargeant is at the moment backside of the F1 standings of drivers at the moment on the grid
(Getty Pictures)
In the meantime, the Components 2 season additionally concludes this weekend. Alfa Romeo reserve Theo Pouchaire leads by 25 factors to Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti. Apart out of your motorsport die-hards, the game’s primary help sequence not often entices viewers on tv. Does it actually matter, particularly while you’re unintentionally punished by claiming the title with, almost definitely, a yr to comply with with out racing?
It occurred to Oscar Piastri in 2022; he needed to play the sport behind-the-scenes to land a seat at McLaren this yr, together with his spectacular performances indicative of the expertise arising from the upper echelons of Components 2. It’s taking place now to Drugovich – and is ready to occur to Pourchaire subsequent yr.
But think about if a assured spot in F1 was the carrot. Think about if Sargeant needed to someway land a top-10 end within the 22nd and remaining race on the Yas Marina Circuit to maintain his seat at Williams. There may very well be ramifications for Magnussen’s poor yr at Haas however, suitably scarred by the years of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Guenther Steiner stated in the summertime: “I don’t wish to take any threat on this second. You possibly can take a threat if the chance is worth it to take. And on this second, we wish stability.”
In fact, it’s not sensible. Such a process would open up F1 to all kinds of points. For instance, George Russell completed backside in 2019, merely handicapped with the worst automobile on the grid at Williams regardless of his apparent expertise. The junior programmes most drivers are in would immediately be negated. Groups would bend the principles, on and off monitor, with a purpose to carve their path to the chosen driver.
However boy would the essential relegation-promotion precept make the season finale spectacle engrossing. Whereas the groups can maintain motivation excessive with monetary rewards for larger spots within the championship, the generic sporting fan isn’t bothered about that. Within the final six Abu Dhabi race meets (together with this yr’s), just one has had a title using on it with Verstappen’s controversial and thrilling win over Hamilton in 2021. For a sport with peak reputation within the Drive to Survive period, the end-of-season no-contest is a shortcoming.