Red Bull juniors flood F2 grid
When Red Bull communicated last Friday where its junior drivers are racing this season, it came amid a clattering of dominoes as the FIA Formula 2 and 3 grids for 2022 started falling into place.
For those who followed the post-season tests there are few surprises. Jehan Daruvala heads back to Prema Racing, where he contended for the 2019 FIA F3 title, after two years in F2 with Carlin, and he is joined Dennis Hauger, who won the F3 crown with the Italian squad last year. Red Bull splits up its 2021 Hitech GP pair of Liam Lawson and Juri Vips, with the Kiwi heading off to Carlin and the Estonian staying put. Ayumu Iwasa, who showed flashes of form in his rookie F3 campaign, makes the step up with DAMS.
In F3, Red Bull has transferred exciting American Jak Crawford from Hitech to Prema, where he will line up alongside Ferrari Driver Academy proteges Ollie Bearman (previously announced) and Arthur Leclerc, who stays on for another year. Red Bull’s Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year finalist Jonny Edgar gets a switch from Carlin to Trident, while Formula Regional European by Alpine talent Isack Hadjar is promoted onto the programme – the Franco-algerian will race with Hitech.
Just a couple of years on from its massive involvement in F2, Ferrari no longer has any of its youngsters in the upper echelons of the single-seater ladder. Marcus Armstrong, who tested with
Hitech post-season, has left the FDA, while Indycar-bound Callum Ilott is on what has been described as a “gap year”. Hitech has not yet assigned its other seat.
Outside the F1 junior programmes, the announcements have come thick and fast across the F2 and F3 grids. Van Amersfoort Racing, a newcomer to the Bruno Michelrun series, named single-seater veteran Jake Hughes as its first F2 driver – a maiden full campaign in the series for the Brummie. VAR’S Euroformula Open ace Cem Bolukbasi also has an F2 seat – the Turkish Esports star will line up at
Charouz Racing System. Aussie Calan Williams steps up from F3 with Trident.
Meanwhile, in F3, Juan Manuel Correa continues his career recovery following the serious injuries he sustained in the 2019 Spa F2 crash that claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert. Correa will remain on board with ART Grand Prix.