How Russell clawed his way back into F2 title contention after a strong start from Mclaren understudy Norris

George Russell took a dominant Formula 2 title victory by the end of the season, but it so easily could have gone someone else’s way after his nightmare start to the year.

A low start from second in the season opener, taken out in Baku while leading, an engine expiring in practice in his first visit to Monaco and a clutch issue in Paul Ricard meant he spend the first half of the season in the shadow of Lando Norris, at which point Norris was rumoured to be wanted by Red Bull for Toro Rosso and by his employers Mclaren.

But an ace run by Russell midseason, with excellent wins at Paul Ricard, Red Bull Ring and a second at Silverstone helped him edge clear.

Norris failed to win again after the Bahrain season opener which had fuelled his hype, and a pointless weekend in Sochi after a pitstop error meant he was mathematically out of the championship equation heading into the last round. Auditioning for an F1 seat with FP1 runs in Spa and Monza must have made it difficult to remain focused on his F2 bid.

Alex Albon, with four wins and three poles to his name, was the only one with hope of stripping Russell’s lead in the Abu Dhabi finale, but could only qualify eighth and then stalled in the first race. Russell bagged the title and, after the sprint race, Norris capitalised on Albon’s issues to retake second in the championship.

All three overcame problems with the new F2 car, which was plagued with clutch and start troubles, and engine issues with its new turbocharged unit. There were some positives though as the halo device got its first chance to shine when it saved Tadasuke Makino from being hit by the wheel of Arden driver Nirei Fukuzumi’s car.

While the top three were all British born, only two other countrymen took part in the season. British-south Korean driver Jack Aitken partnered Russell at ART but had a nightmare year finishing 11th. Double Macau winner Dan Ticktum made a one- off appearance at Abu Dhabi with Arden International where he suffered gearbox trouble, and duly signed for a season in Super Formula for 2019 instead.

Surrey squad Carlin, thanks to Norris and his strong team-mate Sergio Sette Camara, took the teams’ championship by 33 points, while Norfolk-based Russian Time took fourth with Artem Markelov and Makino. Arden struggled with rookies Fukuzumi and Maxi Gunther and finished ninth out of the 10 teams.