Formula 2 comes back, Minardi "We would need more manufacturers"

After the launch of Formula 4, in which Italy has had a pioneering role in bringing the first Championship into track in 2014, the International Automobile Federation has developed the last tile by replacing the present GP2 with Formula 2, the new anteroom to Formula 1. The connection between the two series will be the FIA European F3 Championship that in the last years has been able to capture the attention revealing important names as Max Verstappen, Stefano Ocon, as our standard-bearers Antonio Giovinazzi, Raffaele Marciello, Antonio Fuoco, and Alessio Lorandi.

The real revolution will take place in 2017 with new single-seaters with which drivers should engage further to enhance their technical qualities. In recent years, the GP2 Series hasn’t been longer able to bring his champions into the Circus, that was the starting goal. “The FIA is trying to take its historical brands back, to create a chain in which F4 is the first step to get to F2 through International F3 which is experiencing an important peak” says Gian Carlo Minardi, interviewed on the subject by Minardi.it.

The revolution could not stop. Given the great success of Formula 4 everywhere in Europe, the idea to create an intermediate step is under consideration. “A National Formula 3 to link F4 and International F3 is under study“.

Gian Carlo Minardi has built much of his know-how as a manufacturer participating in the Formula 2 Championship from 1974 to 1984, at first with the Scuderia Everest and later with his Minardi Team, coming from the Italian Formula and Formula 3. “In those years, Formula 2 was a championship at the highest level with 5-6 chassis manufacturers, 4-5 engines suppliers, and 2-3 tires suppliers. The races were made up of drivers engaged in the Formula 1 World Championship and by young people who would pawed the ground for show off. Those who did well in F2 then arrived in F1 as Martini, Nannini, Alboreto and many other” the manager from Faenza explains, stressing on the lack of manufacturers, except for Dallara. What is now lacking it is a competition between the various manufacturers. Unfortunately, new Formula 2 will only be a chassis, engine and tires single brand. This scenario is the result of past decisions made by the Federation. It has wanted to entrench behind reductions of costs that has not really happened. Doing so we lost all the major manufacturers who made this sport great as Lola, March and Ralt, just to name a few. Today, scene is dominated by Dallara, even when the regulations would allow more competition, like in F3“.

Would not it be better to open the challenge to more manufactures of frames? In 2012, the latest Formula 3 Italia edition saw the challenge on track between two manufacturers, Dallara and My GAL with the French one victorious thanks to JD Motorsport and Riccardo Agostini.