Round 6 Timetable 

Data (GMT+2)

Friday

Free Practice: 11.55 – 12.40

Qualifying session: 16.20 – 16.50
Press conference: 18.00

Saturday
Driver’s Parade: 13.00 – 13.20

Feature race: 16.00 (25 laps)
Press conference: 17.30

Sunday
Sprint race: 10.15 (18 laps)
Press conference: 11.30

Note: The FIA F2 press conferences take place in the F1 press conference room.

Season Stats
6 Poles in 7 rounds for championship leader Charles Leclerc

1 Pole for championship challenger Oliver Rowland, last time out in Budapest  

2 Drivers in the top 4 for DAMS  

3 Teams with both drivers in the top 10 (RUSSIAN TIME, DAMS, ART Grand Prix)

Warm Up // Nyck De Vries – Racing Engineering     

“I think every driver loves Spa! It’s very unique, very special with a lot of altitude difference, and many high speed corners. Eau Rouge is very special, and from a driver’s perspective just driving there is already amazing, and when Max came into Formula 1 he made all of Holland excited about racing again: last year there were a lot of spectators, and when we came in early the queues were already insane! Seeing all of the fields full is really cool to see: the track is already amazing, but it’s great that Formula 1 is so popular in Holland again, and that they all come to watch.

“Eau Rouge is supposed to be completely flat in qualifying, so we’re probably not supposed to consider it a corner! But there are so many places to gain or lose time: there’s no track that comes close in layout, altitude difference and corner shapes. When I was racing in smaller cars everyone was going crazy about Spa, but actually it was probably a bit too long: but driving these cars in Formula 2 is just right!”

The Stakes        
Round 8 sees the teams arrive at the fabled Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium fresh and recharged from their summer break and ready to get racing again for the second half of the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship. The long, winding circuit is known and loved by drivers and teams alike, all of whom will be looking for a strong result at what is considered the toughest circuit on the calendar. Qualifying is as important as ever, but with long straights and fast corners overtaking could happen almost anywhere.

Budapest saw Oliver Rowland close the gap in the drivers’ championship to Charles Leclerc: the Briton picked up pole when the Monegasque was disqualified for a technical infringement before turning it into a fine win after seeing off a strong challenge from Artem Markelov in the closing stages of the feature race for victory ahead of teammate Nicholas Latifi and Nyck De Vries, with Leclerc closing in for 4th at the line after starting from the back of the grid.

Nobuharu Matsushita dominated the sprint race with a stunning start from P4 to snatch the lead from teammate Alexander Albon at turn 1 before heading off into the distance, while Rowland sliced his way past his rivals for second at the flag ahead of De Vries, who rounded out the podium once again after moving up in the closing stages of the race, once again ahead of Leclerc.

Mario Isola, Head of Car Racing at Pirelli:

“At Spa, the Formula 2 drivers will race on the same compounds as they did at the Hungaroring, but for different reasons. In Hungary, we were expecting high temperatures, on a track that never lets the tyres cool down. In Belgium, temperatures will be milder but the energy going through the tyres will be higher, because of the track layout. These two factors essentially balance each other out, leading to the same tyre choice for two very different circuits. The unpredictable weather at Spa can often play its part too and is likely to reward flexible strategies. Unlike Formula 1, there is no intermediate tyre in Formula 2, and this makes tyre choice even more complicated in the event of marginal weather. As a test of bravery of skill, Spa is one of the biggest challenges of the year.”

Noteworthy

·       There are 3 driver changes in the line-up: Nyck de Vries and Louis Delétraz swap seats, with the Swiss driver moving to Rapax in car #18 whilst the Dutchman joins Racing Engineering in car #3. Also, Sergio Canamasas will not take part to this event: he will be replaced by Roberto Merhi in car #19 at Rapax.

·       DAMS have achieved the most podium finishes (14). PREMA Racing are the second most successful with 8 rostrums – 1 more than RUSSIAN TIME.

·       DAMS are leading in the teams’ championship 41 points over PREMA Racing.

·       RUSSIAN TIME and ART Grand Prix are the only two teams to have scored points in every single race this season so far.

·       Championship leader Charles Leclerc has failed to finish on the podium 5 times whilst title rival Oliver Rowland has missed a rostrum six times.

·       Both Leclerc and Rowland finished outside of the points in only three races. It’s important to note however that the Monegasque driver still scored four points for pole position in Monaco meaning that he failed to score any points only twice over 7 rounds.

·       Artem Markelov and Luca Ghiotto are the most consistent point scorers in the championship: both drivers have failed to score points in just two races.

Most Improved

Nyck De Vries (Racing Engineering) +2 Places between Round 6 (Silverstone) and Round 7 (Budapest)