Formula 1\u2019s regulation sweep for 2026 means that leading junior category, Formula 2, now races with very different machinery \u2013 will that change for next year\u2019s overhaul?<\/p>\n
Formula 2 is set to roll out with a new car in 2027, having raced with the current generation machine for three seasons after its introduction in 2024.<\/p>\n
Formula 2\u2019s 2027 car will adopt styling cues from Formula 1<\/p>\n
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Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust.<\/p>\n As a spec series, all the cars in Formula 2 are purchased, rather than the teams being constructors in the way they are in Formula 1.<\/p>\n Italian manufacturer Dallara manufactures the current design, created by F2 technical director Pierre-Alain Michot for introduction at the start of 2024.<\/p>\n Now approaching the end of the planned three-year cycle, Formula 2 now represents a very different racing experience from what Formula 1 has recently moved to, with F1\u2019s regulation overhaul for this cycle turning to active aerodynamics and ditching the long-standing DRS overtaking aid.<\/p>\n But F2 continues to utilise the drag reduction system, with the cars themselves looking quite different to the direction F1 has moved in for its latest generation.<\/p>\n Several months out from the reveal of the new F2 car for 2027, series CEO Bruno Michel has confirmed the next car will closely match the aesthetic of the new F1 machines, given the importance of F2 continuing to be an ideal training ground for drivers on the cusp of earning a step up to the peak of single-seater racing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to change and to improve the aerodynamics of the car, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he said in a select media session, including PlanetF1.com, in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cActually, what we\u2019re going to do for next year\u2019s car is an update. I don\u2019t want to make a brand new car because I want to try to limit the cost.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time you make a brand new car, the problem is that not only do the teams have to buy the cars, but they also have to constitute a stock of spare parts, and it makes a big difference.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what we\u2019re going to do, we\u2019re going to change the aerodynamics of the car to try to give it a familiar look with the F1 car.\u201d<\/p>\n With the DRS being a simple mechanism that offers clear benefits as an overtaking aid, ditching the drag reduction system isn\u2019t guaranteed, and Michel suggested Formula 2 won\u2019t move away from this philosophy on the new car, although exploration of different ideas is underway.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have different possibilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment we are doing it for this season, we have the possibility to continue, or we can have some other systems, like Formula 1 have\u2026 that\u2019s something we\u2019re discussing, having some kind of Push-to-Pass, having some kind of different possibilities, but with the same power unit, which means that, if you want to put a Push-to-Pass, but then you need to detune the engine a little bit to make it efficient.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there are a lot of questions that we\u2019re asking ourselves at the moment, but we\u2019re not going to make a massive change and go hybrid, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Formula 2<\/p>\n McLaren hidden gem driver tipped for long-awaited F1 chance<\/a><\/p>\n Formula 2 rules out Formula 1-style hybrid engines for 2027 car<\/p>\n While the chassis can be more closely aligned with F1, it\u2019s not possible to do this with the power unit. Formula 2 uses an \u2018old-school\u2019 600-horsepower Mecachrome V634, a 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 designed to last the whole season.<\/p>\n At the start of 2024, F2 beat F1 to the introduction of sustainable fuels as it swapped to the use of a 55 per cent bio-sourced fuel mixture, developed by Aramco, before becoming 100 per cent sustainable through bio-fuel in 2025.<\/p>\n But following in F1\u2019s footsteps of moving to a complex V6 hybrid with electrical energy recovery is not a direction Formula 2 can move in, due to the massive cost increase this would represent for the teams.<\/p>\n Sticking with a simpler engine, therefore, will be the path forward for F2, Michel explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have absolutely no resources to go in that direction. There\u2019s no doubt about that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we will continue. There are a few things that will continue to improve. Our strategy in terms of sustainability has always been, and we\u2019ve been the first one to do it with Aramco, to go with sustainable fuel, and we\u2019re working at the moment with 100 per cent sustainable fuel, and we did it before Formula 1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue in that direction. We are going to continue the development with Aramco to go with synthetic fuel as soon as we can, which is going to make a massive difference as well.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I would say that\u2019s more our strategy than going into a 50\/50 engine as they have in Formula 1, because, in terms of Formula 2 costs, it will make absolutely no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n But the inability to follow in F1\u2019s power unit direction does have some drawbacks: as a training ground for the top level of single-seater racing, there is now quite a disparity in approach between the two categories in terms of how to extract laptime and go racing.<\/p>\n With F2 being a straightforward racing category, requiring drivers to hustle for laptime and get past through outbraking rivals, Formula 1\u2019s new regulations have seen drivers having to adjust, fundamentally, their approach to racing.<\/p>\n For optimal laptime, as has been extensively documented through the first months of the new ruleset, drivers are required to \u2018drive slower to drive faster\u2019, due to more laptime being generated through optimal energy use around a lap than considerations such as tyre-limited apex speeds.<\/p>\n F1\u2019s power units reward drivers who brake earlier, due to the energy harvesting benefits that pay off down the straights through deployment, although the regulations are being tweaked in order to reduce this unnatural driving dynamic.<\/p>\n Asked by PlanetF1.com whether Formula 2\u2019s relevance in training F1 drivers has been reduced by the changes made at the top level, Michel admitted it\u2019s a \u201cgood question, and that\u2019s something we\u2019ve been thinking of.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve been showing, over the last two seasons, that we were delivering drivers that were immediately ready for Formula 1,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith F1 being different now, for sure, they will probably need a little bit more training with the Formula 1 teams than they had in the past. Because, in the past, it\u2019s true, they were arriving, and they were immediately\u2026 you look at last year, we put five drivers in Formula 1 and they all did extremely well immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will probably need a bit more training. But what you also need to realise now is that most of the drivers coming to Formula 1 are part of team academies, and they have been working on a simulator, and they\u2019ve been working during the race weekends, and they understand how things are working.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as they do not really have the car in their hands, of course, it\u2019s going to make a difference, but those guys are very, very strong drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it will take a little bit more time, but a little bit more time for a driver is what? A few laps. When you come to a new track, and the drivers tell you, \u2018I don\u2019t know the track\u2019\u2026 after five laps, they know the track.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m exaggerating a little bit when I say that, but I\u2019m not worried, because we are going to deliver the best drivers that can arrive in Formula 1 after that. Yes, they will need some kind of training. Definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n