Frederik Vesti, Mercedes
The 21-year-old Dane is second in the F2 championship that will be decided in Abu Dhabi. In his second season in the series he trails Théo Pourchaire by 16 points with 39 still on the table after a strong season during which he has won six races, including a superb victory in the sprint race on Saturday . Vesti was signed to the Mercedes junior programme in 2021 and concluded a full young driver test for them in Abu Dhabi in 2022. He made his debut on a full grand prix weekend at Mexico this season when he completed the low-speed run over 26 laps and finished 19th, which the team principal, Toto Wolff, admitted was not the ideal chance to assess the youngster’s talents. On Friday, he had a better shot, took over Lewis Hamilton’s car and stayed within seven-tenths of George Russell.
Robert Shwartzman, Ferrari
Ferrari’s reserve driver, the 24-year-old Israeli already has some proven credentials. He won the F3 title in 2019 before taking fourth and second in F2 in the next two seasons. He had been part of the Ferrari driver academy and concluded extensive testing with the team. He made his GP debut in practice at the US Grand Prix in 2022 and then in another session at Abu Dhabi. He also took part in first practice at the Dutch Grand Prix this season. He had been competing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup alongside his duties as a reserve driver. On Friday, he gave his most polished performance yet in an F1 car, lapping two-hundredths down on Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari in Abu Dhabi on what looked like similar run plans.
Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin
The Brazilian is an object lesson in just how hard it is to break into F1, as drivers extend their careers for longer and with the lack of testing time, teams value competitive experience highly. The 23-year-old won the F2 title in 2022 and joined the Aston Martin driver development program, becoming one of their reserve drivers the following year. He has tested for the team and entered free practice at the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP, was Aston’s reserve driver last season and stood in for an injured Lance Stroll in pre-season testing. He took part in free practice at Monza this year and has also been linked to Williams. He showed his mettle once more in Abu Dhabi, putting in a time within three-tenths of the fastest car in practice and quicker than Stroll.
Zak O’Sullivan, Williams
Having secured the runner-up spot in this year’s F3 championship, taking four wins, the Briton is set to make his F2 debut with the ART Grand Prix team next year. The 18-year-old from Cheltenham is considered a real talent and joined the Williams driver academy in 2022. He has already been noticed, winning the 2021 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC young driver of the year award, the same year he won the GB3 championship. With the Williams principal, James Vowles, describing him as “a very intelligent driver who knows how to extract the most out of machinery”, the team let him taking part in free practice in Abu Dhabi. He did not disappoint and he lapped within seven-tenths of Williams’ Logan Sargeant, an impressive performance.
Théo Pourchaire, Alfa Romeo
Pourchaire is on course to seal his first F2 title. He could manage only seventh in the sprint race on Saturday but still leads Vesti by 16 points going into the final feature race of the season. After claiming second last year, he has delivered with impressive consistency this season for ART Grand Prix, with 10 podiums. He joined the Sauber junior team in 2019 and is the Alfa Romeo test and reserve driver. He made his first practice debut at the US GP in 2022 and did another session at the Mexican GP this year. He believed he was in with a shot of a seat at Alfa Romeo for next season but the team opted to stay with Zhou Guanyu. He finished practice in Abu Dhabi six-tenths down on Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.
Oliver Bearman, Haas
Bearman is sixth in the F2 championship in his debut season for Prema Racing. The 18-year-old from Chelmsford has secured four wins. He was taken on by the Ferrari driver academy in 2021 and went on to finish third in the 2022 F3 championship. This season he became the youngest British driver to take part in a grand prix weekend, debuting for Haas in first practice. He impressed as the highest-placed F2 driver, finishing in 15th. He backed it up with another strong run in Abu Dhabi on Friday, within a tenth of Kevin Magnussen’s time – the closest any of the rookies to an established F1 driver.
