Junior Formula. Discussion of F2, F3, F4, Formula Renault, TRS, W-Series, Indy Lights, etcOpen Wheel 

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Correa and Hubert have been replaced by Matevos Isaakyan and Artem Markelov respectively for the remainder of the F2 season.

Formula 2 has decided to retire Hubert's #19 from the series, so Arden will be running with #18 and #22 for Sochi and Abu Dhabi.
 
TetsuKobura
Kyle Kirkwood wins the Indy Pro 2000 Championship by 2 points over Rasmus Lindh! I’m telling y’all, this kid is special. His record is like something out of a video game.
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I expect this guy to be in an Andretti car in lights next year. Crazy stuff he’s done and could be a championship contender in his rookie year.
 
Wow very hard crash after the start between Mazepin and Matsushieta in F2 sprint race in Sochi. Couple of drivers involved and it seems that Matsushieta is injured. Mazepin is ok and walked away. Obviously hoping not too bad injured?

Edit: after a 20 minute red flag because of the uncertainty about Matsushieta health it became clear he is also ok. Now the replays will be broadcasted and you'll see the heavy double impact crash.

PS had to write the japanese name with "IE" otherwise it is marked with **** as recognized as a swearing word
 
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@BrainsBush, here it is. The driver who went around the outside of the bollards is the real cause of this, should be a ban imo. I think clear errors of discipline like this should be penalised far more heavily in the formulas.

 
TenEightyOne
@BrainsBush, here it is. The driver who went around the outside of the bollards is the real cause of this, should be a ban imo. I think clear errors of discipline like this should be penalised far more heavily in the formulas.

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Yep Aitken weaved his car around the arrow signs but Mazepin went straight through and that caused the incident.
 
18 of the 20 Drivers for the 2020 W Series season have now been announced, including all 12 with automatic places from this season. So no one moving up the motorsport ladder unfortunately... Of the new names, Abbie Eaton is certainly the highest profile. 2 more names yet to be announced, which has been suggested is because they will come from the drivers who contested the 2019 season but finished outside of the top 12 in the Championship.

https://www.motorsport.com/w-series/news/2020-grid-drivers-announced-chadwick/4560879/
 
Pezzarinho17
18 of the 20 Drivers for the 2020 W Series season have now been announced, including all 12 with automatic places from this season. So no one moving up the motorsport ladder unfortunately... Of the new names, Abbie Eaton is certainly the highest profile. 2 more names yet to be announced, which has been suggested is because they will come from the drivers who contested the 2019 season but finished outside of the top 12 in the Championship.

https://www.motorsport.com/w-series/news/2020-grid-drivers-announced-chadwick/4560879/
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So, to me, Chadwick coming back to defend her title tells me that the W Series failed to accomplish what it set out to do. She should be racing in F3 at the very least, and I’d be surprised if no team has approached her.
 
FutureF1
So, to me, Chadwick coming back to defend her title tells me that the W Series failed to accomplish what it set out to do. She should be racing in F3 at the very least, and I’d be surprised if no team has approached her.
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Nothing to stop Jamie racing in something else alongside W-Series, assuming there are no clashes (as she did this year - with Aston Martin at VLN for instance). I remain sceptical about W-Series, but let's allow some time to see what else the champ does next year.

Of the new entrants the one that interests me the most is Abbie Eaton - she was a fairly outspoken critic of the series when it was launched but has had a change of view, I'm looking forward to seeing how she gets on. I'm hoping that one of the two remaining spots goes to Esmee Hawkey, she's a better driver than she managed to show in WS last year - and one thing I will definitely credit the series with is that racing in WS has improved her driving in her usual Carrera Cup outings - she's faster, and racing better, in that championship than she has been previously, and just having the extra opportunities to go racing and get seat time with WS has played a big part in that IMO.
 
gregc
Nothing to stop Jamie racing in something else alongside W-Series, assuming there are no clashes (as she did this year - with Aston Martin at VLN for instance). I remain sceptical about W-Series, but let's allow some time to see what else the champ does next year.

Of the new entrants the one that interests me the most is Abbie Eaton - she was a fairly outspoken critic of the series when it was launched but has had a change of view, I'm looking forward to seeing how she gets on. I'm hoping that one of the two remaining spots goes to Esmee Hawkey, she's a better driver than she managed to show in WS last year - and one thing I will definitely credit the series with is that racing in WS has improved her driving in her usual Carrera Cup outings - she's faster, and racing better, in that championship than she has been previously, and just having the extra opportunities to go racing and get seat time with WS has played a big part in that IMO.
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That’s a pretty fair view for Chadwick.

As for Eaton, she’s a very talented driver who hasn’t been full time in a while, so I suspect she may have put that aside to go after the prize money. After all, it is free entry
 
Pezzarinho17
18 of the 20 Drivers for the 2020 W Series season have now been announced, including all 12 with automatic places from this season. So no one moving up the motorsport ladder unfortunately... Of the new names, Abbie Eaton is certainly the highest profile. 2 more names yet to be announced, which has been suggested is because they will come from the drivers who contested the 2019 season but finished outside of the top 12 in the Championship.

https://www.motorsport.com/w-series/news/2020-grid-drivers-announced-chadwick/4560879/
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When was the last time a junior formula champion returned to the same series to defend their title? This is rather unprecedented, isn’t it?

Isn’t it the case in certain series, eg F2, that you are prohibited from returning if you win the championship?

I’m seeing people on Twitter say Chadwick is returning to try to collect the Super License points being offered....but couldn’t she collect Super License points in F3 or F2 if she was successful in those catagories?
 
twitcher
When was the last time a junior formula champion returned to the same series to defend their title? This is rather unprecedented, isn’t it?
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Definitely, and it was very predictable too. Jamie Chadwick did say that she was hoping to announce further plans soon, so I'm hoping she has got her Formula 3 drive sorted to go alongside W Series. I think DTM (and therefore W Series) is a series that does not clash with F1 weekends. I would go as far as to say I would have more appreciation if she defended her W Series alongside an F3 drive, against simply stepping away from W Series altogether.

jake2013guy
Mehri replaces Ahmed for the afternoon at Campos.
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Is Merhi the first driver to go from F1, to F2 and then F3?...
 
Pezzarinho17
Definitely, and it was very predictable too. Jamie Chadwick did say that she was hoping to announce further plans soon, so I'm hoping she has got her Formula 3 drive sorted to go alongside W Series. I think DTM (and therefore W Series) is a series that does not clash with F1 weekends. I would go as far as to say I would have more appreciation if she defended her W Series alongside an F3 drive, against simply stepping away from W Series altogether.



Is Merhi the first driver to go from F1, to F2 and then F3?...
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Wouldn’t Chadwick defending her W-Series title and competing in F3 kind of be akin to George Russel defending his F2 title while also driving in F1? Or like Mic Schumacher defending his F3 title while driving in F2?

Is W-Series supposed to be a junior series as part of the development ladder to higher categories, or is it an end game for female drivers?
 
twitcher
Wouldn’t Chadwick defending her W-Series title and competing in F3 kind of be akin to George Russel defending his F2 title while also driving in F1? Or like Mic Schumacher defending his F3 title while driving in F2?

Is W-Series supposed to be a junior series as part of the development ladder to higher categories, or is it an end game for female drivers?
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Very true, though I think it is different as you get closer to the top of the motorsport ladder. The F1 season is 21 races long, but you do see F1 drivers fitting in a special event maybe once a season. F2 is 12 races long, and a lot of field will contest other series alongside this and maybe even feature in F1 sessions. F3 is only 8 races long with a non-championship one off at Macau. That race has already seen some drivers "step back" down the ladder just because it is a special one off event. W Series being only 6 races long does easily allow the drivers to contest it alongside another full season in a different series. It certainly shouldn't be the endgame for drivers as is seemingly already starting to be the case, but it would be silly to overlook a free entry into a Championship offering both prize money and super license points... In that way, it is similar to drivers returning to the Toyota winter series simply because it offers the same rewards and specifically doesn't clash with other series.
 
Anyone know anything more about this Japanese kid?



I’m seeing this announcement about her doing Danish and French F4 next year all over the place, and it seems like people are making a pretty big deal about it. Will Buxton remarked that it’s the biggest junior formula story since Max Verstappen. Apparently she’s on Redbull’s radar as well.

I’d love to see her do well, and love to see her skip W-Series and go from F4 to F3.
 
twitcher
Anyone know anything more about this Japanese kid?



I’m seeing this announcement about her doing Danish and French F4 next year all over the place, and it seems like people are making a pretty big deal about it. Will Buxton remarked that it’s the biggest junior formula story since Max Verstappen. Apparently she’s on Redbull’s radar as well.

I’d love to see her do well, and love to see her skip W-Series and go from F4 to F3.
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She is the daughter of Hideki Noda. She drove an F4 car at the age of 9, and one year later broke the F4 lap record around Okayama. She has also driven F3 cars at the age of 11.
 
Jimlaad43
She is the daughter of Hideki Noda. She drove an F4 car at the age of 9, and one year later broke the F4 lap record around Okayama. She has also driven F3 cars at the age of 11.
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That’s really cool, I really hope things work out for her.

To me, it’s just another bit of evidence that if a driver isn’t on the radar of F1 teams by the time they’re at least 12, then they’re not an F1 protege. Anyone who is still “flying under the radar” between ages 15-20, it ain’t happening for them. If you have the raw natural ability required to make it to F1, it’ll be identified by someone well before age 15. It’s like being 16 and just learning how to skate with hopes of making it to the NHL one day.

Hamilton, Norris, Sainz, Ocon, Leclerc, Verstappen, Albon, even Stroll...all these kids were known names and winning championships before they were teenagers.
 
Takuma Sato didn't start racing cars until he was 20, it's not set in stone.
 
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Jimlaad43
Takuma Sato didn't start racing cars until he was 20, it's not set in stone.
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True it’s not set in stone, and historically isn’t true, but I think Hamilton marked a bit of a turning point - he’s become the blueprint. The new generation that have come after him were all identified very young. There can always be exceptions to the rule, but Juju wouldn’t be one of those exceptions.
 
2019 Macau Grand Prix



It’s really great to see F1 streaming and posting this on YouTube for free, good on them 👍 Hopefully they can continue to build on the legacy of the Macau GP, and make the event somewhat equivalent to the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships that happen every year at Christmas - it’s a one off event that showcases the world’s best junior talent on the world stage. It’s where most hockey fans get introduced to the next generation of top talent. Macau is kind of that in practice, and those who follow the sport really closely are aware of it, but more exposure is always welcome.

The F3 cars look good on the streets, they’re quick, but not too quick. DRS was a bit of a surprise, and not sure why it took until 4 laps to go to be enabled, but it was an interesting twist.
 

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