The Junior Series Thread

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 08 Mar 2019, 10:00

I am very, very looking forward to watching this year. Just to see how Schumacher does, alone, is worth the price of admission. I have no idea who will come out on top. Bring it on.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 08 Mar 2019, 22:59

I know you're not as big on his father as I am Rob, but I'm piqued as to how Giuliano Alesi will do. I suppose he's not a driver expected to fight for a title or reach F1, but here's hoping he won't disappoint! Wishing the best also for Tatiana Calderon, the first woman driver in F2/GP2.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 08 Mar 2019, 23:20

good_Ralf wrote:Wishing the best also for Tatiana Calderon, the first woman driver in F2/GP2.

*since Marie-Claude Beaumont.

Well, Giovanna Amati really given that F3000's in that continuity.

EDIT: Never mind, Natalia Kowalska was the last female F2 driver. Remember glorified Formula Palmer Audi? :deletraz:

Motorsport is too complicated.

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 11 Mar 2019, 09:35

Thank you Simtek - a beautiful Elf F2 car pic and Marie-Claude Beaumont - who I had not heard of ( or had completely forgotten) - fascinating

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 11 Mar 2019, 11:21

I miss Formula 2 Palmer Audi, home to the one and only Plamen Kralev. All hail the Fire King.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 11 Mar 2019, 15:03

RonDenisDeletraz wrote:I miss Formula 2 Palmer Audi, home to the one and only Plamen Kralev. All hail the Fire King.

All hail the King of Fire.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 11 Mar 2019, 16:55

RonDenisDeletraz wrote:I miss Formula 2 Palmer Audi, home to the one and only Plamen Kralev. All hail the Fire King.

We will never forget the Fire King.

Post by **Londoner** » 07 Apr 2019, 11:53

British F4 has something special this year in the form of Reema Juffali, who is the first ever female driver from Saudi Arabia. She's also just scored her first points in the series today at Brands Hatch.

Sadly the field is pretty thin, only 12 cars turned up to Brands this weekend.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 07 Apr 2019, 13:12

East Londoner wrote:British F4 has something special this year in the form of Reema Juffali, who is the first ever female driver from Saudi Arabia. She's also just scored her first points in the series today at Brands Hatch.

Sadly the field is pretty thin, only 12 cars turned up to Brands this weekend.

Did you see how much fog there was here at Brands Hatch this morning? Horrendous!

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 26 Apr 2019, 23:23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfNw1S_ ... e=youtu.be

I've been a fan of Mahaveer Raghunathan's since his impressive GP3 stint back in 2016, and seeing him perform the same kind of magic in F2 is... so beautiful.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 27 Apr 2019, 19:47

Simtek wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfNw1S_CXUc&feature=youtu.be

I've been a fan of Mahaveer Raghunathan's since his impressive GP3 stint back in 2016, and seeing him perform the same kind of magic in F2 is... so beautiful.

He was barely within 107% this weekend. MP Motorsport must have been desperate for cash when they signed him.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 29 Apr 2019, 04:34

Samster wrote:
Simtek wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfNw1S_CXUc&feature=youtu.be

I've been a fan of Mahaveer Raghunathan's since his impressive GP3 stint back in 2016, and seeing him perform the same kind of magic in F2 is... so beautiful.

He was barely within 107% this weekend. MP Motorsport must have been desperate for cash when they signed him.

Being in desperate need of cash pretty much sums up MP motorsports career so far.

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 03 May 2019, 08:22

Samster wrote:
He was barely within 107% this weekend. MP Motorsport must have been desperate for cash when they signed him.

And yet he almost scored a point ....Baku isnt really a track for racing if you're going to put out the safety car a lot

Post by **Londoner** » 24 May 2019, 11:44

Reading on social media that the F2 feature race this morning was utterly farcical, mostly because of the antics of Mick Schumacher. Truly a special talent is young Mick, he'll go far in this sport. :facepalm:

Looks like the title battle is between De Vries and Latifi, in what is shaping up to be the dullest title race in F2 since the dark days of 2012/2013. It's pretty clear junior series have hit another talent drought, such is the quality of this F2 field.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 24 May 2019, 20:58

East Londoner wrote:Reading on social media that the F2 feature race this morning was utterly farcical, mostly because of the antics of Mick Schumacher. Truly a special talent is young Mick, he'll go far in this sport.

Looks like the title battle is between De Vries and Latifi, in what is shaping up to be the dullest title race in F2 since the dark days of 2012/2013. It's pretty clear junior series have hit another talent drought, such is the quality of this F2 field.

Farcical because everyone that was trapped by the Schumacher/Calderon collision got stuck a lap down and weren't given the lap back despite the red flag that should have reset the order to what it was the lap before.

The title race wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs the past two seasons, least it could be a two horse race this time. I don't think this grid is 2012/13 bad (Ragunathan and Calderon aside), I reckon Zhou, Schumacher, Ilott, Mazepin and Hubert have the potential to be title contenders in their second seasons. This season just lacks a Leclerc/Russell/Norris type that is able to dominate as a rookie. In fact I think half the grid this season are rookies which has probably helped the veterans reach the front.

Glad to see Ragunathan riding the line of 107% in qualifying again. Its like having a Williams race against a grid full of Mercedes. :lol:

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 25 May 2019, 00:20

Samster wrote:
East Londoner wrote:Reading on social media that the F2 feature race this morning was utterly farcical, mostly because of the antics of Mick Schumacher. Truly a special talent is young Mick, he'll go far in this sport.

Looks like the title battle is between De Vries and Latifi, in what is shaping up to be the dullest title race in F2 since the dark days of 2012/2013. It's pretty clear junior series have hit another talent drought, such is the quality of this F2 field.

Farcical because everyone that was trapped by the Schumacher/Calderon collision got stuck a lap down and weren't given the lap back despite the red flag that should have reset the order to what it was the lap before.

The title race wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs the past two seasons, least it could be a two horse race this time. I don't think this grid is 2012/13 bad (Ragunathan and Calderon aside), I reckon Zhou, Schumacher, Ilott, Mazepin and Hubert have the potential to be title contenders in their second seasons. This season just lacks a Leclerc/Russell/Norris type that is able to dominate as a rookie. In fact I think half the grid this season are rookies which has probably helped the veterans reach the front.

Glad to see Ragunathan riding the line of 107% in qualifying again. Its like having a Williams race against a grid full of Mercedes.

I suppose it depends on what you want out of F2. If you want to see a truly world class talent take the series by storm then seasons like 2017 and 2018 will stick out for that reason. If you want a close title race then 2012 and 2013 are arguably what we had more of. (That said Stefano Coletti finishing 5th overall in 2013 with 1 points finish in the last 14 races suggests it wasn’t high quality back then)

I say we give Mick Schumacher time. He was a slow burner in F3 the last 2 years before something clicked in the 2nd half of 2018 and it’s becoming clear that those who raced with the new car last year like Latifi, Ghiotto, De Vries look much more comfortable with it. For example look at Matsushita who raced in F2 with the old GP2 car and how he’s not been up there in a Carlin. I certainly think Hubert could be a future championship contender given he’s saddled with an Arden team that have struggled for so long and he’s put it in the points quite regularly. With Ghiotto’s Disqualification promoting him to pole for tomorrow I think he can pull off the win.

Could we petition for MP Motorsport to replace Raghunathan with Markelov when King returns? Raghunathan’s easily the worst driver in the current F2 era and the worst I’ve seen in the 2nd tier overall since Giancarlo Serenelli in 2012. He shoved Jack Aitken into the wall when we was a lap behind for god’s sake.

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 25 May 2019, 16:41

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Could we petition for MP Motorsport to replace Raghunathan with Markelov when King returns? Raghunathan’s easily the worst driver in the current F2 era and the worst I’ve seen in the 2nd tier overall since Giancarlo Serenelli in 2012. He shoved Jack Aitken into the wall when we was a lap behind for god’s sake.

Mahaveer Ragunathan wrote:I have no problem with the "talented" Britsh/Korean driver. But sometimes he is dumb. It was his fault. Aitken was so slow.

This guy is officially gold now. :lol:

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 25 May 2019, 19:15

Samster wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Could we petition for MP Motorsport to replace Raghunathan with Markelov when King returns? Raghunathan’s easily the worst driver in the current F2 era and the worst I’ve seen in the 2nd tier overall since Giancarlo Serenelli in 2012. He shoved Jack Aitken into the wall when we was a lap behind for god’s sake.

Mahaveer Ragunathan wrote:I have no problem with the "talented" Britsh/Korean driver. But sometimes he is dumb. It was his fault. Aitken was so slow.

This guy is officially gold now.

Freezy, I don't know what forum you think you're on, but Raghunathan's single-handedly making up for the lack of proper reject goodness in F1 at the moment. :deletraz:

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 25 May 2019, 20:01

Simtek wrote:
Samster wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Could we petition for MP Motorsport to replace Raghunathan with Markelov when King returns? Raghunathan’s easily the worst driver in the current F2 era and the worst I’ve seen in the 2nd tier overall since Giancarlo Serenelli in 2012. He shoved Jack Aitken into the wall when we was a lap behind for god’s sake.

Mahaveer Ragunathan wrote:I have no problem with the "talented" Britsh/Korean driver. But sometimes he is dumb. It was his fault. Aitken was so slow.

This guy is officially gold now.

Freezy, I don't know what forum you think you're on, but Raghunathan's single-handedly making up for the lack of proper reject goodness in F1 at the moment.

Got to be honest until Monaco I had no idea how much of a meme this guy was on social media. I have misjudged him. Plus his PlayStation line in the sprint race was highly amusing.

Only Formula 2 could provide that close of a finish for a win at Monaco too

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 30 May 2019, 08:26

I thoroughly enjoyed F2 at Monaco - some passing , some tension, some skills .
As for Mr Raghunathan - he was 0.6sec inside the 107% in quallie, but in the races there were some very slow laps, and the inconsistency was probably hard to judge for anyone directly behind him, which at Monaco is an issue. So when in Race 2 he simply cut the chicane on lap 1 and took an advantage of overtaking people- that really wasnt fair.
If he's inside 107% and he can drive safely and within the rules , then I have no issue with him racing, even if there are others I might prefer to have the drive. But race 2 - his shortcut ...not on really.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 23 Jun 2019, 00:46

https://www.racefans.net/2019/06/22/f2- ... -one-race/

This lad...

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 23 Jun 2019, 01:15

Simtek wrote:https://www.racefans.net/2019/06/22/f2-driver-banned-after-collecting-nine-penalty-points-in-one-race/

This lad...

I thought his gaffe in Bahrain was a one-off! He has already enough material for us to do a reject profile on him, even though it's fairly certain he'll never make to F1 :deletraz:

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 23 Jun 2019, 15:27

That roundup of his penalty points is quite something, especially as I don't usually watch F2 so it makes for a nice recap. How on earth do you pass the chequered flag twice?!

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 23 Jun 2019, 22:16

Barbazza wrote:That roundup of his penalty points is quite something, especially as I don't usually watch F2 so it makes for a nice recap. How on earth do you pass the chequered flag twice?!

"Lewis' girlfriend has just waved the chequered flag too early..."

CaptainGetz12 · Post by **CaptainGetz12** » 24 Jun 2019, 01:46

good_Ralf wrote:
Simtek wrote:https://www.racefans.net/2019/06/22/f2-driver-banned-after-collecting-nine-penalty-points-in-one-race/

This lad...

I thought his gaffe in Bahrain was a one-off! He has already enough material for us to do a reject profile on him, even though it's fairly certain he'll never make to F1

Hell, I'd read that article if any of us made it

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 24 Jun 2019, 05:29

Raghunathan makes Gelael look like Canamasas.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 26 Jun 2019, 03:50

And now it seems he's being replaced by Pato O'Ward for Austria.

I'm feeling conflicted now.

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 09 Jul 2019, 10:48

F2 - Silverstone is next up , and Austria suggested that Prema have finally found their 'normal' super competitive race pace and if Mick has a clean quallie this could be his chance. A lot of people are waiting to see him get in at the front. Meanwhile Ghiotto, Zhou, Latifi, Sette Camara and de Vries all have some championship hopes to progress. I do love F2 , even with the rather extreme Pirelli lottery distorting results.

Meanwhile F3 - and the Prema intra-team tangle in Austria has heightened the tension a notch

Overall - I'm excited ...hence this post . I'm not willing to stick my neck out yet and predict the F2 champion, but anyone else ?

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 09 Jul 2019, 11:26

I'm a bit sad that I can't keep up with F2 or F3 this year or last year. It used to all be on YouTube, but unfortunately the powers that be have been far more stringent since a few years back, and I find it almost impossible to find anything other than highlights footage of these junior series.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 10 Jul 2019, 12:55

I've only just noticed that Jake Hughes in still Formula 3. It's his 4th season at F3 / GP3 level and he's 25. How he is still doing this? He should be looking to get a GT drive because won't be progressing much further in single-seaters at his age.

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 12 Jul 2019, 13:53

Faustus wrote:I've only just noticed that Jake Hughes in still Formula 3. It's his 4th season at F3 / GP3 level and he's 25. How he is still doing this? He should be looking to get a GT drive because won't be progressing much further in single-seaters at his age.

It may well be true that Jake won't get to F1 (and very few do ) , but I can see why he'll make the most of any chance to race single seaters with a 3.4l V6 around Grand Prix tracks .
And maybe he is 25, and has been around a while, but people develop at different rates and times and I do think we rather fall for the concept of the 'prodigy' - that if a younger person reaches a certain level at the same time as an older person then we tend to assume the younger person will definitely go on to be better than the older one.
This assumption then has the effect of denying older people the opportunity to develop further.
Of course there is always a judgment as to when a person is less likely to improve any more, and for racing age does eventually reduce performance ( but that appears to be well into your 30s) but being an older person I do like to hold out the possibility that even those who have been at the same level for a while shouldnt be quickly dismissed if theyre doing a reasonable job .
Malcolm Gladwell did a nice bit on this in his book - reviewed here https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/2006/0806/0806/myth_prodigy.cfm

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 15 Jul 2019, 13:24

I thought the F2 volume of action and racing at Silverstone would comfortably exceed the F1 ..but then the F1 delivered some real racing, with possibly even more mistakes .
Anyway, what i noticed was that the F2 strugglers seemed to find Silverstone to be easier, as compared to other tracks so far.
Tatiana Calderon was able to race with some others at the back after a good start and wasnt as far off in quallie ( although I know she has qualified on the prime tyre in the past - which doesnt help times)
And Raghunathan..was a lot nearer the pace.
Maybe its just coincidence for them both improving at the same time. Or maybe Silverstone doesnt highlight their difficulties as much as other tracks.

Post by **Ataxia** » 15 Jul 2019, 15:13

Faustus wrote:I've only just noticed that Jake Hughes in still Formula 3. It's his 4th season at F3 / GP3 level and he's 25. How he is still doing this? He should be looking to get a GT drive because won't be progressing much further in single-seaters at his age.

HWA have him in to a) give the team a bit of direction, given it's their first season at this level and b) help out with getting Bent Viscaal and Keyvan Andres up to speed. It's like last year, Mazepin paid for his ART drive because he needed someone to help him with driver coaching.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 15 Jul 2019, 20:23

https://www.autosport.com/f2/news/14482 ... lty-change

And what was Deletraz doing?!

Vassago · Post by **Vassago** » 16 Jul 2019, 04:39

The current F2 season reminds me of 2013 GP2. Too many seasoned vets who are winning by default while they should have done this way early. Latifi or Markelov should like spank the field by now given their experience in the series. Not even gonna mention Sette Camara or de Vries whom I never considered F1 prospects in first place.

Post by **Londoner** » 04 Aug 2019, 12:30

Some very sad news just breaking this afternoon

RIP Jean-Paul.

yannicksamlad · Post by **yannicksamlad** » 05 Aug 2019, 07:58

Yes , sad news indeed. We fans owe a lot to these people who provide us with so much entertainment and interest, and these days even the premier non-F1 teams like DAMS do it all without any real hope of getting to F1 .

Meanwhile - Mick seems to be getting the hang of F2 now

Post by **Londoner** » 31 Aug 2019, 15:47

Hideous accident on lap 2 of the F2 feature race involving Correa and Hubert coming out of Eau Rouge. Hubert's car ended up in two pieces.

Race has been cancelled and Sky are showing pre-taped interviews instead. I have a bad, bad feeling about this one.

Post by **Londoner** » 31 Aug 2019, 17:10

RIP Anthoine, this doesn't even feel real right now. :cry:

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 31 Aug 2019, 18:00

RIP...