Formula 2 is back and the 2025 season starts in Australia. Here’s what to expect from an action-packed season opener.
Formula 2 Starts New Season in Australia
The Formula 2 grid is set to kick off the season after a three-month break. In Australia, both new and experienced drivers will finally have the opportunity to showcase their skills in an official session rather than just during testing.
The veteran drivers will leverage their knowledge of the circuit to extract maximum performance from their cars. Meanwhile, the rookies will rely on their simulator preparation and their ability to adapt quickly to the new car.
After the pre-season testing, several important storylines have emerged for the 2025 season. PREMA Racing and ART Grand Prix are determined to regain their full potential.
However, they do not start as favorites; that title belongs to Invicta Racing. The English team won both the 2024 Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships last year. They will have a lot of eyes on themselves for the first round.
This attention is also due to the presence of 2024 Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion Leonardo Fornaroli in the team, who is a major asset for Invicta Racing as they aim to perform at their best.
READ MORE: Key Takeaways from F2 Pre-Season Testing in Barcelona
What to Expect From the 2025 Formula 2 Season Opener in Melbourne
Ahead of the first round of the 2025 Formula 2 season in Australia, LWOS spoke with the F3 champion, along with selected media, about the testing conducted in Barcelona and whether he feels ready for this new challenge:
“The pitstop improved a lot but still I need to improve a bit the position, because it’s very difficult and I’m always scared to hit the mechanism or something, but it already improved a lot. As I said before, I think I have to focus on this series to be consistent and focus on myself.” – Leonardo Fornaroli to LWOS.
An important aspect to monitor in the first round will be the performance of the grid following the Feature Race in Melbourne. As F2 has seen many times, the balances in the championships can change throughout the season.
However, if a driver and their team prove to be already competitive from the first race, it will be crucial for their opponent to keep a close watch on them.
Kush Maini and Jak Crawford, now in their third season in Formula 2, discussed the balance they observed in the field after the pre-season testing and shared their expectations for this season:
“I think experience does play big role. But even looking at my rookie season pace-wise, rookies do tend to get up to speed quick. At the end it’s a car and everyone in F2 is decently fast. So I would say speed-wise or one lap pace, there isn’t much in it with experienced drivers and rookies, but definitely managing a race and managing a weekend. You learn a lot through seasons and through mistakes.” – Kush Maini to LWOS.
“Yeah definitely experience is important of course, knowing all the tracks, having past experiences, things that have gone bad and stuff like that. But yeah, it’s true that since my rookie season, I wouldn’t say I’m a whole lot faster. I just have more experience. I’m able to do less mistakes and just be a bit more accurate and up to speed. It definitely helps to be experienced, but it doesn’t make a massive difference in terms of pace.” – Jak Crawford to LWOS.
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Possible Strategies
The layout of the Albert Park circuit features four DRS zones, which create many overtaking opportunities. However, one should not underestimate the heavy braking zones throughout the track.
Tyre degradation is generally not a major issue in Melbourne, which is why Pirelli provided two types of tire compounds last year: the purple-walled Supersoft tyres and the yellow-marked medium tyres. This year the decision could fall upon the same types.
The circuit presents a good variety of corners, between high-speed sections, like the chicane at Turns 9 and 10; and slower speed sections like Turn 3,4 and 11 and 14.
Last year’s Melbourne winner, Isack Hadjar, started the race on the Soft compounds and made his mandatory pit stop on Lap 11, switching to the Medium tyres just before the virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed.
This strategy could potentially be the winning approach for teams and drivers this year. However, the possibility of interruptions during the race could change everything.
Timings of the 2025 F2 Australian GP
The F2 drivers will hit the track for the first time this year in Melbourne, starting Friday, April 14 (Thursday night in the UK) with the qualifying session to the Feature Race on Sunday, April 16.
Friday, April 14, 2025
- Free Practice: 10:00–10:45 local time (Thursday, 23:00-23:45 GMT)
- Qualifying: 17:30–18:00 local time (06:30–07:00 GMT)
Saturday, April 15, 2025
- Sprint Race: 14:15–15:00 local time (03:15-04:00 GMT)
Sunday, April 16, 2025
- Feature Race: 11:30-12:30 local time (00:30-01:30 GMT)
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Recording Date: 07.03.2025
