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Not just for millionaires: how F2 remains affordable for talents

19:01, 11 Jan

Updated: 19:07, 11 Jan

byLudo van Denderen

Racing is an expensive sport, especially as drivers climb up the ladder to Formula 2 and Formula 3. However, the series aim to keep costs down, F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel explains.

MP Motorsport's Richard Verschoor once explained that should he break his front wings, the cost comes out of his own pocket.

Connecting the dots, it’s difficult to imagine that Verschoor would have made it to F2 without strong financial backing from sponsors.

Racing is expensive, but teams receive help

Yet, the series could be even more expensive. F2 and F3 CEO Bruno Michel explains in an exclusive interview with GPblog that he keeps costs as low as possible for the drivers and teams.

For example, he mentioned that the cars in use - while meeting the highest safety standards - are kept as affordable as possible.

But the feeder series helps in other areas as well. "For instance, when the teams are traveling, we pay for the freight [costs].

"We race in F2 on 14 weekends. We race with Formula 1, which makes the logistics, the hotels, and the accommodations more expensive. We're not going to have a very, very low cost for a season.

"But I can assure you that you have no idea how we're going to try to keep those costs as low as possible on every aspect that we have."

Arvid Lindblad is one of the stars in Formula 2 - Photo: RacePictures

How can F2 and F3 keep costs low?

Michel then lists more examples. "We still limit the number of people. Imagine with cars that are so advanced technologically, you have only 12 operating people on the F2 team.

"You have only 10 on the F3 team for three cars. Imagine what that is, the amount of work they have to do together, because I don't want to increase that.

"We do that for the tyres as well. We limit the number of tyres every week. And everything we can do, keeping also the DNA of what we're doing, because we're there to help the drivers to go to Formula 1," says Michel.

Leonardo Fornaroli leads the F2 championship - Photo: RacePictures

Free fuel in F2 and F3

For Formula 1 teams, fuel has become a costly item. However, for F2 and F3 teams, that is no such headache, Michel explains.

"Yes, the cost of fuel is fantastic. You know why? Because Aramco has been supplying it free of charge to the teams since we signed the agreement two years ago. That's true, the cost of fuel increased. But we don't care.

"Same thing for the tyres. The tyres are so much cheaper than they are in Formula 1. It's because we have Aramco, we have Pirelli, they are playing the game and helping a lot."

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