These are the talents to keep an eye on in the 2023 F2 season

Ahead of the new motorsport season, there are plenty of shifts taking place in the step-up classes to Formula 1. Chief among these is Formula 2, in which many young talents are looking to prove themselves in 2023 in the hope of a future F1 seat. These are some promising names to keep an eye on in the coming season.

Theo Pourchaire

Theo Pourchaire finished second in the 2022 F2 championship and is considered one of the top favourites for the title in 2023, should he choose to add another season to it. The 19-year-old Frenchman has already completed two seasons in F2 with ART Grand Prix and may stay with that team for a third season, although a switch to another racing class is also among the options. Moreover, as Alfa Romeo's reserve driver, there is a significant chance Pourchaire will get another chance to drive a Formula 1 car, as he did in 2022.

Victor Martins

A promising debutant in the F2 class is Victor Martins. The 21-year-old Frenchman became champion in Formula 3 in 2022 and will make the switch to F2 in 2023. He is expected to debut with ART Grand Prix, the team with which he won his F3 title. An official announcement remains outstanding for now, but the Alpine junior has already been seen in action for ART during the post-season test of the F2 class.

Dennis Hauger

After winning the title in both drivers and constructors with Felipe Drugovich, Dutch MP Motorsport will continue with Dennis Hauger next year. Hauger is transferring from Prema and will be looking to have a go at the title with his new team, after a less successful F2 season in 2022 in which the Norwegian suffered a lot of bad luck. That season followed an extremely successful year in F3, where he won the title in 2021.

As Red Bull Racing's (and therefore AlphaTauri's) reserve driver, Hauger will be extra motivated to prove his qualities in the new season. He may also get that chance in a Formula 1 car during one or more free practice sessions in 2023.

Ayumu Iwasa

21-year-old Ayumu Iwasa had an excellent debut season in F2, in which he won two races and also stood on the podium four times. He finished fifth in the standings after a blistering battle for spots behind champion Drugovich. In 2023, the Red Bull Junior Team's Japanese driver hopes to make it even further during his second season at DAMS, where he will be joined by Arthur Leclerc.

Richard Verschoor

There will also be another Dutch face on the F2 grid in the person of Richard Verschoor. The 22-year-old driver from Benschop has signed a contract with Van Amersfoort Racing for 2023, transferring from Trident, with whom he won the first sprint race in Bahrain last season and was on the podium twice in a main race.

Jack Doohan

Jack Doohan impressed in recent years, finishing second in the 2021 F3 championship, before finishing sixth in his debut year in F2. So in 2023, we can expect a lot from the son of motorsport legend Mick Doohan, who will once again race for Virtuosi Racing. As an Alpine junior, we may also see the Australian in action during free practice in F1, having already entered Alpine several times in 2022.

Enzo Fittipaldi

The newest addition to the Red Bull Junior Team is Enzo Fittipaldi. The grandson of two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi will be in action on behalf of Carlin in his third F2 season in 2023. After a lacklustre campaign in F3 - followed by a difficult debut year in F2 - Fittipaldi came back strongly in 2022.

The 21-year-old Brazilian scored a number of podiums and finished eighth in a fierce battle for spots behind champion Drugovich. His strong performance last year was enough reason for Helmut Marko to recruit him for Red Bull Racing's training programme.

Arthur Leclerc

As the younger brother of Charles Leclerc and a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Arthur Leclerc's expectations are high. The 22-year-old Monegasque will make the switch to F2 next year from Formula 3, where he finished the 2022 season with sixth place. He will be in action for DAMS, where he will be Iwasa's teammate.

Isack Hadjar

Another promising talent making the switch from F3 to F2 is Isack Hadjar. The 18-year-old Frenchman finished fourth in the 2022 F3 championship and will in all likelihood make his debut with Hitech's F2 team next year, after racing for the eponymous team in Formula 3. As a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, Helmut Marko's keen eyes will be on Hadjar, among others.

Jak Crawford

All indications are that Hadjar will be joined at Hitech by another member of the Red Bull Junior Team: Jak Crawford. The still only 17-year-old American himself announced his switch from F3 to F2. At which team he will make his F2 debut is not yet officially known, but like Hadjar, Crawford drove on behalf of Hitech in the post-season test and so that team seems to be the main candidate.

Zane Maloney

The next Red Bull talent on the list: Zane Maloney. The 19-year-old driver from Barbados set high standards by winning the 2019 British Formula 4 championship title and finishing second in Formula 3 last year. In addition, he got the chance to make his debut in F2 on the last weekend of the season and in it he performed well with a 15th and 16th place finish.

As a result of his recent successes, Maloney was invited to join the Red Bull Junior Team. In 2023, he will most likely become Fittipaldi's teammate at Carlin, after Maloney participated in the post-season test on behalf of that team. As with Hitech, this will see Carlin's line-up occupied entirely by talents from Red Bull Racing's training programme.

Frederik Vesti

Frederik Vesti has impressed at times during his debut season in F2, culminating in his first win in the sprint race in Baku. In addition, the 20-year-old Mercedes junior showed what he was made of on several occasions by scoring a pole position and four podium finishes. He finished ninth in the championship and should be a title contender in his second year. The Dane will switch from ART to Prema next year.

Juan Manuel Correa

Juan Manuel Correa has had hefty setbacks, but has not lost sight of his goal for a moment. This despite the horror crash during the 2019 Formula 2 race at Spa-Francorchamps, which took the life of Anthoine Hubert and in which Correa escaped death. A long and intensive rehabilitation period followed for the Ecuadorian, who made his comeback in the F3 class in 2021.

On 20 December, Correa announced that he will return to the Formula 2 grid in 2023. He will do so with Van Amersfoort Racing, the same team for which he competed at the last race of 2022 at the Yas Marina Circuit as David Beckmann's replacement. He will have Richard Verschoor as his teammate.

Oliver Bearman

Although Oliver Bearman missed out on the F3 title by seven points in an epic title battle, he continues to develop rapidly and will move to F2 next year. There, the Ferrari junior will stay with Prema, the same team he competed for in F3. In 2021, he won both the German and Italian Formula 4 championships with Van Amersfoort Racing, after which he immediately entered Formula 3 as a title contender.

Although Bearman scored just one victory in 2022, the 17-year-old Briton's consistency ensured he stayed in title contention with eight podium finishes. He will take the lessons learned from Formula 3 to Formula 2, where this promising talent will certainly be watched.