GP2 had served as Formula One's main support ladder since 2005. In 2015 the FIA announced plans to revive the Formula Two category, building on GP2's success. On 8 March 2017, with FIA President Jean Todt citing the rationalisation of the F1 pathway as a major goal, the rebranding was confirmed. The inaugural 2017 season consisted of eleven rounds, ten of which ran in support of Formula One Grands Prix, plus a standalone event at the Circuito de Jerez. The series retained the Dallara GP2/11 chassis used since 2011 and the Mecachrome V8 engine first introduced in 2005. Rookie Charles Leclerc won the Drivers' Championship that first year, while Russian Time claimed the Teams' title.
Formula 2 is a true spec series: all teams race identical cars built around a carbon-fibre Dallara chassis. The 2018 season introduced the Dallara F2 2018, featuring the Mecachrome V634 turbocharged engine and the halo cockpit protection device. A further-developed Dallara F2 2024 arrived for the 2024 season, designed to more closely resemble the contemporary generation of Formula One cars and engineered with improved accommodation for female drivers.
The cars are capable of top speeds around 335 km/h in low-downforce configuration, with peak lateral acceleration of 3.9 g and braking deceleration of 3.6 g. Running a Formula 2 car costs approximately US$3 million per season, borne largely by drivers through sponsorships or personal resources. All teams use Pirelli tyres across four dry compounds — supersoft, soft, medium, and hard — plus a single wet compound. Steering is manual rack-and-pinion, similar to IndyCar. The OZ Group has been the sole wheel supplier since the GP2 era, with the series moving to 18-inch magnesium-alloy wheels in 2020 in anticipation of Formula One's own switch.
A Formula 2 race weekend spans three days. Friday comprises a 45-minute practice session followed by a 30-minute qualifying session. Saturday brings the sprint race, whose grid is formed by reversing the top ten positions from qualifying, run over approximately 120 km or 45 minutes maximum. Sunday's feature race, the main event preceding the Formula 1 Grand Prix, covers around 170 km or up to one hour. Pole position earns two bonus championship points; fastest lap in either race earns one additional point for drivers classified in the top ten.
Formula 2 has established a strong pipeline to Formula One. Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin were the first F2 graduates to reach F1, debuting with Sauber and Williams in 2018. The 2019 F1 season saw three 2018 F2 leaders promoted: champion George Russell to Williams, runner-up Lando Norris to McLaren, and Alex Albon to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Subsequent seasons brought Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin, and Yuki Tsunoda (2021), Zhou Guanyu (2022), Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant (2023), Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto, and Jack Doohan (2024), and Gabriel Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar, and Kimi Antonelli (2025). In 2025, Lando Norris became the first Formula 2 graduate to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
Car numbers are allocated based on the previous season's teams' standings, following a system similar to that used in Formula One between 1996 and 2013. Number 13 has been unused since the GP2 era's inception in 2005. Following the death of Anthoine Hubert in an accident at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019, number 19 was permanently retired ahead of the 2020 season, with number 18 subsequently also withdrawn in his memory. The Anthoine Hubert Award, established at the 2019 prize-giving ceremony, is presented annually to the highest-placed driver in their first Formula 2 season.
The 2019 season was marked by tragedy when French driver Anthoine Hubert was killed during the feature race at Spa-Francorchamps, the first fatality of a driver in the second tier of FIA-sanctioned formula racing in ten years. The race was red-flagged and the following sprint race cancelled. The 2020 season faced severe disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually beginning in July with an appearance at the Mugello Circuit for the first and only time. The 2021 season introduced three races per round and reduced the calendar to eight circuits as part of post-pandemic cost-cutting. The round at Sochi Autodrom was cancelled in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Formula 2 occupies a unique position in single-seater motorsport: faster than almost any other category bar Formula One itself, yet accessible enough to serve as a realistic proving ground for young talent. The series' combination of spec machinery — ensuring driver skill determines results — with circuits and operational environments mirroring Formula One makes it the definitive proving ground for the sport's next generation.