The FIA announced plans to revive the Formula Two category in 2015, capitalising on the continued strength of GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5. On 8 March 2017, the GP2 Series was officially rebranded as the FIA Formula 2 Championship following an agreement with Liberty Media, which had acquired both the series and the Formula One Group. Jean Todt, FIA President at the time, described rationalising the pathway to Formula One as a primary goal of his tenure.
The inaugural 2017 season comprised eleven rounds, retaining the Dallara GP2/11 chassis in use since 2011 and the Mecachrome V8 engine introduced in 2005. Charles Leclerc won the Drivers' Championship in his rookie year, with Russian Time taking the Teams' title.
A new car, the Dallara F2 2018, was introduced for the 2018 season, incorporating the Mecachrome V634 engine and the halo driver crash-protection device adopted simultaneously by Formula One. Circuit Paul Ricard and the Sochi Autodrom joined the calendar, and Carlin returned to the series.
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 competing in the second tier of FIA-sanctioned formula racing in a decade. The race was red-flagged and cancelled, and the following sprint race was also abandoned. The FIA subsequently established the Anthoine Hubert Award in his memory, presented annually to the highest-placed rookie in the standings. Car number 19 was permanently retired ahead of 2020, with number 18 also withdrawn in Hubert's memory.
The 2020 season was substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in July and including a visit to the Mugello Circuit for the only time.
The 2021 season underwent major restructuring: each round moved to three races from two, venues were reduced from twelve to eight, and the calendar separated from the FIA Formula 3 Championship. The Jeddah Corniche Circuit was added to the schedule. In 2022, the series returned to two races per round across an expanded fourteen-round calendar. The round at Sochi Autodrom was cancelled following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Formula 2 raced at Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne for the first time in 2023.
A new car, the Dallara F2 2024, was introduced in 2024. Designed to more closely resemble the current generation of Formula One cars, it incorporated updated safety technology and was engineered with consideration for a broader range of driver builds. The Lusail International Circuit made its F2 debut, replacing the Zandvoort round.
A Formula 2 race weekend runs across three days. Friday consists of a 45-minute practice session and a 30-minute qualifying session. Saturday's sprint race grid is set by reversing the top ten qualifying positions; the race covers approximately 120 km or 45 minutes. Sunday's feature race, the main event ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, covers approximately 170 km or one hour.
The points system awards the top eight finishers in the sprint race and the top ten in the feature race, with two bonus points for pole position and one for the fastest lap if scored within the top ten. The maximum points achievable by a single driver in one round is 39.
All competitors use a carbon-fibre Dallara chassis powered by a single-turbocharged Mecachrome V634 engine. The car weighs a minimum of 755 kg including the driver, uses a Hewland eight-position gearbox, and is equipped with ZF Sachs clutches. Pirelli exclusively supplies tyres in four slick compounds and one wet compound. Pirelli has been the sole tyre supplier since 2017; OZ Group has supplied wheels since the GP2 era in 2005.
Steering is rack-and-pinion without power assistance. Electronics are standardised: all cars carry a Marelli Marvel SRG 480 ECU. The Drag Reduction System has been employed since 2015. Running a Formula 2 car costs approximately three million US dollars per season, a figure that remains one of the principal barriers to progression toward Formula One.
Formula 2 has established itself as the dominant route into Formula One. Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin were the first F2 graduates to reach F1 in 2018. Subsequent champions who graduated directly include George Russell (2018), Mick Schumacher (2020), Oscar Piastri (2021), and Gabriel Bortoleto (2024). Other graduates include Lando Norris, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, Franco Colapinto, and Kimi Antonelli. 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 team standings, following a system similar to Formula One between 1996 and 2013. Number 13 has remained unused since the GP2 era in 2005. Numbers 18 and 19 are permanently retired in honour of Anthoine Hubert. The Anthoine Hubert Award is presented to the highest-placed rookie driver each season, with Zhou Guanyu as its inaugural recipient in 2019.
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