The InsideF2 Team’s Top 3 Drivers for the 2020 Formula 2 Championship

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So the day has finally come to get the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship underway. The InsideF2 Team have their own opinions for who may finish at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

But do you agree? Comment @F2inside on Twitter to get the arguments going ?

Ed Spencer (@EdSpencer99)

Well if I was given some money to put a bet on at the bookmakers and predict who I think will be this year’s Champion, I would be spending several hours going from one driver to another due to the depth of quality in this year’s lineup.

But if I had to make a prediction I would have to go with Mick Schumacher who I feel will prove plenty of doubters wrong and will come good in his second season of Formula 2 after a testing rookie season.

However, he will be pushed by Guanyu Zhou who was 2019 Rookie of the Year. He drove fantastically well in his first season of F2 and can only improve.

Rounding out the top three will be Jack Aitken whose pace and experience will be a huge advantage for him and Campos for the upcoming season.

Adam Newton (@adampnewton)

In no particular order, my three tips for drivers to watch during the 2020 season are Guanyu Zhou, Robert Shwartzman and Artem Markelov.

Zhou showed excellent promise in his first year of Formula 2, scoring four podium finishes and taking a stunning pole position at Silverstone. With a year under his belt and at a reliable team in UNI-Virtuosi, it seems likely he’ll be right in the mix for race wins or even the title.

A lot of people are tipping rising Russian star Shwartzman for the title despite it being his first season in the series, and I’ve been drawn into the hype surrounding the 20-year-old. Despite being beaten by teammate Mick Schumacher in the 2018 European F3 championship, Shwartzman has the momentum from his F3 title win, whilst his German competitor perhaps stalled a bit in F2 last season.

Finally, and perhaps a slightly left-field choice is Shwartzman’s fellow Russian, Markelov. A veteran of the series, having spent five full seasons with Russian Time in F2/GP2, Markelov makes his full-time return to the series with the newly-renamed HWA Racelab. The team might not be front-runners, but exhibited last season it was capable in the right hands, with Anthoine Hubert proving that by taking two wins before his untimely passing. If the team can provide Markelov with a car to perform at the front, there’s no reason why he won’t be able to challenge for top spot.

L.A Wils (@1_LA)

L.A has been brave and has predicted in order.

Champion: Jack Aitken

I’ve chosen Jack because of his fifth finish last season, and his Testing experience with F1’s Renault and Williams. If Jack’s sim skills are anything to go by, regarding him playing the long game on pit-stops, and his double overtaking manoeuvres, then he’ll be an exciting prospect in the live races this year for Campos Racing. He’s got a Championship in him and I feel this year might just be his.

2nd Place: Marcus Armstrong

I’ve gone with Armstrong in the Art Gand Pix team because I’m persuaded by the amount of top eight finishes he’s achieved in his career (11/16). The odds are good for him to do well this season despite him being a rookie. A definite talent to watch closely this season and in the future.

3rd Place: Luca Ghiotto

I’m taking a leap of faith with Ghiotto and Hitech Grand Prix because of Luca’s impressive record. I’d tip him for the Championship win but I feel Campos and Art may have the edge this year.

If I could choose a wildcard it’d be Robert Shwartzman – He won the F3 Championship with PREMA Racing in 2019 and is no stranger to the podium over his short career. I feel he’ll have an extra spark that will spur him on this year because of the incredibly sad passing of his father. I’ll be shouting the loudest for Robert and wishing him a great season.

Ryan Schwartz (@Schwartz_RA)

With the caliber of talented drivers entered into this year’s Formula 2 Championship, this is not an easy prediction.

My pick would be Jack Aitken for the title. With his experience and taste of wins from the 2019 season, he is going to be very motivated to add to that 2019 success and I think he will probably be the one to beat.

I believe the challengers to Aitken will be Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher. Zhou was consistent during 2019 and won the Anthoine Hubert award for being the top rookie. He will want to prove this year that he is no longer a rookie and challenge for the title.

Mick Schumacher showed some good pace last season and also tasted the Champagne in his rookie Formula 2 season. Unfortunately he was plagued with a lot of bad luck. With better luck and his desire to move up into the Formula 1 ranks, I believe he will deliver in season 2 and in so doing be a title contender.

There are a few other drivers that are going to spring a surprise and I think we are in for a thrilling F2 title fight.

Alessio Romito (@zemaniac)

Among all the talented drivers that will take part in this year’s Championship, I’m going to take a risk and say that three “unusual suspects” will stand out and potentially fight for the title: Markelov, Shwartzman, and Zhou.

Markelov has a good edge in terms of experience, having already finished as runner up in 2017; Zhou has demonstrated to be one of the most promising rookies from last year’s campaign; and Shwartzman has probably the highest potential among the Ferrari Driver Academy pupils, and a great rookie season in F2 might grant him a seat in a Ferrari-powered F1 car next year – Provided he beats Mick Schumacher, of course…

Anna Blow (@anna_blow_)

All the drivers are out to impress this season and the field is full of top class drivers. But for me the main title contenders are Guanyu Zhou, Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman.

Zhou entered Formula 2 as a rookie last year and it didn’t take him long to catch up with his teammate. Staying with Uni-Virtuosi for a second year he has a good chance to succeed this year.

While Armstrong and Shwartzman are both rookies the past few years have shown that it doesn’t matter. They both performed well in Formula 3 last season with Shwartzman dominating the series and winning it, and Armstrong also looking like he adapted quickly to the new series by finishing second. Last year they proved themselves in their respective series and it will be exciting to see what they can do in Austria when Formula 2 returns.

Amirhaziq Amiruddin (@amirhaziq111)

This season’s Formula 2 Championship looks set to be one of the most wide open ever with plenty of new faces on the grid alongside multi-year veterans of F2. As well as changes to the Dallara F2-2018 chassis, a compacted schedule means that every point will be even more important every race weekend.

Selecting the contenders was a toughie, but my top three for the title are as follows: Guanyu Zhou, Luca Ghiotto and Mick Schumacher, in that order and with good reasons.

Zhou has proven to be very impressive so far in his F2 career, winning many plaudits with his race-craft and he was the inaugural recipient of the Anthoine Hubert Rookie of the Year Award. With a season under his belt, that garnered one pole and five podiums, it’s more than enough to suggest that the Virtuosi man has the title credentials this year.

Ghiotto waved goodbye to F2 at the end of 2019 at Abu Dhabi, but the call from Hitech meant that he would now start his fifth full season in the Championship. His experience with the Pirelli rubber, and the F2-2018 car will be invaluable, as it has potential to better his third place finish in last year’s standings. This could really end his F2 career on a high.

Schumacher might be a contentious addition here for some as his debut F2 season didn’t exactly set the world on fire. But he has proven to be a second season wonder as seen in his FIA F3 Europe triumph where he went on a romp to secure that title after struggling in his rookie season. With the same PREMA team everything looks promising for him.

Honourable mentions go to Robert Shwartzman, Jehan Deruvala and Jack Aitken as those three are fast drivers who are capable of challenging for the title.

What do you think of our teams thoughts on the title? As always do let us know @F2inside to get the debate going

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