F2 news: Who will perform well at the Qatar Grand Prix in the city of Lusail?

Formula 2 returns to racing after a two-month break with Leonardo Fornalli in the lead in the driver’s championship coming into the weekend.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Ayla Vaughan evaluates which drivers have previously performed well in Qatar and assesses the likelihood of a repeat in 2025.

The past success of F2 drivers in Qatar

The winners of the Qatar sprint and feature race in 2024 were Oliver Bearman and Paul Aron who have moved onto F1, either as a driver or a reserve driver.

Therefore, we must look at Dino Beganovic who finished in fifth last year, in the feature race as someone who has done well at this track.

Oliver Goethe also did well in the feature race last year by finishing in fourth, but unfortunately did not finish in the sprint race after his car had an issue.

Furthermore, Jak Crawford had a great sprint race last year as he got a podium and second-place finish, showing his suitability to this track and his excellent racing.

Richard Verschoor also managed to secure the last step on the podium in 2024 and is the most experienced driver currently on the grid as he is in his fifth season of F2.

Formula 2 has only raced at Lusail International Circuit since last year, so there are not many past performances to evaluate a driver on.

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Likelihood of F2 drivers performing well at the Qatar GP

Crawford and Verschoor are the likely contenders for the win in Qatar since they have driven here before and are currently in the top five of the driver’s championship.

The American driver who currently sits in second in the standings could manage to get an edge over the 2024 F3 champion Leonardo Fornalli since he is familiar with the track and races well there.

However, the Italian could surprise people and have an excellent performance as he has been on a run of scoring big points lately and has a 19-point lead in the championship.

Beganovic could once again get a great result in Qatar and will be hoping to continue his momentum from Baku, Azerbaijan, where he got a podium and a win.

Additionally, Goethe may struggle at this track as he hasn’t had the best season thus far, finishing in the points five times this year and currently sitting in 17th in the driver’s championship.

Luke Browning could also redeem himself from his poor performance last year in Qatar where he finished outside the points in both races as he has had an up-and-down season in 2025.

Alex Dunne and Arvid Lindblad will be driving at this circuit for the first time so they may struggle depending on the high temperature and the nature of the layout.

There will also be a few F3 drivers who have moved up to F2 for the end of the season such as James Wharton, Martinius Stenshorne, and Laurens van Hoepen.

They might cause some chaos as it will be their first time competing in F2 and since they have joined this late in the game, they have nothing to lose by taking risks while racing.   

No doubt Formula 2 will be excited to return after a long break and the drivers will be eager to race for the penultimate time in 2025.

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