It’s a beautiful day at the Circuito de Jerez and we are ready for the 10th round of the 2017 FIA Formula 2 championship, here’s a preview of round 10:
After a little stroll in the paddock, pitlane and around the track, I finally find myself a nice spot in the media center. First thing that catches my attention is Charles Leclerc sitting here all relaxed doing an interview for the Formula 2 website. He looks relaxed, yet confident and determined. I’m pretty impressed by how much he has to say, even though I wasn’t sat close enough to hear anything, I was surprised by how long the interview lasted and overheard them saying he was the most talkative driver. Let’s see what we have going this weekend.
THE BATTLE’S ON
This weekend is for sure going to be an interesting one, as the championship can be decided this weekend. Championship leader Charles Leclerc can surely feel the pressure. The Monegasque currently has a 59 points lead on runner up Oliver Rowland, who only has a 7 points lead on Artem Markelov and 9 points lead on Luca Ghiotto. The battle for second is definitely on and even though at this time it’s all still possible, everyone is pretty sure Charles Leclerc will take the title home.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN
If Oliver Rowland still wants a shot at winning the championship, he must outscore Charles Leclerc by 12 points. This would mean the championship will remain open until the season finale in Abu Dhabi at the end of November. In any other case where the Briton loses more, the championship will go to Leclerc. Oliver Rowland is not only in a battle for the win, but he will also have to work to keep his runner-up spot if things don’t work out.
FRESH STARTERS
Apart from the championship fight, we also have 2 new drivers on the entry list this weekend. Alex Palou will make his Formula 2 debut on home soil this weekend. He’s replacing Robert Visoiu and joins Campos racing for the last 2 rounds of the season. The second entrant is Rene Binder, a revenant. The Austrian will replace Roberto Merhi at Rapax and is the fourth driver to sit in the #19 car after Cecotto, Canamasas and Merhi. Both drivers are currently also competing in the Formula V8 3.5 championship.