Belgium

F2 has arrived in Spa and it’s a bit wet, a bit cloudy and a bit sunny. All the Spa things. Perfect…

After a summer break that was simultaneously incredibly fast and painfully slow, the F2 gang arrived in Belgium, minus a few members but plus a few others. Firstly Jake Hughes announced that he was going to be leaving F2 to focus on his other racing commitments, such as Formula E and generally being a bit of a Mercedes guy. He handed his VAR seat over to David Beckmann, which means everyone will stop having to refer to him as a super-sub, because obviously now he is an ultra-sub. Also making a (hopefully) permanent return for the season was Ralph Boschung, who seems to have fought off his recurring neck issues, ready to take back his car from its trusty caretaker Roberto Merhi. Also taking on the role of ultra-sub for the rest of the season is Tatiana Calderón (who last drove in F2 in 2019), replacing Cem Bölükbasi at Charouz, after Bölükbasi and the team apparently had some awkward contract talks…

There were many touching and emotional moments as F2 returned to Spa for the first time following the tragic death of Anthoine Hubert last year, with AH19 logos adorning every car, helmet and person. There were also a couple of different faces in the F2 paddock this week, with Juan-Manuel Correa the special guest of honour, paying his respects to Hubert, sharing how Anthoine had given him strength and motivation through his recovery, and how he aims to be back in F2 next year. I honestly couldn’t think of anything I’d like to see more. Another new face was Jüri Vips, who was replacing Sean Gelael and his fractured vertebrae from last round’s mystery accident. Vips would be hoping for something good to actually happen for his career in 2020, having been a casualty of coronavirus logistics messing up his original racing plans and basically destroying his hopes of getting a super license and F1 career. No big deal. I’m sure they’re giving him plenty of sympathy, love and support in the Red Bull young driver programme…