By Steven Oldham
It’s no secret that Formula 2 graduates now fill over half of the Formula 1’s 22 seats – so who are the superstars in waiting in the second tier competition this season?
The 2026 season has seen many changes in the driver line-up, with well-established names moving on – most notably Arvid Lindblad, who is taking his promotion to F1 in his stride after an impressive start in the Racing Bulls car. Reigning champion Leo Fornaroli is on test driver duties at McLaren, and long time competitors including Richard Verschoor, Jak Crawford and Victor Martins have all left the series.
The impact of the Middle East conflict means there’s no F2 action for near-enough three months, after the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds. This leaves Australia as this year’s sole reference point.
Joshua Durksen is the current driver with the most race wins, having taken five chequered flags since debuting in the 2024 season, including this year’s season opening sprint on his Invicta debut. The Paraguayan hit a real purple patch in the second half of 2025, taking six podiums (including one win) in the final eight rounds.
Having comprehensively outperformed team-mate Cian Shields in the sister AIX, a move up the grid to the reigning team’s champions should provide the 22-year-old with a stronger platform to showcase his skills.
Alex Dunne was a double race winner in his debut season at Rodin, and the Irishman stepped onto the podium another six times on his way to a top five finish in the standings. The highest-ranked 2025 driver still within the series, and although he’s still prone to a costly error here and there, there’s no denying he’s quick. His impressive cameo for McLaren in free practice for last year’s Austrian Grand Prix – P4 on his first attempt – turned many a head. A P3 finish in Melbourne’s sprint race set a promising tone before his mistake wiped both himself and team-mate Martinius Stenshorne out of contention early doors in the feature race.
Nikola Tsolov was the main beneficiary from Rodin’s demise in that race – and the Bulgarian driver leads the title standings after claiming his maiden win in the series.
The 19-year-old is now into his first full season of F2 having debuted for Campos in the latter stages of 2025, replacing the Formula E-bound Pepe Marti at the Spanish outfit.
Tsolov only needed three races to snag his first podium finish – taking third in Yas Marina in the final sprint race of the year. Three top ten finishes in his four outings was enough to secure a full contract for 2026.
Finally, the as-yet untapped potential of Ollie Goethe may come to the fore this season. Entering his second full campaign at MP Motorsport, the German is yet to make the podium and admittedly was outshone by more experienced team-mate Verschoor last season, with the Dutch driver taking four wins in the battle for the title.
All is not lost for Goethe however – who bounced back from a disappointing spin in the sprint race to take a strong fourth place a day later in Australia. This is the fourth occasion he has just missed out on a podium finish. Will his extra experience over much of this year’s grid now allow him to move up a level?
With Stenshorne also tipped for big things, Melbourne pole sitter Dino Beganovic eager to add to his sole victory, and the debuting Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak taking an impressive double points finish in Australia, there’s no shortage of talent amongst the F2 ranks.
The remainder of the 2026 season promises to be another close and compelling fight up and down the grid.
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