Monza, Italy. 2017 Formula 1 Grand Prix. The new Formula 2 car enters the scene; now it’s time to rate F2’s first race weekend of 2018, courtesy of Sergio Álvarez.

F2 2018 is go!

If the events that took place at the F2 weekend are the sign of things to come, we all at Iberianmph are praying for the continuation of the tendency.

Obviously, in first place we have the promise of witnessing a titanic battle between two Brits who aspire to become the next Lewis Hamilton. If Lando Norris is able to keep this performance margin at all types of tracks, things might become a bit difficult for Stoffel Vandoorne at McLaren…

Meanwhile, George Russell is willing to keep him honest as long as ART discovers their form of old times. If we judge them by qualifying pace, they seem closer to Norris and Carlin on pure speed . In addition, nothing seems off the cards in F2 2018 with respect to the hierarchy of teams: Wanna get a good job at any single-seater series? Call Carlin Motorsport. On the side of disappointments, one could be forgiven to think that the Prema era is coming to a halt (no pun intended after Sean Gelael’s stalling episode before the formation lap of the sprint race!).

Nonetheless, we only have praise for Artem Markelov. The Russian ended up last year with a masterclass in tyre-nursing at Jerez; now he has started 2018 showing that he is even more than a safe pair of hands, storming from the pit lane through the grid to achieve a podium in the feature race, and completing it with yet another sprint race victory. With hindsight, people scoff at the attempt on Prema’s side to repeat the Prime-Option tyre strategy that last year worked for them and Leclerc; however, the biggest difference in 2018’s Sunday must have been the strength of Markelov when it comes to protecting his Pirellis.