Formula 2 and Formula 3 to change race weekend format in 2022

The FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 promoters, together with the FIA, are pleased to announce a number of changes to the 2022 sporting regulations relating to the weekend formats of the respective championships.

Formula 3 will race alongside Formula 2 from 2022, following a season of racing at separate events that have comprised one Free Practice, one qualifying session, and 3 races in 2021.

From next year, each round of both Championships will include one Free Practice, one qualifying session and 2 races. The number of events for both F2 and F3, which will all take place alongside Formula 1, will be announced in due course.

Additionally, for both Championships, the Qualifying results will decide the Starting grid of the Sunday race. The starting grid of the Saturday race will be determined by reversing the Top 10 of Friday’s F2 Qualifying results and by reversing the Top 12 of Friday’s F3 Qualifying results.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “We are pleased to announce the changes to the weekend format for Formula 2 and 3 for next season and I am grateful to Bruno and the teams for their efforts to make this happen. The 2021 season has been hugely exciting and the talent on display in both Championships is incredible. We want to ensure all our fans get the maximum entertainment during a race weekend, and bringing the Championships back together in 2022 will provide more racing action during our events and ensure our fans have activity that will keep them engaged and excited.”

FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 CEO Bruno Michel commented: “In 2021, we introduced a new race weekend format and chose to have F2 and F3 race separately, mainly for costs reasons, and it proved to be quite efficient. However, even if sporting-wise that new format worked pretty well, we understood that there was too much time in between each event, which was not ideal for the teams, the drivers and the fans. At the same time, there has been a strong will by the different stakeholders to have F1, F2 and F3 racing together again. After careful consideration, together with the FIA, we have decided to change the sporting regulations accordingly.