All eyes in the automotive industry have been fixed on Geneva this week for the Geneva International Motor Show, and today the racing community too turned its attention to Switzerland.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council convened for the second time this year Thursday, during which time it approved the decision to create a Formula Two Championship starting in 2017. Formula One Group agreed to transition the existing GP2 Series into the new F2 championship.
Since its inaugural season in 2005 GP2 has provided a path to Formula One for some of the sport’s most talented drivers, such as Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas. It also served as a support series for F1, as will its successor.
This year’s F2 Championship will consist of 11 rounds, of which 10 will be in support of an F1 Grand Prix.
The transition certainly will help with branding, allowing for a more intuitive path to F1 that starts with national F4 champions before drivers make the step to international racing in F3 . This does pose a problem for GP3, though, which no longer fits into the equation.
However, British racing driver and former “Fifth Gear” presenter Tiff Needell proposed a solution that, frankly, we think would be perfect.
The GP2 Series’ Twitter account changed its handle roughly an hour after the announcement, but it seems the account manager had some fun before doing so, according to NBC Sports reporter Luke Smith.
Thumbnail photo via Flickr/Sanpayball
