With only two rounds to go, the 2021 FIA F2 Championship is nearly coming to an end. The two final rounds are held in December, with the drivers visiting a brand new street circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and returning to a familiar track in Abu Dhabi. As it stands, Oscar Piastri is the championship leader, closely followed by Guanyu Zhou and Robert Shwartzman. If you’ve lost track of the past rounds due to the 10-week break in between Sochi and Jeddah, here’s a reminder of what went down:

BAHRAIN

The season started in Bahrain in March, with some familiar faces returning to the grid and 8 rookies joining the championship. Felipe Drugovich, Dan Ticktum, and Liam Lawson got off to a good start, topping the timesheets in Friday’s Free Practise session; Drugovich and Ticktum managed to take this form with them to qualifying, setting the third and fourth fastest times. The first pole position of the season went to Guanyu Zhou, with Christian Lundgaard joining him on the front row. Zhou converted his pole position into a race win during Sunday’s Feature Race. Rookies Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri each won a Sprint Race on Saturday, climbing the top step of the podium on their debut weekend. 

Standings after R1

1. Guanyu Zhou 41
2. Liam Lawson 30
3. Jehan Daruvala 28
4. Oscar Piastri 21
5. Dan Ticktum 19

MONACO

After a split-up qualifying session due to the nature of the Monaco circuit, Theo Pourchaire set the fastest time of both groups, scoring his first pole position in Formula 2 and being the first rookie of the year to do so. Guanyu Zhou won his second race of the season during Saturday’s first Sprint Race. Liam Lawson went on to win his second of the season but got disqualified due to a wrong setting on his steering wheel; Dan Ticktum inherited his win, which also promoted Jüri Vips to the podium. Theo Pourchaire’s Sunday front row start saw him take the chequered flag first, claiming his first victory of the season.

Standings after R2

1. Guanyu Zhou 68
2. Oscar Piastri 52
3. Theo Pourchaire 47
4. Dan Ticktum 38
5. Liam Lawson 36

BAKU

Hitech drivers Liam Lawson and Jüri Vips started the weekend off well: Jüri Vips topped the timesheets during Free Practise on Friday morning and qualified in second on Friday Afternoon. Liam Lawson got pole position, making him the third different driver of the season to do so and the second rookie. This also meant Hitech would lock out the front row: it was the first and only front row lockout by a team this season. Robert Shwartzman became the sixth different race winner of the season after winning the first Sprint Race on Saturday; this was also his first of the season. Jüri Vips won both the other Sprint Race and the Feature Race, making him the first driver to do so since Antonio Giovinazzi in 2016 (then still GP2) and the first driver in the F2 era.

Standings after R3

1. Guanyu Zhou 78
2. Oscar Piastri 73
3. Robert Shwartzman 66
4. Jüri Vips 63
5. Dan Ticktum 60

SILVERSTONE

Dan Ticktum and Oscar Piastri got off to a strong start in Silverstone, setting the fastest and second-fastest time in the Free Practise session; Piastri went on to take his first pole position of the season, while Dan Ticktum qualified in fourth. Robert Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou added another win to their books, with Shwartzman winning Sprint Race 1 and Zhou winning his second Feature Race of the season. Dutchman Richard Verschoor took the win in the second Sprint Race, sharing the podium with Marcus Armstrong and Dan Ticktum; it was Armstrong’s first podium of the season and Ticktum’s first of the weekend, he’d go on to finish second in the Feature Race on Sunday.

Standings after R4

1. Oscar Piastri 108
2. Guanyu Zhou 103
3. Robert Shwartzman 91
4. Dan Ticktum 89
5. Jüri Vips 85

MONZA

Piastri continued his excellent qualifying form after the break between Silverstone and Monza by claiming pole position for the second time in a row. After a second fastest time during Free Practise, Theo Pourchaire won the first Sprint Race, solidifying his place in the driver standings, making him climb up to fifth. After qualifying in second and starting from the front row in Sprint Race 2, Jehan Daruvala claimed his first win of the season. Oscar Piastri managed to convert his pole position into his first Feature Race win of the season, also extending his championship lead.

Standings after R5

1. Oscar Piastri 149
2. Guanyu Zhou 134
3. Robert Shwartzman 113
4. Dan Ticktum 104
5. Theo Pourchaire 94

SOCHI

During qualifying on Friday, it was Oscar Piastri once again coming out on top; previous race weekend winners Jehan Daruvala and Theo Pourchaire qualified in second and in third. Due to the heavy weather conditions, Sprint Race 2 was canceled to allow the F1 sessions to go on as planned. Dan Ticktum, starting from reverse grid pole, kept the lead from start to finish during the first and only Sprint Race, winning for the second time this season. After three consecutive pole positions, Oscar Piastri won Sunday’s Feature Race, his second Feature Race win in a row, and his third win of the season. So far, Piastri and Ticktum have been the only two drivers to have scored a podium every single round.

Standings after R6

1. Oscar Piastri 178
2. Guanyu Zhou 142
3. Robert Shwartzman 135
4. Dan Ticktum 129
5. Theo Pourchaire 120