Formula 2 is looking pretty grown up in its 10th season

I found Formula 2 more charming this weekend in Melbourne than I have in the past because now their simple DRS-based racing reminds me of the Old Days of 2022–2025 Formula 1. More importantly, though, they put up some pretty good racing this weekend. Congratulations in particular to F2 rookie Nikola Tsolov from Campos Racing for a canny win in the feature race, taking advantage of some quick opportunities and dealing with Nico Varrone, hardly your typical F2 rookie in terms of racing experience.

I am, of course, mainly watching Formula 2 this year to see Colton Herta, and though he crashed in practice and did not amaze in qualifying or in race results, I think he did fine. In the sprint race he was aggressive and opportunistic, testing and learning the limits of the car and making some mistakes without causing any meaningful problems. In the feature, he drove more conservatively and made good choices, finishing in P7. Herta was, it should be noted, handily beaten by his Hitech teammate, Ritomo Miyata, who is the most interesting matchup with Herta on the grid in terms of prior open-wheel success.

The tenth season of Formula 2 is off to a good start. The broadcast mentioned that Lando Norris is the first F2 graduate to become F1 world champion, which blows my mind.