The GP2 Series is poised to become the new FIA Formula 2 championship after the World Motor Sport Council gave a mandate to FIA president Jean Todt to formalize the contract earlier this week.
As part of the FIA’s ongoing plans to revamp the racing pyramid and give drivers a clear route to follow from karting to Formula 1, it was confirmed earlier this year that it would revive the old F2 series and invited potential promoters to register an interest in the championship.
F2 enjoyed its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s before being replaced by F3000 in 1984. It was revived in 2009, but operated at a far smaller scale than before under the management of British promoter MotorSport Vision.
The leading candidate to become F2 was GP2, which currently acts as the final step on the single seater pyramid before F1 and appears on the undercard of a number of grands prix.
The WMSC has offered occasional updates on the progress to agree a deal for GP2 to become F2 over the past year, but has formally confirmed that the deal is now waiting to be formalized by Todt.
“The World Motor Sport Council gave a mandate to the President to formalize the contract between the FIA and the GP2 promoter for the establishment of the FIA Formula 2 Championship to complete the FIA’s single-seater pyramid from Karting to Formula 1,” read part of the statement issued by the WMSC on Wednesday.
With F2 set to be revived, the pyramid will be completed so that drivers theoretically go from karting to F4, then to F3, then to F2 and finally F1.