MP Motorsport confirms Verschoor for Bahrain
MP Motorsport has confirmed Richard Verschoor will make his FIA Formula 2 Championship debut with the team at Bahrain this weekend.
The FIA Formula 3 graduate has been heavily linked to a promotion to the Dutch squad's F2 programme, with an appearance at the pre-season test only serving to strengthen speculation.
MP Motorsport has today confirmed via social media that Verschoor will indeed join the team for the F2 season opener, although Motorsport.com understands the deal is just for Bahrain at this stage. The seat was the last to be filled on the 2021 F2 grid.
Verschoor, who was 14th fastest overall in the test, will join fellow F3 alumni Lirim Zendeli at the squad in what is an all-new line-up for the team this year.
"Get ready for the first Formula 2 round, where we will continue racing with our testing line up from 2 weeks ago," MP Motorsport posted on Twitter.
"Our drivers, Lirim and Richard, are ready to hit the track and fight for points."
The 20-year-old Dutchman has long been associated with MP Motorsport having first raced with the squad in the 2016 Spanish and SMP F4 championships, which he won.
He was also a winner of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2019.
Last year he raced with the squad in FIA Formula 3, scoring 13 top 10 finishes, including a podium at the Red Bull Ring, on his way to ninth overall in his second full F3 season.
MP Motorsport is expected to unveil a brand new livery on both its cars on Friday before action begins.
Verschoor is not the only driver on the grid racing under a one-race deal, after Trident announced countryman Bent Viscaal would be joining them for the opening race. However, Viscaal is intending to secure an agreement to be on the grid for the full year.
The F2 season will officially commence with the field set to contest a 45-minute practice session ahead of the debut of the series's new qualifying format.
As per new sporting regulations, the qualifying session will see the top 10 inverted on the grid for Race 1 on Saturday. The session will also set the starting order for Sunday's feature race.
UNI-Virtuosi: Felipe Drugovich, Guanyu Zhou
Carlin: Jehan Daruvala, Dan Ticktum
Hitech Grand Prix: Juri Vips, Liam Lawson
ART Grand Prix: Theo Pourchaire, Christian Lundgaard
MP Motorsport: Lirim Zendeli, Richard Verschoor
Charouz Racing System: David Beckmann, Guilherme Samaia
DAMS: Marcus Armstrong, Roy Nissany
Campos Racing: Ralph Boschung, Gianluca Petecof
HWA Racelab: Matteo Nannini, Alessio Deledda
Trident: Bent Viscaal, Marino Sato
Related video
Previous article
F2 boss confident new format won’t trigger "funny games”
Next article
Shwartzman: F2 favourite tag not adding pressure
About this article
| Series | FIA F2 |
| Drivers | Richard Verschoor |
| Teams | MP Motorsport |
| Author | Tom Howard |
F1’s feeder series champions – hits and misses
#ThinkingForward with Bruno Michel
Remembering Anthoine Hubert
Was Formula 2’s radical format switch a success?
Going into the 2021 Formula 2 season the biggest talking point wasn’t about any drivers or teams, but the new race weekend format. Created partly out of financial necessity but also to spice up the action, the Bahrain opener provided a snapshot of the positives and negatives to come.
Why 2021 is make-or-break for the driver F1 needs
He was tipped for glory in FIA Formula 2 last year, but was hampered by reliability woes at inopportune moments. Guanyu Zhou knows he won't get too many more chances if he is to become China's first F1 driver, with fierce competition within the ranks of Alpine's junior stable
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
How Mick Schumacher earned his Haas F1 chance
Michael Schumacher may have won seven Formula 1 titles, but he didn't even compete for a crown at the second tier. Son Mick put that right in 2020, and proved to Ferrari that he was deserving of a shot at motorsport's elite category in 2021…
How Aitken’s fortunes turned around for his shock F1 chance
As a consequence of George Russell's step up to Mercedes to cover for the COVID-positive Lewis Hamilton, Jack Aitken will make his Formula 1 debut for Williams at the Sakhir Grand Prix. Long on F1's peripheries, Aitken finally has a chance to shine.
How F1's foundation has responded to the coronavirus threat
While Formula 1 felt the public brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, the virus also put the Formula 2 and Formula 3 categories on hiatus. But their roles in feeding F1 with drivers meant their survival was crucial to their parent series' long-term future
The year Leclerc fully revealed his star status
In the latest feature in our series looking back on the 2010s, we revisit Charles Leclerc's sensational Formula 2 season - where he strode among on-track highs and lows, as well as tragedy away from motorsport, to earn a place on the Formula 1 grid
From Formula 1 exiles to part of the family
It wasn't long ago F2 drivers couldn't even get passes to the F1 paddock. Now, as Ross Brawn and Bruno Michel explain, attitudes are totally different
