More Fun Than F1!
It's not all about the most power and grip...
With F1 being the juggernaut it is on race weekends, it's easy to forget there is often other races on while the F1 engineers look at data, trying to find fractions of a second. Whilst they're doing that, you'll often find Formula 2 (formerly GP2) on track having a, more often than not, exciting race, with drama, incidents and overtakes. Or, in the case of this year, cars stalling on the grid.
Given the F2 car and series directly feed into Formula 1, I wondered just how the car drives. Thanks to Race Sim Studio once again, I can drive a representation of the Formula 2 car with their recently released Formula RSS 2 V6. I've praised RSS a lot over the last few months, but there isn't a mod team that does better work than they do. The standard of their work surpasses the standard of Kunos themselves in places.
The new-for-2018 F2 car is very different from its predecessor, both visually and under the engine cover. In keeping with the current F1 regs, the car is wider, longer and turbocharged. Also like F1, gone is the awful looking narrow and tall rear wing, while the angled wings and lower nose are in. Despite the obvious visual changes, the biggest change is in the engine compartment. The 4 litre V8 has been replaced by a 3.4 litre, turbo V6. It pumps out around 620 bhp -- not a small amount of power! As is standard now, the car comes with the Halo.
With the standard RSS have set and the changes to Formula 2 this year, I went into this with hope of an incredible driving experience -- I really wasn't disappointed. Add in the Nordschleife and you've got an incredible combination!
I love a car that moves around. Whether that be an old road car that wants to slide all over the shop, or an open wheel car with downforce. Whilst the high speed grip of an LMP1 or F1 car is extraordinary and exhilarating, you do sometimes miss out on that feeling of pushing the limits. The F2 car is very different in that regard.
The main place you really feel the lack of downforce is the medium/high speed corners. It's fast, but the rear is far from planted. From the Karussell onwards, the car is SO alive. With the standard of the force feedback, you can really walk that tightrope of carrying the speed or having a massive crash. There's a real thrill to sitting right on the edge, feeling the car trying to get away from you, but also desperately clinging to the tarmac with the tortured tyres. It's an extraordinary feeling, even in the sim world.
What a car, what a mod team and what a track. This was a massive amount of fun and I hope that comes across in the video. Enjoy!
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