Formula 2

[Mark]

Watching "The Killer Years " documentary, they featured the Formula 2 race at Hockenheim where Jim Clark was killed.

The made mention that Formula 1 drivers often took part in Formula 2 races. And gave the impression that they were actually racing the same cars a quote along the lines of "I had to race that car the following weekend".

So what was Formula 2? At least in that time around the 60's - 70's.

[ArrowsFA1]

Dangerous to quote Wikipedia but here goes:
1967-71:

...many Formula One drivers continued to drive the smaller and lighter cars on non-championship weekends, and some Grand Prix grids would be a mix of Formula One and Formula Two cars.
The "invasion" of Formula One drivers in Formula Two ranks was permitted because of the unique grading system used. Any driver with an "A" grading was not permitted to score championship points. A driver gained an "A" rating via various means (that changed somewhat over the years), such as finishing in the points in two Grand Prix events...The annual Formula Two champion was also granted an A rating for one year, and a Formula One World Champion was A graded for five. This system permitted less experienced drivers to work towards the championship and forward their careers, while allowing senior drivers to keep their hand in during the long breaks between Grands Prix of the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_Two

[D-Type]

Drivers might compete against each other in a F2 race one weekend and an F1 race the following weekend but not in the same cars.

The only time this was at all possible was in 1957-60 when Formula 2 was 1500cc and Formula 1 was 2500cc and Cooper and Lotus used the same chassis with different sized Climax engines. Originally these were F2 cars but they fitted larger engines into them. Ferrari did the same with the front-engined Dino but these were essentially F1 cars with smaller engines.

By the sixties the cars were different particularly as the formulae were by then covered more than simply maximum engine capacity. For example there were minimum weight limits. As F2 races were shorter the cars had smaller fuel tanks - since the introduction of "monocoque" construction this was a major limitation.

[Don Capps]

So what was Formula 2?

Needless to say, this is the sort of question that makes me begin to feel truly ancient....

"International Racing Formula 2" -- originally Formula "B" for the first few years -- came into existence during the 1948 season in part to provide a "junior" formula for the "Formule Internationale" or "International Formula" or "International Racing Formula 1" and in part to provide a replacement for the previous "junior" formula, the so-called "Voiturette" class, which had been absorbed into the new post-war "Formule Internationale" created by the CSI of the newly-renamed FIA, formerly the AIACR. Its specification were for cars with either 2-litre unsupercharged or 500cc supercharged engines. This F2 ended with the 1953 season, after succeeding the "Formule Internationale" as the technical formula used for the "Championnat du Monde des Conducteurs" for the 1952 and 1953 seasons.

There was no F2 for the 1954 thru 1956 seasons, a new F2 coming into effect with the 1957 season. The technical specifications allowed for engines of up to 1.5-litres and required the use of commercially-available gasoline. This formula ended with the 1960 season. Once again, there was not a replacement for F2 when the new "Formule Internationale" -- based largely on that formula -- took effect in 1961. In 1964, a new F2 went into effect, for 1-litre engines, but only lasted three seasons, until 1966, when a new F2 replaced it, one that raised the maximum displacement to 1.6-litres. There were subsequent changes in the Seventies and F2 finally petered out and died in the Eighties.

The popularity of each F2 rose and ebbed, being quite popular in Britain in each instance cited. Until the CSI made the participation of "Graded Drivers" difficult beginning with 1967, it was not unusual for folks such as Moss, Salvadori, Collins, Clark, Brabham, McLaren, Hulme, &tc., &tc., to drive in as many F2 events each year as could be permitted by their schedules well into the latter Sixties or even early Seventies. Jochen Rindt entered about each and every F2 event he could, winning many of them. Indeed, it was his win at an F2 event at Crystal Palace in 1964, beating the "stars of the day," that truly brought him to everyone's attention.

The ability to use the same chassis as provided by Cooper -- the constructor of choice during this period -- for both F1 and F2 was possible in 1957 and 1958, but less likely for success in 1959 and 1960. The cars and engines for 1964 and 1967 F2 formulae were quite distinct from what was usually fielded in events run using the "Formule Internationale" during their timespan. There were, of course, several instances where F2-based cars did run in events held using the F1 specifications. The interim McLaren effort in 1967 was based on the M4A F2 car, as was the Matra effort later that year, using their MS7 modified to meet the minimum weight requirement.

There is, of course, much, much more to this story, especially since the Ferrari Dino series of F2 and F1 machines has not even been dealt with, to say nothing of the Porsche Typ 718/2 machines.

[D-Type]

At http://www.formula2.net/index.html you'll find details of the various formulae and loads of Formula 2 results plus other results.

[Don Capps]

Here is a tidbit of information taken from a letter (dated 13 November 1951) from one of the US representatives on the CSI, Edward G. Sparrow, to the other US representative on the CSI, Jim Lamb -- who was also Secretary of the Contest Board, concerning the October 1951 meeting of the CSI that approved a change in the International Racing Formula 1 among other things.

Here are the rounds that were placed on the calendar for the 1952 Championnat Du Monde des Conducteurs: Switzerland, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Rio de Janeiro, and Indianapolis.

As for the formula for the championship, here is an interesting statement that should help clarify some of the discussion on the topic: "No formula is imposed on the cars, but they must be racing cars, not sports or stock cars."

[D-Type]

Thanks for that tidbit, Don. The requirement that the cars 'must be racing cars' must have been directed at the race organisers, ie a qualifying race must be for racing cars. I don't think it applied to individual entries. The reason I say that is the few occasions where sports cars ran in Grands Prix - de Beaufort in his Porsche RSK in the 1958 and 1959 Dutch GP; and the various Porsche and OSCA sports cars that ran in the F2 class in various GPs. In some cases the regulations stated the "F2 class" was a separate race, in which case the cars would not be eligible for Workld Championship points, but in others it was simply a separate class in the grand prix, since F1 did not have a minimum capacity or minimum weight the cars were eligible to compete in the grand prix. After 1961 this was no longer the case and cars had to comply with minimum capacity and weight requirements.

[FAL]

For a long time now there seems to have been a perverse attitude on the part of the FIA (or Bernie) to deny the logic that the second tier below Formula 1 should be Formula 2. Formula 3000, GP2 and maybe other categories that I found equally disinteresting have been applied to avoid "F2". Even more perversely, F3 has survived throughout.
F2 at the time of Jim Clark's death, as asked in the first post, (and from 66 as already posted above) was powered almost entirely by the 1600 Cosworth FVA (not actually half a DFV, as sometimes stated, but the pent-roof head design concept was close).
In my view that era of F2 produced some of the best looking racing cars of all time - McLaren M4, Matra (in a different way) etc. As also posted above, some F1 grids were filled out with F2 cars and produced some classic performances - Ickx in the Tyrrell Matra at the Nurburgring holding 3rd place in a notional combined F1/F2.
When F2 went to 2000cc, the 1800 Cosworth FVC could not compete with a full 2000cc BMW and the category went beyond the resources of many who had previously afforded it.
One peculiar period in F2 was the early 70s(?), when "Jesus Saves" stickers appeared on virtually every car on the F2 grid, originating, I think, with Alex Soler-Roig. That particular missionary success was never fully explained...

[Don Capps]

Yes, it seems obvious that the requirement for "racing cars" was aimed at the organizing club -- or promoters -- rather than the entrants. It also seems to have been a way of eliminating an event such as the Tourist Trophy, for instance, being used as a national club's event in the championship.