Keen Formula One fans are always looking ahead to the future for who could be a potential world champion one day and there is no better place to look than Formula 2.

Positioned as the final step for young drivers before moving to F1 by the FIA, Formula 2 consistently sees their top drivers going on to race in Formula One.

There is no better example of that than this season in 2025, which saw an influx of six full-time rookie drivers race for teams in F1, all of whom had gained experience in the second-tier feeder series.

Such an intake of rookies is unprecedented, but it goes to show how much stock F1 teams are willing to put into young drivers, as well as Formula 2 itself.

With that in mind, it is important to keep an eye on the new crop of drivers that are chasing their dreams in the feeder series.

Let’s have a look at some of the highest rated talents racing in Formula 2 this season, who you could see in F1 sooner rather than later.

Luke Browning

Age: 23

Nationality: British

A member of the Williams Driver Academy, Cheshire-born Luke Browning has been cultivating a very impressive reputation for himself in numerous junior series.

After racing in karts, Browning took the somewhat unorthodox decision to move into saloon car racing in 2016, competing in the Ginetta Junior Championship.

Browning would eventually find himself in single-seaters in 2019, moving to the British F4 series which he would win in 2020 with seven wins across the season.

He would make steady progress in numerous other championships before making it to Formula 3 with Hitech Grand Prix in 2023, the year he also signed with Williams’ Driver Academy.

A win at the Macau Grand Prix and third in the 2024 Formula 3 Championship saw him rise to F2 in 2025, again with Hitech.

The Briton has had a very solid season so far, achieving eight podiums and recently winning his first Formula 2 race in the Italian Grand Prix feature race.

As of writing he is second in the championship, 21 points behind leader Leonardo Fornaroli, and with three rounds remaining, he has every opportunity to take the title.

Factor in an FP1 appearance for Williams at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and Browning’s star is very much in the ascendancy.

Alex Dunne

Age: 19

Nationality: Irish

Born in Offaly, Ireland, Alex Dunne is the new Irish hope in single-seater motorsport, having become the first Irishman to take part in a Formula One weekend in 22 years.

Having started karting aged eight, Dunne would move to single-seaters in 2021, competing in the Spanish F4 championship.

A championship win in British F4 would follow for the 19-year-old, as well as runner-up finishes in both the GB3 Championship and Italian F4, the latter of which was to current Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

Despite only finishing 14th in Formula 3 in 2024, it would also be the year he signed with the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

A move to F2 with Rodin Motorsport saw much better fortunes for Dunne, who has taken two wins and sixth podiums as he currently sits fifth in the championship.

The year has also seen Dunne take part in two practice sessions with McLaren, the first of which in Austria saw the Irishman set the fourth-fastest time in what he described as “the best day of (his) life.”

Having been linked with joining Cadillac earlier in the year, it would not at all be surprising to see Dunne graduate to Formula One very soon.

Leonardo Fornaroli

Age: 20

Nationality: Italian

Winning the Formula 2 championship puts a driver in the best position to move up in to Formula One, all but two former champions have gone on to race in the premier class.

With that in mind, the current leader of the F2 Championship is Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli, who has gained a reputation for highly consistent results.

The Italian began karting at ten-years old, before joining Italian F4 in 2020 where he would take one win and nine podiums across two years in the championship.

He progressed to Formula 3 in 2023, winning the championship the next year, despite becoming the first driver to win the series without winning a single race.

Moving to F2 this year, Fornaroli’s pace has been impressive, never finishing outside of the points, and taking four wins in the last four rounds to lead the championship.

Despite this, the 20-year-old is not affiliated with any F1 academy’s, something that his Invicta team principal has described as “mind-blowing”.

Time will have to tell whether Fornaroli’s impressive results will earn him a break into F1, or whether he will be known as one that got away.

Arvid Lindblad

Age: 18

Nationality: British

The Red Bull Junior Team is arguably the most successful at getting drivers to reach the pinnacle of Formula One and the next driver hotly tipped to make that leap is Arvid Lindblad.

Born in Surrey to a Swedish father and a mother of Indian heritage, Lindblad has made big waves in numerous junior open-wheel series despite his young age.

Having started karting aged five and being taken under the wing of Formula E champion Oliver Rowland, Lindblad signed with Red Bull before moving to single-seaters in 2022.

Securing third in Italian F4 in 2023, the Briton moved to Formula 3 in 2024, winning four races and fourth in the championship.

After winning the 2025 Formula Regional Oceania Championship, Lindblad has been very impressive in his first year of Formula 2, becoming the youngest race winner in the series’ history.

Four podiums and a further win has meant seventh in the championship as of writing, and numerous turned heads within the F1 paddock.

Having appeared in practice at the British Grand Prix, Lindblad is highly linked to move up to Racing Bulls next season, as Red Bull hopes to have found its next world champion.