VAR announces Amaury Cordeel for 2022 FIA F2 Championship
Shortly after revealing Jake Hughes’ joining to the team, Van Amersfoort Racing is now pleased to announce the signing of Amaury Cordeel. The Belgian native completes the Van Amersfoort Racing driver line-up for their maiden campaign in the FIA F2 Championship.
Cordeel will make his Formula 2 debut with Van Amersfoort Racing, after completing last month’s post-season test with them at the Yas Marina circuit of Abu Dhabi. Amaury made his appearance on all three test days, setting a strong 6th fastest lap time on the last day.
Despite plentiful testing, Amaury never competed in professional karting before moving to formula racing, making the start of his career a special one. As a junior driver, Cordeel’s single-seater debut came in 2017, when he entered the French F4 Championship at only fourteen years of age. Amaury used the Formula 4 category to build his race craft and did so in multiple international series, such as the French F4, F4 UAE, both Italian and German F4 as well as the SMP F4 Championship. This extensive program paid off as the then 16-year-old from Temse, Belgium sealed the Spanish F4 Championship title in 2018.
As a championship-winning driver, Cordeel moved up to the F3 category in 2019, only two years after his single-seater racing debut in 2017. Amaury spent the next two years competing in both the Asian F3 series and the Formula Renault Eurocup, before stepping up to the FIA F3 last year.
By entering F2 as a rookie driver, Cordeel is aware that he will face a challenging season ahead. He comments: “I am extremely excited to make this step up to F2. I got to know the car during the post-season test at Abu Dhabi and it is an impressive drive. The power increase in comparison to F3 is obviously very noticeable, but I felt comfortable behind the wheel. I am very well aware that the season ahead will be a challenging one and I will face a steep learning curve. However, having Van Amersfoort Racing as my team to rely on gives me great confidence.”
“I am thankful for the trust they’ve put in me and I look very much forward to being part of their FIA F2 debut. The level of dedication and professionalism shown during the test at Yas Marina was impressive, the least said. I will put my learnings from F3 to best use and together with the support of VAR, will build up from there onwards. I have been using the off-season to get in optimum shape, both physically and mentally, not to mention the endless hours I’ve spent in the simulator. I feel ready!”
The FIA F2 Championship has added two new tracks to the 2022 calendar; Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola and the circuit of Zandvoort, located on VAR’s home turf. With the addition of these two tracks, the season will count a record-breaking fourteen rounds, all following the Formula One schedule.
Rob Niessink, VAR’s CEO says: “After the test at Abu Dhabi, we knew we wanted Amaury in the car. He is very committed to perform and forms a good match with the team. He proofed to be an intelligent driver and learns quickly, something we highly value in a driver. Our crew is excited and set up to support him in every way possible, assisting him to reach his full potential. As this is both his and our first time in the FIA F2 championship, we know it won’t be a walk in the park, but as a team, we are extremely dedicated to perform and leave a mark starting with the very first outing at Bahrain and onwards!”
The 2022 season of the FIA F2 Championship will count fourteen race events, with two races each. The first round of the season takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, followed by round two hosted by the Jeddah Cornice Circuit in Saudi Arabia. New appearance on the calendar is Imola, which sets the scene for the third round of the season, followed by round four taking place at the circuit of Barcelona. Next, the grid lands on the streets of Monte Carlo for round five of the championship, after which the team travels further to Baku for round six and round seven at Silverstone.
The second half of the season is kicked-off by the Red Bull Ring in Austria (round eight), followed by round nine which is hosted by the Hungaroring, Hungary. After this, the convoy continuous to Belgium for round ten at Spa-Francorchamps. followed by round eleven taking place at the newly added circuit of Zandvoort, the Netherlands. Round twelve happens at the Temple of Speed, Monza, before travelling to Sochi for the penultimate round of the championship. Round fourteen brings the team back to the Middle East where the season finale takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi.