Van Amersfoort Racing is excited to announce the signing of Briton Jake Hughes for their 2022 FIA F2 campaign. Hughes joins Van Amersfoort Racing after testing with them during the recent FIA F2 post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit of Abu Dhabi, which also marked VAR’s F2 debut.
Having started karting at the age of sixteen, Jake came to racing not as early as most. However, this late start did not represent his race craft, as he only spent two years in karting before making his single seater debut in 2012. His talent came to show when he claimed the British F4 Championship title only one year later in 2013. The season thereafter saw Jake take the runner-up position in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alp Championship, only to move up to F3 racing in 2016.
In the following years, Jake competed successfully in a variety of race categories such as the Formula Regional European Championship, the Asian F3 Series, GP3 and the FIA F3 European Championship including two editions of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.
Even though Hughes raced in the FIA F3 Championship up till last year, his F2 debut came already in 2020, where he competed during the 10th round of the championship, held at Sochi. Replacing an injured fellow driver, the young Brit returned to FIA F2 in 2021, scoring a best 4th position, again at the circuit of Sochi. In that same year, Hughes was also trusted the position of official reserve driver in the 2021 Formula E Championship.
For 2022, Jake will fully dedicate himself to the FIA F2 Championship: “I’m overly excited to be racing with VAR in 2022. During the post-season test at Abu-Dhabi it became clear to me that VAR takes this new challenge extremely serious. We are very much on the same level when it comes to vision and drive for success, making it a very pleasant environment to work in. I’m just very thankful to the team for putting their trust in me and providing the opportunity to work together.” Jake continues: “The F2 car is incredible to drive, and I look very much forward to compete in it for the full season. It will be a long and tough stretch, but I am eager to kick off the season soon in Bahrain!”
The FIA F2 Championship will count a staggering fourteen rounds, following the same schedule as F1. Besides the returning circuits of Barcelona, Spielberg and Spa-Francorchamps, two new tracks are added to the calendar: VAR’s “home track” Zandvoort, the Netherlands and the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy.
“It is exciting to be able to make this first FIA F2 driver announcement!” says Rob Niessink, VAR’s CEO. He continues: “We are extremely happy with Jake joining us for the FIA F2 Championship. We are standing on the brink of a great adventure for which we very much welcome the experience and maturity that Jake brings along. During the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Jake showed to be a highly motivated and professional team player. Jake’s accurate input and feedback already made an impact during testing, which helped the team to progress already in a very short time. His drive and dedication match ours, giving us great confidence for the season ahead!”
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.