Richard Verschoor entered the Abu Dhabi GP weekend looking back on a 2025 Formula 2 season defined as much by missed opportunities as by clear performance gains. The Dutchman, now preparing for a new chapter with McLaren and access to Formula 1-level support, believes this was the first year he truly showed his potential across a full campaign. Yet he remains frustrated by errors, qualifying struggles and a pivotal crash at Monza that ultimately cost him a title fight he felt capable of winning.
Performance gains lost to errors and Qualifying struggles
Verschoor was clear that the lighter car and mid-season livery change only mattered when he executed. Too many times, he didn’t.
He admitted that moments such as putting the car in the wall at Monza or qualifying outside the top ten – something that happened more than once – completely wiped out any advantage gained from the reduced weight. Throughout the year the team also introduced new parts and had to add components that increased the disparity, prompting the mid-season livery switch.
“Well, if you put it in the wall in Monza, then it doesn’t make a difference. So I think that’s more up to me. Also qualifying P11, I think twice, maybe even three times. I mean, of course, that’s not ideal. And this was more true factors that we were not even close to putting the lap together. But if you put the lap together with the less weight, for sure, it makes a difference because you can easily calculate it.”
“But then, as I said, if you crash, then it doesn’t make a difference. Yeah, I mean, also, I think during the season, some parts changed, or we had to add certain things. Therefore, the weight difference, let’s say, got even more. That’s why we decided to change it midway through the season. But for sure, it makes a difference.”
Five Formula 2 seasons in, Verschoor turns knowledge into consistency
Approaching the finale, Verschoor viewed 2025 as his strongest F2 season to date. Without the backing of a junior academy and now five years into the category, he felt his experience allowed him to focus on execution rather than learning fundamentals, even when moving teams.
“Yeah, I think I’ve made big steps as a driver. For sure, I’m really, really looking forward to see what else is there to learn because at some point in five years in F2, you know kind of the tricks and the things that you need to work on. And it’s more about putting it together than learning a lot of new things, even though you’re changing teams.
McLaren’s F1-level support opens new paths for Verschoor’s development
Verschoor now steps into a McLaren setup enriched with Formula 1 expertise in engineering, performance, health, communication and commercial areas. He believes this level of support can unlock potential he has not been able to access before – something he admits he wishes he had earlier in his career.
“Now I will get into a new environment with Formula One knowledge, one of the best engineers in the world. Not only engineers, I mean all kinds of aspects, even health, even commercial side, communication side. I think, from all kinds of aspects, I will learn new things. So I’m really excited to learn from them. And then, yeah, I think personally as a driver, I learned a lot, but I wish I could have learned more in the shorter period of time with the support of a team like this. So that’s why I’m extra excited to see what it all brings.”
Championship hopes fade after promising start and renewed form
Verschoor began the season with one goal: winning the championship. Anything less, after so long in F2, felt short of expectations.
He remained in the fight for much of the year and took pride in finally being able to show his ability after two or three seasons where circumstances masked his performance. Strong early-season qualifying kept him in contention, but that edge faded in the second half of the campaign – something that particularly annoyed him, as he usually grows stronger as the year progresses.
“Well, the main focus was of course to win the championship, and we didn’t manage. So I wouldn’t say I exceeded any expectations. If you’re so long in this championship, you want to win. We did fight for it. That was of course the goal. So I’m proud that this year I could show my true potential because I feel like the last two, three years I couldn’t for different kinds of circumstances. I really felt like this team was doing a very good job. Also, we matched well, the team and myself.”
“We did fight for the championship. We didn’t manage to win it in the end. If you look at the championship, the first half of the season, I think I did a good job in terms of qualifying positions, which then faded away a little bit, which I’m very annoyed about because usually by the end of the season, I’m getting stronger and this year really hasn’t been that case.”
High-level field leaves no room for error as Verschoor targets a final push at 2025 F2 Abu Dhabi GP
Verschoor hopes to be “back on top of the game” at Yas Marina, recognising how narrow the margins have been all season. He pointed to races where rivals such as Fornaroli turned top-ten starts into sprint-race wins, while his own weekends unravelled from P11 or P14 – notably in Budapest.
He accepted that every driver experienced rounds where points slipped away, especially in such a competitive field.
“So I hope this week in Abu Dhabi I can be back on top of the game together with the team because there’s many occasions. I think Fornaroli had it a few times where he was just in the top 10, and he managed to win the sprint race. I have had a few occasions where I was just out, P11, P14 in Budapest, and it changed the weekend completely.”
“We lost so many points, apart from even my crash in Monza. But I think all the drivers have a bit of this kind of things in the season where they were like, okay, in this round I lost so many points because in the end the level is so high with many talented drivers that it’s sometimes really hard to be in the top 10 because everybody’s pushing for it. But in the end, overall, I’m happy that I could show myself this year. And of course, that’s mainly thanks also to our hard work together with the team.”
Strong record and comfortable surroundings fuel Verschoor’s F2 season finale ambitions at Abu Dhabi GP
Verschoor relishes racing at Yas Marina, where he has taken at least one podium every year since 2022. He feels particularly strong in race conditions, confident in tyre management and overtaking opportunities on a track he genuinely enjoys.
With the top five in the standings tightly packed – and only the championship itself effectively out of reach – he aims to finish as high as possible.
“It’s a good stat, finally. Yeah, I like this track. Mainly in the races, we’ve always been very strong. I think I have also a good understanding of where to save and where to push in the race. And I think that helps. And if you have faith in this track, you can overtake, so that for sure helps as well. But I’m really excited for the last rounds. I mean, it’s very tight in the top five in the championship. Of course, first place is given, but the rest is all to fight for.”
“Our aim is, of course, to finish as high as we can. So it’s nice to know that we will probably be strong on this track. So just to put it together. But I always enjoy going here anyway. The Middle East is one of my favourite places to go. So maybe that helps. I don’t know. But I like the sun and to get a tan. Maybe it helps. I don’t know.”
