» Formula 2: Boschung back on the grid

Swiss driver Ralph Boschung will return to the FIA Formula 2 Championship after signing to race for Dutch outfit MP Motorsport.

The 20-year-old Swiss driver, formerly a race-winner in the GP3 Series, made his Formula 2 Championship debut last year with Campos Racing (pictured above). Despite missing the final round in Abu Dhabi where he stood aside for McLaren protégé Lando Norris to make his debut, he scored 11 points in his rookie season, finishing 19th overall in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

Boschung has end-of-year test outings with both MP Motorsport and Arden International at Abu Dhabi, ultimately signing with the former.

“I’m really happy to be joining MP Motorsport for my second season in Formula 2,” Boschung said.

“We cooperated very well during our day together at Yas Marina, and this gave me the confidence that we can do well in 2018.

“With the new car, it’s a level playing field for everyone, and MP has the staff to get the most out of a new chassis. It will be an amazing season.”

MP Motorsport finished a solid seventh overall in the Teams’ Championship standings in 2017, claiming its maiden Formula 2 race victory at the hands of rookie driver Sergio Sette Câmara, who moved on to race for Carlin in the off-season.

“It’s great that Ralph will be part of our Formula 2 team for 2018,” said MP Motorsport team boss Sander Dorsman.

“He has shown good speed in his first season in F2, and I’m certain that we can convert his speed into more solid results.

“Our post-season test with Ralph went very well. We are convinced that we can build on that form to produce a consistent points-winning run in the season ahead.”

Boschung’s appointment leaves French outfit DAMS as the only remaining Formula 2 team yet to confirm either of its drivers for the upcoming season. MP Motorsport is yet to confirm the identity of Boschung’s teammate, while the occupant of the second seat at Campos Racing is also still to be confirmed.

2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Provisional Entry List
Team	Drivers
Russian Time	Artem Markelov	Tadasuke Makino
Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing	Sean Gelael	Nyck de Vries
DAMS	TBA	TBA
ART Grand Prix	Jack Aitken	George Russell
MP Motorsport	Ralph Boschung	TBA
BWT Arden International	Maximilian Günther	Nirei Fukuzumi
Campos Vexatec Racing	Luca Ghiotto	TBA
Trident	Arjun Maini	Santino Ferrucci
Carlin	Lando Norris	Sergio Sette Câmara
Charouz Racing System	Louis Delétraz	Antonio Fuoco