Juan Pablo Montoya has criticised the rapidly rising cost of reaching Formula 2, describing the competition for seats as a “ridiculous wallet war” as budgets at the top of motorsport’s junior ladder continue to soar. According to an initial estimate discussed by the former Formula 1 driver, some 2027 F2 seats are costing more than €4 million before private testing and travel expenses are even included.
Motorsport has long been an expensive and highly exclusive environment, but Montoya believes the financial demands in junior categories have risen dramatically. Seats that could reportedly be secured for around €1–2 million per season only a few years ago are now approaching three times that level in some cases.
The Colombian follows the career of his 21-year-old son Sebastian Montoya closely and discussed the increasingly extreme costs during an appearance on the MontoyAS podcast.
Juan Pablo Montoya explains the cost of private F2 testing
Discussing private testing, which drivers can choose whether or not to undertake, Juan Pablo Montoya explained that teams generally offer different pricing structures depending on how the circuit hire and other expenses are covered.
“The teams know that the costs are more or less those figures, and there are often two ways of dealing with them. Either they give you a price, to which you then have to add the cost of the track, or they give you an ‘all-inclusive’ price with a fixed amount that covers everything else as well. By doing that, however, they also take the risk that if there are only a few people running that day, the circuit hire will cost them much more, while if there are a lot of people, they will make much more money.”
According to Juan Pablo Montoya, the final cost depends heavily on the driver’s ambitions and financial resources.
“Obviously, if you want to test on a clear track and, for example, you go to Jerez, where there are lots of people, or even Barcelona, which is worse, it will cost you less, but you won’t be able to get the data you need because of the traffic. If instead you decide to run at Jeddah or Istanbul and that day you are the only one there, or there are at most two or three drivers, then you have to cover all the costs.”
“That’s how it works. Maybe the circuit costs €12,000, €15,000 or €20,000 per day. You take the cost of the circuit and divide it by the number of drivers using it that day, plus, obviously, the amount you have to pay the team.”
Formula 2 and Formula 3 expand their 2027 calendars
Formula 2 and Formula 3 have both announced their 2027 calendars with several new international rounds, making both championships increasingly global while historic venues such as the Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps disappear from their schedules.
Juan Pablo Montoya believes the broader geographical spread is positive because it allows junior drivers to compete more regularly across the season.
“The 2027 calendar is really good because now it has become more global. Formula 3, for example, is usually centred on Europe, but now they will also go to Bahrain, Jeddah, Australia, Montreal and Istanbul, even though you could say the latter is more or less still in Europe. But it is a very logical choice because it allows the drivers to race often. If we look at this year, the last F2 race was in Baku last month, and the next one will be in Qatar in November.”
“Fortunately, though, they don’t allow us to do private tests, because there are people with unlimited budgets and when the opportunity comes up to get on track by paying, they don’t let it pass. But fortunately there is a power-to-weight ratio whereby, during the championship period, you cannot test.”
Montoya welcomes Hungary and Spa leaving the junior calendar
The former Formula 1 race winner also offered an unusually candid assessment of the removal of Hungary and Spa from the schedule.
“It’s great that Hungary is no longer on the calendar, and honestly I’m not bothered by Spa being absent either. Of course, the Belgian track itself is beautiful, but when you go there, for example with Prema, you basically have to stay in a house in the middle of nowhere.”
“When Sebastian raced with Hitech, we were about an hour and a half by car from the circuit, and we had to be there at six in the morning. Budapest is beautiful too, the city is fantastic, but for racing it isn’t the best circuit.”
Why the expanded F2 calendar may not dramatically increase costs
The expansion of the championship inevitably raises questions about travel expenses, particularly with more intercontinental rounds. However, Juan Pablo Montoya said the increase should not dramatically change the overall cost of a season.
“What really changes for us is the plane tickets. Sebastian always has a hotel included in his contract, so the only things that change are the flights and, obviously, the rental car you need to get around.”
“The price of the championship won’t change that much because all the teams have agreements with the championship regarding logistics, so that all the equipment is shipped to the circuit by a certain date.”
Juan Pablo Montoya attacks Formula 2’s ‘wallet war’
For Montoya, the bigger concern is not necessarily the expansion of the calendar but the amount of money drivers and their backers are now prepared to spend simply to secure a seat.
“What is changing now is that there are a lot of drivers who have a huge amount of money, and the way seats are being bought to race is really ridiculous. You have no idea about the amounts people are offering to get a Formula 2 seat.”
According to an initial estimate, Freddie Slater and Noah Stromsted, who are set to make their Formula 2 debuts with Invicta in 2027, reportedly had to put forward more than €4 million to secure their seats, excluding testing and travel costs.
“They are offering figures like that even for teams at the back of the grid because of how desperate people are to find a seat,” Juan Pablo Montoya said.
“A lot of people who have the money usually aren’t the fastest, but that’s what happens. It has become a wallet war. To give you an example, with Sebastian in Formula 2 we did around eight or 10 days of private testing between the two seasons, whereas Ugo [Ugochukwu] will do 20 or 30 for this one.”
Sebastian Montoya has been competing in Formula 2 with Prema, including at the recent Azerbaijan Formula 2 weekend in Baku, while his father continues to follow closely both the sporting and financial demands of the category.
Juan Pablo Montoya stressed that private testing brings many additional expenses beyond simply hiring the car and circuit.
“All of this is ridiculous! And obviously, on top of the cost of the test, you also have to add the hotels, physiotherapy, plane tickets and flights, because nothing is included in testing. So it is really complicated. This sport is crazy; at these very high levels, it is crazy.”
Leave a Reply