Back in August of 2017, the FIA launched the new chassis for Formula 2, the F1 feeder series (formerly GP2), in Monza. Yesterday the F2 teams have started to release images of their 2018 challengers for the first time.

The Halo safety device is clearly visible and points toward what we would expect to see in the next generation F1 cars for 2018. The new car will be the first the category has introduced since 2011 and had been designed to resemble the new Formula One cars for 2018 onwards. Yesterday TJ13 published the first images of a 2018 F1 Halo car, released by Haas. The article yesterday revealed that the American team had taken much inspiration from the Ferrari aero concept for improving airflow around the sidepods and was a clear copy of their aero tricky.

As well as incorporating the halo, the new F2 2018 design features wider and more aggressive bodywork styling – with the chassis again produced by Dallara – which means the car is 159mm longer than its predecessor and 32kg heavier. The F2 2018 will use a 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 engine supplied by Mecachrome, which will produce 620HP at 8,750 rpm, moving away from the GP2/11’s 4-litre naturally aspirated V8.

Listen to the new F2 car testing at Abu Dhabi.

Some motorsport fans have voiced opinion that the look of the Halo is in fact well suited to the new F2 bodywork – below is a ‘with or without halo’ image. Which do you prefer?

More images of this year’s F2 car can been viewed in the gallery. Give us your opinion in the comments below.