As GP2 celebrates its tenth birthday, boss Bruno Michel has tossed its name in the hat to become the FIA’s Formula 2 series. The FIA hinted at a Formula 2 when they crafted their new , and reports that they hope to have the concept in place in the next two months.

“Depending on the details of the tender, we might look at it and could be interested,” Michel told Autosport, as reprinted on . “It could make sense and we need to see exactly what would be the tender regulations and the way it would work but it’s definitely something we would look at.

Costs are Michel’s primary concern when it comes to becoming F2. Michel fears that an expensive hybrid engine that would be closer to F1’s would kill the cost-cutting efforts the series has made in recent years.

“We don’t want to have to impose regulations that would cost a fortune to the teams; that’s one of our objectives and we are clear on that,” Michel told Autosport, as quoted by Racer.

As it stands, GP2 is best known for producing excellent champions who . By positioning themselves as Formula 2, however, the series might have a shot of graduating more of its better talent into the big leagues. After Verstappen’s young entry, F1 is cracking down on the minimum level of experience needed to get a superlicense. Under the new regulations, a top three place in the F2 championship will fulfill a major requirement in terms of moving up to F1. F2 nets you more experience than any of the other series on the list, including GP2.

The Race of Champions this year has a slightly underwhelming entry list this year, with names like…

Michel doesn’t fear the competition from a new F2 series, should GP2 not get the bid. GP2 has lasted happily and healthily for ten years, so what is there to fear? If F2 ends up as more expensive, then there will still be a compelling reason to run GP2 instead or in addition to an F2 program.

Happy tenth birthday, GP2! May there be many more successful years of racing ahead of you.

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