The 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship season was the second year of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The championship began on 18 April at Silverstone and concluded on 19 September at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, after nine double-header rounds.
For most of the season, the championship battle revolved around a pair of British drivers, returning driver Jolyon Palmer and Formula Renault UK graduate Dean Stoneman. Stoneman and Palmer won eleven of the season's eighteen races – Stoneman won six and Palmer five – but more podiums for Stoneman helped him in the long run, and eventually sealed the championship title, and a prize test for the Williams F1 team, with a race to spare.[1] Palmer finished a comfortable second place in the standings, 42 points behind Stoneman and 85 ahead of his nearest rival.
Third place in the standings remained a five-way battle until the final race with newcomers Sergey Afanasyev of Russia, another British driver Will Bratt and Belgium's Benjamin Bailly, as well as returnees Kazim Vasiliauskas of Lithuania and Austria's Philipp Eng all in contention for the remaining FIA Super Licence awarded to the top three championship finishers. Despite not winning a race, it was Afanasyev that prevailed, scoring points in all but three races including four podiums. Vasiliauskas' only victory of the season came in the final race of the season in Valencia, and allowed him to jump from seventh pre-race to an end fourth place in the standings, four points behind Afanasyev. Bratt finished fifth, winless but with four podiums, ahead of three-time winner Eng by two points and Bailly, a winner at his home round of Zolder was 12 points further behind. Eighth-placed Nicola de Marco was the only other race-winner on the season, winning at Brno and Valencia.
Regulation changes
editAs announced at the FIA's World Motor Sport Council meeting in December 2009, Formula Two cars in the 2010 season had a base power of 425 brake horsepower (317 kW; 431 PS), up from 400 brake horsepower (298 kW; 406 PS) in 2009.[2] The overboost also increased from 50 brake horsepower (37 kW; 51 PS) to 55 brake horsepower (41 kW; 56 PS), giving a maximum power of 480 brake horsepower (358 kW; 487 PS).[2] Races were also extended to 40 minutes in duration,[2] and implemented the 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1 point-scoring system as was introduced to the 2010 Formula One World Championship.[3][4]
Drivers
editThe number of drivers admitted to the series had been expected to increase to 30.[2] However, this was altered back to 24,[5] with only 22 drivers appearing on the Silverstone entry list.[6]
| No. | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|
| 2 |  Will Bratt[7]
|
All |
| 3 | Jolyon Palmer[8]
|
All |
| 4 |  Benjamin Bailly[9]
|
All |
| 5 |  Ricardo Teixeira[10]
|
All |
| 6 |  Armaan Ebrahim[11]
|
All |
| 7 |  Ivan Samarin[12]
|
All |
| 8 |  Plamen Kralev[13]
|
All |
| 9 |  Mihai Marinescu[14]
|
All |
| 10 |  Benjamin Lariche[15]
|
All |
| 11 | Jack Clarke[16]
|
All |
| 12 |  Kelvin Snoeks[17]
|
1–5, 7–9 |
| 14 | Sergey Afanasyev[18]
|
All |
| 16 |  Ramón Piñeiro[19]
|
9 |
| 17 |  Johan Jokinen[20]
|
1–3 |
| 19 |  Nicola de Marco[21]
|
All |
| 21 |  Kazim Vasiliauskas[22]
|
All |
| 22 |  Johannes Theobald[23]
|
8–9 |
| 24 | Tom Gladdis[24]
|
1, 6–7 |
| 26 | Parthiva Sureshwaren[25]
|
1–6 |
| 27 | Paul Rees[26]
|
1–4 |
| 28 | Ajith Kumar[27]
|
1–3 |
| Julian Theobald[28]
|
6–8 | |
| 33 |  Philipp Eng[29]
|
All |
| 48 | Dean Stoneman[30]
|
All |
| 77 |  Natalia Kowalska[31]
|
1–7, 9 |
Driver changes
edit- Entering FIA Formula Two Championship
- Russian drivers Sergey Afanasyev – who was International Formula Master runner-up – and Ivan Samarin made their debut in the series.
- Formul'Academy Euro Series champion Benjamin Bailly graduated to the championship.
- Euroseries 3000 champion Will Bratt debuted in the series.
- Johan Jokinen switched from the Formula 3 Euro Series to the championship.
- After all taking a year's sabbatical, Natalia Kowalska, Ajith Kumar and Julian Theobald all returned to racing competition.
- International GT Open driver Plamen Kralev switched to Formula Two.
- Benjamin Lariche, who had a dual programme in the Formula Renault Eurocup and the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup in 2009, joined the championship.
- Mihai Marinescu, who competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Interwetten.com Racing, joined the championship.
- Formula Palmer Audi graduates Ramón Piñeiro and Paul Rees moved into the series.
- Kelvin Snoeks, who had a season in International Formula Master joined the series' grid.
- Formula Renault UK driver Dean Stoneman made his series debut.
- A1 Grand Prix driver Parthiva Sureshwaren moved into the series.
- After competing in the GP2 Series in 2009, Ricardo Teixeira switched to the FIA Formula Two Championship.
- Leaving FIA Formula Two Championship
- Third-placed Mikhail Aleshin returned to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Carlin.[32]
- Mirko Bortolotti joined the Ferrari Driver Academy and moved into the GP3 Series with the Addax Team.[33] Robert Wickens and Tobias Hegewald also moved to the series.[34][35]
- Alex Brundle switched to the British Formula 3 Championship with T-Sport.[36]
- Natacha Gachnang joined the newly created FIA GT1 World Championship with Matech Competition.[37]
- Pietro Gandolfi moved into the Italian Prototype Championship.
- Ollie Hancock switched to the World Sportscar Masters series.
- Sebastian Hohenthal, Jens Höing, Jason Moore and Germán Sánchez all retired from auto racing.[38][39]
- Carlos Iaconelli and Edoardo Piscopo switched to Auto GP with Durango and DAMS respectively.[40][41]
- Julien Jousse moved to Superleague Formula.
- Henri Karjalainen moved into the Finnish GT3 Championship.
- Miloš Pavlović took a two-year hiatus.
- Champion Andy Soucek became Virgin Racing Formula One test and reserve driver.
- Henry Surtees died in a racing accident during the series' 2009 event at Brands Hatch.
- Tristan Vautier switched to the Star Mazda Championship with Andersen Racing.
Calendar
editA nine-round calendar was published on 21 October 2009.[42] The series ventured outside of Europe, racing in Marrakech, after being an all-European series in 2009.
| Round | Circuit/Location | Country | Date | Supporting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Silverstone Circuit | United Kingdom
|
18 April | Stand-alone event |
| R2 | |||||
| 2 | R1 | Marrakech Street Circuit |  Morocco
|
1 May | FIA WTCC Race of Morocco |
| R2 | 2 May | ||||
| 3 | R1 | Autodromo Nazionale Monza | Italy
|
22 May | FIA WTCC Race of Italy |
| R2 | 23 May | ||||
| 4 | R1 | Circuit Zolder | Belgium
|
19 June | FIA WTCC Race of Belgium |
| R2 | 20 June | ||||
| 5 | R1 | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão |  Portugal
|
3 July | FIA WTCC Race of Portugal |
| R2 | 4 July | ||||
| 6 | R1 | Brands Hatch, Kent | United Kingdom
|
17 July | FIA WTCC Race of UK |
| R2 | 18 July | ||||
| 7 | R1 | Masaryk Circuit, Brno |  Czech Republic
|
31 July | FIA WTCC Race of the Czech Republic |
| R2 | 1 August | ||||
| 8 | R1 | Motorsport Arena Oschersleben | Germany
|
4 September | FIA WTCC Race of Germany |
| R2 | 5 September | ||||
| 9 | R1 | Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia | Spain
|
18 September | FIA WTCC Race of Spain |
| R2 | 19 September | ||||
Results
editStandings
editDrivers' Championship
edit
|
Bold – Pole | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
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- ^ a b c d "World Motor Sport Council, 11/12/2009". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2009-12-11. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ "World Motor Sport Council, 11/03/2010". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2010-03-11. Archived from the original on 2010-03-14. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- ^ "Formula Two adopts new F1 points system". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-11. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
- ^ "Fifteen drivers already confirmed for the 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-02-17. Archived from the original on 2010-02-20. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ "FIA Formula Two – 17/18 April 2010 Silverstone GP: Entry lists as at 14/04/10" (PDF). MSV Racing. MotorSport Vision. 2010-04-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ "Briton Will Bratt joins the 2010 Formula Two grid". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-15. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
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- ^ "Benjamin Bailly joins Formula Two for 2010". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-02-22. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
- ^ "Ricardo Teixeira switches from GP2 to F2". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
- ^ "Armaan Ebrahim returns to Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-02-18. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
- ^ "Ivan Samarin graduates to Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-02-24. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ "Formula Two welcomes Plamen Kralev for 2010". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-19. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
- ^ "Silverstone testing gets underway". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-04-12. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
Romanian Mihai Marinescu and Briton Tom Gladdis again join the test, as both drivers finalise arrangements to be on the grid for the 2010 season.
- ^ "Benjamin Lariche secures place on the F2 grid". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-03. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- ^ "Jack Clarke makes Formula Two return". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-02-26. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ "Kelvin Snoeks signs up for Formula Two in 2010". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-02-19. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ "Russian Sergey Afanasiev confirmed in Formula Two line-up". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-01. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ^ "Spain's Ramón Piñeiro joins Formula Two for Valencia". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-09-09. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ "Johan Jokinen signs up for 2010 Formula Two drive". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-30. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
- ^ "Nicola De Marco aiming for title in second F2 season". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-13. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
- ^ "F2 race winner Kazim Vasiliauskas returns for second season". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-12. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
- ^ "Johannes Theobald to make F2 debut on home soil". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-09-03. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
- ^ "Gladdis buoyed by Snetterton pace". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-04-09. Archived from the original on 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
Gladdis is making final arrangements in order to contest the entire 2010 season, but he is confident of making a strong start to the year at Silverstone, and admits he already has a very good feeling of the new Williams JPH1B F2 car.
- ^ "Parthiva Sureshwaren signs up for 2010 F2 season". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-18. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
- ^ "Paul Rees graduates to Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-14. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
- ^ "India's Ajith Kumar signs up for Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-23. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ "Julian Theobald buoyant ahead of F2 debut". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-07-16. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ^ "Philipp Eng returns for F2 title attack". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-23. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ^ "Dean Stoneman joins Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-03-20. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Natalia Kowalska confirms place on F2 grid". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 2010-04-01. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ Mills, Peter (2010-02-26). "Aleshin joins Carlin for FR3.5 return". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ "Bortolotti joins Addax Team". GP3 Series. GP2 Motorsport Limited. 2010-03-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
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- ^ Anderson, Ben (2010-02-08). "Brundle switches to British F3". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
- ^ "Matech Competition: Bernoldi joins Mutsch". FIA GT1 World Championship. Stephane Ratel Organisation. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- ^ "New targets on the horizon". Sebastian Hohenthal. NorenWeb. 2010-01-22. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ^ Sánchez, Germán. "A modo de despedida..." germansanchez.es (in Spanish). Germán Sánchez. Archived from the original on 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
- ^ "Reid the fastest in Free Practice". autogp.org. Auto GP. 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ "Piscopo joins Auto GP with DAMS". autogp.org. Auto GP. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ "World Motor Sport Council, 21/10/2009". fia.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 2009-10-21. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-21.