The successful maiden season of the FIA Formula Two Championship saw Andy Soucek
crowned the first F2 champion for 25 years with a dominant performance that his rivals
recognised was well deserved.
To build on that success, series organiser MotorSport Vision is pleased to announce that it is
working closely with the FIA and Williams F1 in proposing a number of significant advances
for the 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship, to ensure that the championship continues to
provide the revolutionary combination of optimum performance, professionalism and equality
at an exceptionally low cost.
As in 2009, the eventual champion will again receive a full test with the Williams F1 team at
the end of the season.
The 2010 calendar has been expanded from eight to nine events, with two races to be held at
each event to give a total of 18 races for the championship. Eight rounds of the F2
championship will accompany the FIA World Touring Car Championships European events,
together with the Moroccan round at Marrakech. F2s season will open with a major Formula
Two headlining event at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
All races will be televised live by Eurosport, the worlds foremost sports broadcaster, whose
network reaches 69 countries across Europe and Asia. In 2009 more than three million
people on average watched live coverage of F2 events and this will increase in 2010.
MSV has been eager to ensure the price of F2 remains uniquely inexpensive, representing
extraordinary value despite car specification upgrades and the addition of a further race
weekend. The 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship season will therefore cost £275,000
(300,000*) + VAT. Entries are now open for the grid of 25 cars which is expected to be
rapidly filled.
* Based on an exchange rate of 1.09 Euros to the Pound.
2010 FIA Formula Two Championship Calendar
16/17/18 April Silverstone, United Kingdom
30 April/ 1/2 May Marrakech, Morocco*
21/22/23 May Monza, Italy
18/19/20 June Zolder, Belgium
2/3/4 July Algarve, Portugal
16/17/18 July Brands Hatch, United Kingdom
30/31 July/ 1 August Brno, Czech Republic
3/4/5 September Oschersleben, Germany
17/18/19 September Valencia, Spain
*subject to ASN approval
Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive, MotorSport Vision commented:
"When the FIA announced in September 2008 that MSV had won the tender to design and
build a fleet of new Formula Two cars and operate the championship we knew we faced an
enormous challenge to get 24 cars on the grid for the first race at Valencia.
Williams F1 did an outstanding job designing our new JPH1 F2 car under the direction of
Patrick Head. Our MSV F2 team headed by Giles Butterfield has worked phenomenally hard
this year to both build the cars and run them so professionally in F2’s first year.
There is no question F2 has been a great success already. We have had a full grid from the
start to the end of the season. The unprecedented affordability of F2 has meant we have had
drivers from 15 different nationalities competing. F2 has been fiercely competitive with eight
different drivers winning races. Most importantly F2 has enabled the outstanding talent of
Andy Soucek to prove his ability by winning the championship and underline his claim to an
F1 drive.
However 2009 has just provided us with a solid base from which to aggressively enhance F2.
Key areas that will be addressed for 2010 include a target of achieving 100% car reliability,
greater car performance and team operational efficiency. Our championship will expand to 18
races and yet the cost will still be kept at an extraordinarily low £275,000.
Early indications are that the 2010 grid will fill quickly with a high quality field of drivers and
that our champion next year will be another talent destined for F1."
Patrick Head, Director of Engineering, Williams F1 said:
"I am pleased to see that the F2 championship in 2009 has been successful and has been
won by the driver who not only had the best speed over the season, but who also was
tactically ahead of his competition.
Jonathan Palmer is never one to stand still, and amongst many other improvements wishes
to raise the performance of the car by working on all the major performance controlling
parameters; weight, power, tyre grip, downforce and drag.
2009 champion Andy Soucek will be driving for a full day of our permitted three days testing
allowance for young drivers in December, and I am sure he will perform well. Formula Two
has made a mark in 2009 as a competitive championship, professionally run with equal cars,
but everything can be improved and we intend that this shall be the case for F2 in 2010."
Formula Two Testing Information
Formula Two is running a winter testing programme in Spain and Portugal in December. The
tests are open to any driver, subject to F2 approval:
Valencia, Spain 3/4 December 2009
Portimão, Portugal 11/12 December 2009
1 day: 9,500 + VAT
2 days: 17,500 + VAT
4 days: 30,000 + VAT
Drivers competing in the 2010 F2 championship will participate in five official group test days
(three pre-season and two mid-season).