2010 Champion set for welcome return after cancer battle

2010 FIA Formula Two Champion Dean Stoneman will make a welcome return to the series this week when he takes part in the first official F2 test at Silverstone on 28 March – marking his first time in the Williams designed car since recovering from illness.

The 21-year-old from Southampton fought off strong competition from Jolyon Palmer during a thrilling 2010 season to secure championship victory, having achieved six wins and 13 podiums. His reward was a full test with the Williams F1 Team in Abu Dhabi during the rookie tests, where he finished an impressive fifth overall against a very strong field.

Stoneman had then planned to compete in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2011 with ISR but was forced to put his flourishing single seater career on hold when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Since then Dean’s battled with typical spirit and determination to overcome his illness and, after a year out of racing, recently tested a World Series by Renault car and an Indy Lights machine at Las Vegas.

He now hopes to continue his recovery by returning to the familiar environment of F2 and the 500bhp JPH1B car where Stoneman admits he feels at home: “I’m looking forward to testing the new car. I’m still weighing up all options for this year so returning to F2 is a distinct possibility. F2 is a great environment for me to continue my recovery, in a car I know and on circuits I enjoy racing on.”

He added: “We will see how the Silverstone test goes before deciding what to do this year.”

The first official FIA Formula Two Championship test takes place on Wednesday 28 March on the Silverstone GP circuit with full coverage available on the official F2 website. A full entry list for the test will also be announced shortly on www.formulatwo.com