The 2010 FIA Formula Two Championship season was the second year of the

FIA Formula Two Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebrandi ...

. The championship began on 18 April at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

and concluded on 19 September at the

Circuit Ricardo Tormo Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' and officially named ''Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo'', is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is n ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, after nine double-header rounds. For most of the season, the championship battle revolved around a pair of British drivers, returning driver

Jolyon Palmer Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British motorsport commentator and columnist, covering the Formula One World Championship on BBC Radio 5 and F1TV. Prior to his media career, Palmer was a racing driver and the 2014 GP2 Series ...

and

Formula Renault UK British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was g ...

graduate

Dean Stoneman Dean Colin Stoneman (born July 24, 1990) is a British racing driver. Stoneman was the 2010 Formula Two champion. Career Like many drivers, Stoneman began his career in karting. He made his first steps in single-seaters in 2006 when he compete ...

. 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 Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...

team, with a race to spare. 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 Sergey Afanasyev may refer to: *Sergey Afanasyev (engineer) (1918–2001), Soviet engineer and space and defense industry executive * Sergey Afanasyev (athlete) (born 1964), Russian middle-distance runner, in 1989 European Athletics Indoor Champio ...

of Russia, another British driver

Will Bratt William Bratt (born 13 April 1988 in Oxford) is a British racing driver. He previously competed in the British Touring Car Championship with Rob Austin Racing. Career T Cars After three years in Super 1 karting, Bratt moved into the T Cars s ...

and Belgium's Benjamin Bailly, as well as returnees

Kazim Vasiliauskas Kazimieras "Kazim" Vasiliauskas (born 2 August 1990) is a Lithuanian former racing driver. Racing career Karting Vasiliauskas was born in Kaišiadorys. He competed in kart racing from 1999 to 2007, winning several Lithuanian and Baltic champio ...

of Lithuania and Austria's

Philipp Eng Philipp Eng (born 28 February 1990 in Salzburg) is an Austrian professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver. Career Karting Eng started karting in 2003, by competing in KF2, Intercontinental A Junior karts, competing in the Andrea ...

all in contention for the remaining

FIA Super Licence The FIA Super Licence is a driver's qualification allowing the holder to compete in the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Requirements Super Licence To qualify for an FIA Racing Super Licence an applicant must meet the requirements of t ...

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 The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...

was 12 points further behind. Eighth-placed

Nicola de Marco Nicola de Marco (born August 28, 1990 in Pordenone) is an Italian racing driver. Career Formula Azzurra After a six-year karting career, de Marco moved up to the Formula Azzurra championship with the Durango team in 2006, and was mightily impre ...

was the only other race-winner on the season, winning at

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

and Valencia.

Regulation changes

As announced at the

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

's World Motor Sport Council meeting in December 2009, Formula Two cars in the 2010 season had a base power of , up from in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. The overboost also increased from to , giving a maximum power of . Races were also extended to 40 minutes in duration, 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.

Drivers

The number of drivers admitted to the series had been expected to increase to 30. However, this was altered back to 24, with only 22 drivers appearing on the Silverstone entry list.

Driver changes

; Entering FIA Formula Two Championship * Russian drivers

– who was

International Formula Master International Formula Master, also known as Formula Super 2000, was a European-based junior single seater formula. The series was conceived as a competitor for Formula Three and made its debut at Valencia in 2007. European television channel Euros ...

runner-up – and Ivan Samarin made their debut in the series. * Formul'Academy Euro Series champion Benjamin Bailly graduated to the championship. *

Euroseries 3000 Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

champion

debuted in the series. * Johan Jokinen switched from the

Formula 3 Euro Series The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...

to the championship. * After all taking a year's sabbatical, Natalia Kowalska,

Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...

and

Julian Theobald Julian Theobald (born 11 November 1984 in Giessen) is a racing driver from Germany. Career Formula König After a long karting career, Theobald stepped up to single-seaters in 2002, racing in the Formula König series in his native Germany. Aft ...

all returned to racing competition. *

International GT Open The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship, but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec car ...

driver

Plamen Kralev Plamen Simeonov Kralev ( bg, Пламен Симеонов Кралев, born 22 February 1973 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian racing driver and businessman. He is the first Bulgarian driver to participate in FIA Formula 2 Championship, and the only Bulga ...

switched to Formula Two. *

Benjamin Lariche Benjamin Lariche, (born 16 June 1987 in Narbonne, France) is a French professional racing driver currently driving in the FIA Formula Two Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by ...

, who had a dual programme in the

Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault Eurocup was a Formula Renault motor racing championship. Eurocup raced only on European circuits. It served as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault from 2005 to 2015. Renault Sp ...

and the

Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup The Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup (WEC) was a Formula Renault 2.0 championship that replaced the Championnat de France Formula Renault 2.0 as of 2008,Mihai Marinescu Mihai Marinescu (born 25 January 1989 in Brașov, Romania) is a professional Romanian racing driver formerly competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He currently works as a race engineer for Jenzer Motorsport. Career Formula Junior & Form ...

, who competed in the

Formula Renault 3.5 Series The World Series Formula V8 3.5, formerly the World Series by Nissan from 1998 to 2004, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series from 2005 to 2015 and the Formula V8 3.5 in 2016 and 2017, was a motor racing series promoted by RPM Racing (1998–2004) and R ...

with Interwetten.com Racing, joined the championship. *

Formula Palmer Audi Formula Palmer Audi, officially abbreviated to FPA, and sometimes informally abbreviated to Palmer Audi, was a one-make class of open wheel Formula racing founded in 1998 by former Formula One driver, Jonathan Palmer. It was based in the United ...

graduates Ramón Piñeiro and

Paul Rees Paul Rees (born 20 April 1986) is a British racing driver. Rees is currently competing in the 2016 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. He has previously competed in the FIA Formula Two Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier s ...

moved into the series. *

Kelvin Snoeks Kelvin Manuel Mathijs Snoeks (born 12 September 1987 in Haarlem) is a Dutch racing driver. In 2010 he competed in the FIA Formula Two Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the ...

, who had a season in International Formula Master joined the series' grid. *

driver

made his series debut. *

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...

driver Parthiva Sureshwaren moved into the series. * After competing in the

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...

in 2009,

Ricardo Teixeira Ricardo Terra Teixeira (; born June 20, 1947) is the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). He was in the office from January 16, 1989 to March 12, 2012. In July 2012 a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during hi ...

switched to the FIA Formula Two Championship. ; Leaving FIA Formula Two Championship * Third-placed

Mikhail Aleshin Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the For ...

returned to the

with Carlin. *

Mirko Bortolotti Mirko Bortolotti (born 10 January 1990) is an Italian racing driver from Trento. He has won the Italian Formula 3 Championship in 2008, the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2011, the Eurocup Megane Trophy in 2013 and the Blancpain GT Series Endur ...

joined the

Ferrari Driver Academy Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...

and moved into the

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

with the Addax Team.

Robert Wickens Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 he ...

and

Tobias Hegewald Tobias Hegewald (born 3 August 1989 in Neuwied) is a German racing driver. Career Karting Hegewald spent three seasons racing in professional karting, including a 5th place in the 2002 Junior Monaco Kart Cup at ICA Junior level, racing against ...

also moved to the series. *

Alex Brundle Alex Brundle (born 7 August 1990) is a British Auto racing, racing driver and broadcaster who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Inter Europol Competition. He was the 2016 European Le Mans Series champion (LMP3) and ...

switched to the

British Formula 3 Championship The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single seat ...

with T-Sport. *

Natacha Gachnang Natacha Gachnang (born 27 October 1987 in Vevey, Switzerland) is a Swiss race driver and the cousin of former Formula One driver Sébastien Buemi. In 2010 she was a member of the first all-female crew to race at Le Mans 24 hours since 1991 and she ...

joined the newly created

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. It featured multiple grand to ...

with

Matech Competition Matech Concepts was an auto racing development firm based in Geneva, Switzerland and founded by Martin Bartek in 2006. The company had made an agreement with Ford Racing to develop the Ford GT sports car for competition, and constructs the FIA GT ...

. * Pietro Gandolfi moved into the Italian Prototype Championship. *

Ollie Hancock Ollie Hancock (born 25 August 1987) is a British racing driver. Hancock is the son of historic racing driver Anthony Hancock, and the younger brother of sportscar racer Sam Hancock. Career Formula Ford Hancock was born in Windsor, Berkshire, a ...

switched to the World Sportscar Masters series. *

Sebastian Hohenthal Sebastian Hohenthal (born 5 November 1984 in Mora) is a former racing driver from Sweden. Career Karting Hohenthal competed in kart racing from 1995 to 2000. During this period he won the Dalacupen Formula Micro in 1996, the Tom Trana Trophy IC ...

, Jens Höing, Jason Moore and Germán Sánchez all retired from auto racing. *

Carlos Iaconelli Carlos "Iaco" Iaconelli (born June 26, 1987) is a Brazilian racing car driver. Career He spent much of his early career in karting before moving into single-seaters in 2004, where he competed in both Brazilian Formula Renault and the South Amer ...

and

Edoardo Piscopo Edoardo Piscopo (born 4 February 1988) is an Italian racing driver. Career Formula BMW After previously competing in karting, Piscopo began his single seater career in Formula BMW USA in 2005, where despite missing the first rounds he fini ...

switched to

Auto GP Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

with

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

and

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

respectively. *

Julien Jousse Julien Jousse (born 21 January 1986 in Les Issambres) is a professional racing driver from France. Career Formula Ford After spending time in karting between 1997 and 2001, Jousse began has circuit racing career in 2002 in the Formula Ford Kent ...

moved to Superleague Formula. * Henri Karjalainen moved into the Finnish GT3 Championship. * Miloš Pavlović took a two-year hiatus. * Champion

Andy Soucek Andy may refer to: People *Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...

became

Virgin Racing Virgin Racing (subsequently Marussia Virgin Racing) was a Formula One racing team which was under management of Manor Motorsport, Wirth Research and Richard Branson's Virgin Group and competed in with a British licence and in with a Russian ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

test and reserve driver. *

Henry Surtees Henry John Surtees (18 February 1991 – 19 July 2009) was a British racing driver and the son of John Surtees. He died during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch when he was struck by a wheel which came off another car which had spun into a wal ...

died in a racing accident during the series' 2009 event at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

. *

Tristan Vautier Tristan Vautier (born 22 August 1989) is a French professional racing driver. Racing career Formula Renault Born in Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Isère, Vautier began his career in the French Formula Renault Campus series in 2006, where he finishe ...

switched to the

Star Mazda Championship The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy l ...

with

Andersen Racing Andersen Racing was a professional auto racing team that competed in Firestone Indy Lights and Star Mazda competition. It was owned by Dan Andersen, who founded the U.S. F2000 National Championship in 1991 and his brother John Andersen. The team ...

Calendar

A nine-round calendar was published on 21 October 2009. The series ventured outside of Europe, racing in Marrakech, after being an all-European series in 2009.

Results

Standings

Drivers' Championship

References

External links

The official website of the FIA Formula Two Championship
{{Formula Two years FIA Formula Two Championship seasons FIA Formula Two season 2010

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...