Fortunately the cancer was discovered early and his doctor is confident in a full recovery. Treatment will begin immediately.

Let’s hope his recovery is as quick as he is on the track because I’m sure we all want to see him back racing as soon as possible!

Morning times:
1. Andy SOUCEK ESP 59.817s
2. Philipp ENG AUT 59.963s
3. Milos PAVLOVIC SRB 59.970s
4. Mirko BORTOLOTTI ITA Red Bull 1m00.032s
5. Alex BRUNDLE GBR Sen, GAC, Nasstar 1m00.077s
6. Robert WICKENS CAN Red Bull, Lukoil 1m00.149s
7. Carlos IACONELLI BRA 1m00.187s
8. Sebastian HOHENTHAL SWE Mafi 1m00.220s
9. Julien JOUSSE FRA E. Leclerc 1m00.327s
10. Armaan EBRAHIM IND JK Racing 1m00.341s

Afternoon times:
1.    Robert WICKENS  CAN  Red Bull, Lukoil  59.433s
2.    Mirko BORTOLOTTI  ITA  Red Bull  59.601s  +0.168
3.    Alex BRUNDLE  GBR  SEN, GAC, Nasstar  59.655s  + 0.222
4.    Andy SOUCEK  ESP  FK-Automotive  59.763s  +0.330
5.    Philipp ENG  Aut  59.963s  +0.530
6.    Milos PAVLOVIC  SRB  59.970s  +0.537
7.    Julien JOUSSE  FRA  E.Leclerc  59.974s  +0.541
8.    Sebastian HOHENTHAL  SWE  Mafi  1:00.070s  +0.637
9.    Mikhail ALESHIN  RUS  Red Bull, Lukoil  1:00.147s  +0.714
10.  Tobias HEGEWALD  GER  Hegewald  1:00.164s  +0.731

The car – the Williams JPH1

The F2 car has been designed and built by Williams F1 and features ground effect aerodynamics and is complying with the tough 2005 Formula 1 safety regulations. It has a six speed paddle shift controlled transmission. The engine is a 1.8 litre Audi turbo engine that produces 400 bhp in standard mode and 450 bhp with overboost. The overboost will be controlled by the driver using a button on the steering wheel.

The following clip shows the car in action during the launch:

The tracks

The FIA Formula Two Championship will run at eight different tracks during 2009. The season starts at Valencia at the end of May partnering the WTCC championship. Two dates in June; Brno with WTCC and Spa-Francorchamps with the International GT Open. There will be two British rounds in July and August. First the Brands Hatch GP circuit supporting the WTCC and then a round at Donington Park. September sees to rounds as well. Oscherleben in Germany followed by Imola in Italy. Both of these rounds as part of the World Touring Car Championship package. The final round, and hopefully the championship decider, will be at Circuit de Catalunya outside of Barcelona together with the GT Open.

The drivers

The 2009 line-up is a mix of experience and inexperience. It is probably a bigger spread of drivers when it comes to previous experience and ability than we are used to this far up the single seater ladder. With equal cars, the drivers will mostly have to look at themselves when it’s time to point the blame at someone.

2. Sebastian Hohental, Sweden
3. Jolyon Palmer, Great Britain
4. Julien Jousse, France
5. Alex Brundle, Great Britain
6. Armaan Ebrahim, India
7. Henry Surtees, Great Britain
8. Tobias Hegewald, Germany
9. Pietro Gandolfi, Italy
10. Nicola de Marco, Italy
11. Jack Clarke, Great Britain
12. Robert Wickens, Canada
14. Mirko Bortolotti, Italy
15. Mikhail Aleshin, Russia
17. Carlos Iaconelli, Brazil
18. Natacha Gachnang, Switzerland
20. Jens Höing, Germany
21. Kazim Vasiliauskas, Lithuania
22. Andy Soucek, Spain
23. Henri Karjalainen, Finland
24. Tom Gladdis, Great Britain
25. Milos Pavlovic, Serbia
27. German Sanchez, Spain
31. Jason Moore, Great Britain
33. Philipp Eng, Austria

Detailed stats and race results will be available over at Driver Database’s Formula 2 page.

He joins the championship as a Red Bull Junior and is the third Red Bull driver in the series after Robert Wickens and Mikhail Aleshin were confirmed earlier.

“Having already driven a Formula One car, I am desperate to have this experience again in my career. Through this chance in F2 and my relationship with Red Bull, I hope this dream can be realised in the future.”

Sánchez made his single seater debut in 2006 and won the National class (Copa de Espãna) in his rookie season with seven class wins in 15 races. In 2007 he moved up to the newer cars in the main championship and finished fourth with two wins and four podium finishes. Last season he won the championship ahead of Nelson Panciatici from France and with 2009 F2 competitor Natacha Gachnang in third.

Germán Sánchez said: “I am very happy to be joining this Formula, it is a great opportunity. Formula Two is an important championship, the popularity and interest seems to be growing and growing. Everything is being achieved in a very professional manner and the organisers have attracted some great drivers from around the world. I am confident however, through my determination and hard work, that I can score some good results.”

“I am really delighted to be racing in F2 in 2009; it will be a fantastic challenge. The championship will visit beautiful circuits, with competitive drivers and a powerful car – it seems to be a great combination. The prize of an F1 test drive with Williams for the F2 champion represents something all young drivers have dreamt of since a young age and I will work very hard to make my dream come true. I would like to take this moment to thank Mr. Palmer and all of the Formula Two team for this fantastic opportunity.”

Iaconelli has been racing in Europe since 2005 and has sampled a lot of series over the last couple of years: GP2, World Series by Renault, Formula 3, International Formula Master and Formula Renault 2.0.

“I am really excited to be moving up to F2; it is a fantastic opportunity,” said Jolyon. “The cars will be a lot faster than anything I’ve driven before, but I’m confident I will adapt pretty quickly. It is going to be a great experience, but I do not want to put too much pressure on myself. There are a lot of quality drivers out there so I’m sure this will be a two year programme for some of us.”

Jolyon Palmer is now the third driver in the championship who has a father who’s raced in Formula 1 (Alex Brundle and Henry Surtees being the other two). F2 driver Jack Clarke is also the step-son of Julian Bailey, so it’s more like 3.5 drivers with F1 fathers.

There are now only six drives available in the Formula Two championship. 18 seats are occupied, which means three more drivers will be revealed shortly.

Aleshin was team mate to Wickens in the 2008 World Series by Renault where both drove for Carlin Motorsport. Aleshin ended the year as fifth in the championship with three podium finishes to his credit. Aleshin also brings som A1GP experience to the F2 grid as he did a few races for the Russian team in the 2005-06 season.

Mikhail Aleshin said: “It is great to be competing in F2. The return of the championship has created a lot of excitement and it is great that all the cars are equal. I know Rob Wickens really well and having seen some of the other drivers announced, I know that it is going to be highly competitive. I am confident in my ability however, and feel that I can challenge at the top. I would like to thank Red Bull for their continued support in my career.”

Henry Surtees

Henry made his car racing debut in the Ginetta GT Junior championship where he finished thrid in his rookie year. He then moved on to single seaters in the UK Formula BMW championship where he finished the year in sixth with one win to his credit. Last year he had a pretty tough year in the British Formula Renault 2.0 championship where he only managed 12th place, but the year ended on a high note with second place in the Winter Series.

John Surtees comments: “I won my last race in Formula Two and we are using the same colours on Henry’s car as I did back in 1972 and 1973.”

As a side-note Race Incident would just like to mention that John Surtees was actually 57 years old when his son Henry was born. Quite an achievement.

“The level of competition will be huge but I see that as an opportunity not a threat. I just can’t wait to get in the car!”

The drivers currently signed up to race are:

• Robert Wickens
• Julien Jousse
• Armaan Ebrahim
• Jason Moore
• Tobias Hegewald
• Natacha Gachnang
• Sebastian Hohenthal
• Marco Zipoli
• Pietro Gandolfi
• Alex Brundle

The championship will consist of double headers at eight tracks around Europe.

29/30/31 May – Valencia (WTCC)
19/20/21 June – Brno (WTCC)
26/27/28 June – Spa-Francorchamps (GT Open)
17/18/19 July – Brands Hatch GP (WTCC)
15/16 August – Donington Park GP
4/5/6 September – Oschersleben (WTCC)
18/19/20 September – Imola (WTCC)
30/31/1 October-November – Barcelona (GT Open)