2012 FIA Formula Two Championship

The 2012 FIA Formula Two Championship was the fourth and the last of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The season started on 14 April at Silverstone and finished on 30 September at Monza. The 2012 calendar saw the addition of two new races.^[1]

In the opening round at Silverstone, the first pole of the season was claimed by Mathéo Tuscher, the youngest driver to have taken part in the series.^[2] Tuscher was overtaken by Christopher Zanella on the first lap of the opening race; Zanella was later joined by Mihai Marinescu and Luciano Bacheta out front, with Bacheta eventually prevailing over Zanella with series debutant Alex Fontana in third.^[3] Marinescu claimed pole position for the second race,^[4] but could not stop Bacheta taking his second win of the weekend; Fontana again completed the podium, behind Marinescu.^[5]

Drivers edit

No.	Driver	Rounds
3	Max Snegirev^[6]	2–5, 7–8
4	Luciano Bacheta^[7]	All
5	Parthiva Sureshwaren^[8]	1–4
6	Vittorio Ghirelli^[9]	4
7	David Zhu^[10]	All
8	Plamen Kralev^[11]	All
9	Mihai Marinescu^[12]	All
10	Alex Fontana^[13]	All
11	Kourosh Khani^[12]	1–2, 4–5
12	Mathéo Tuscher^[12]	All
13	José Luis Abadín^[12]	1
14	Mauro Calamia^[12]	1–6
15	Victor Guerin^[14]	2
18	Dino Zamparelli^[12]	All
19	Christopher Zanella^[15]	All
20	Daniel McKenzie^[16]	All
22	Axcil Jefferies^[17]	3–8
23	Samuele Buttarelli^[12]	1
24	Kevin Mirocha^[12]	All
27	Markus Pommer^[18]	All
33	Harald Schlegelmilch^[19]	8
35	Hector Hurst^[20]	All
51	Richard Gonda^[21]	7

Driver changes edit

Entering/Re–Entering FIA Formula Two Championship

Samuele Buttarelli switched from Auto GP to the championship.
Formula Renault ALPS driver Mauro Calamia graduated into Formula Two in 2012.
European F3 Open champion Alex Fontana graduated to the series.
After competing in the first three rounds of the Auto GP World Series, Victor Guerin joined the series ahead of the Portimão round.^[14]
Daniel McKenzie moved into the series from the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.
After competing in the GP2 Series in 2011, Kevin Mirocha switched to the FIA Formula Two Championship.
After finishing seventh in the German Formula Three Championship, Markus Pommer graduated into Formula Two in 2012.
Formula Pilota China champion Mathéo Tuscher and eighth-placed David Zhu moved into the championship.
Formula Renault BARC champion Dino Zamparelli as well as fourth-placed Kourosh Khani and thirteenth-placed Hector Hurst all joined the championship.

Leaving FIA Formula Two Championship

Alex Brundle joined Carlin in the GP3 Series.^[22]
Jack Clarke and Benjamin Lariche switched to sportscar racing, joining the European Le Mans Series and FIA GT1 World Championship respectively.^[23]^[24]
Armaan Ebrahim moved to the United States to compete in Firestone Indy Lights.^[25]
Jordan King switched to the Formula Renault Eurocup with Manor MP Motorsport.^[26]
Jon Lancaster graduated to the GP2 Series with Ocean Racing Technology.^[27]

Race calendar and results edit

An eight-race calendar was published by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on 7 December 2011.^[1]

Round		Circuit/Location	Country	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver
1	R1	Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire	United Kingdom	14 April	Mathéo Tuscher	Mihai Marinescu	Luciano Bacheta
1	R2	Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire	United Kingdom	15 April	Mihai Marinescu	Luciano Bacheta	Luciano Bacheta
2	R1	Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão	Portugal	28 April	Luciano Bacheta	Mathéo Tuscher	Luciano Bacheta
2	R2	Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão	Portugal	29 April	Mathéo Tuscher	Luciano Bacheta	Luciano Bacheta
3	R1	Nürburgring	Germany	26 May	Mihai Marinescu	Mihai Marinescu	Mihai Marinescu
3	R2	Nürburgring	Germany	27 May	Christopher Zanella	Christopher Zanella	Christopher Zanella
4	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Belgium	23 June	Markus Pommer	Markus Pommer	Markus Pommer
4	R2	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Belgium	24 June	Luciano Bacheta	Luciano Bacheta	Luciano Bacheta
5	R1	Brands Hatch, Kent	United Kingdom	14 July	Luciano Bacheta	Mihai Marinescu	Kevin Mirocha
5	R2	Brands Hatch, Kent	United Kingdom	15 July	Mihai Marinescu	Christopher Zanella	Mihai Marinescu
6	R1	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	France	21 July	Mathéo Tuscher	Christopher Zanella	Mathéo Tuscher
6	R2	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	France	22 July	Markus Pommer	Luciano Bacheta	Markus Pommer
7	R1	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	Hungary	8 September	Kevin Mirocha	Alex Fontana	Alex Fontana
7	R2	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	Hungary	9 September	Markus Pommer	Markus Pommer	Markus Pommer
8	R1	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Italy	29 September	Mathéo Tuscher	Christopher Zanella	Mathéo Tuscher
8	R2	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Italy	30 September	Markus Pommer	Luciano Bacheta	Christopher Zanella

Calendar changes edit

As in 2011, the series will take place over sixteen races at eight rounds, but the overall length of the calendar has been shortened from seven months to six.
Two new rounds are to be introduced for the 2012 season, with races due to take place at Circuit Paul Ricard and the Hungaroring.
After being removed from the 2011 calendar, the series will return to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
The races at the Red Bull Ring, Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours and Circuit de Catalunya will be discontinued to make way for new and returning races.

Championship standings edit

Pos.	Driver	SIL		ALG		NÜR		SPA		BRH		LEC		HUN		MNZ		Points
1	Luciano Bacheta	1	1	1	1	2	6	Ret	1	3	6	2	5	3	8	4	3	231.5
2	Mathéo Tuscher	6	5	2	2	5	3	3	8	2	Ret	1	2	Ret	2	1	5	210
3	Christopher Zanella	2	8	6	4	3	1	5	4	6	2	8	3	5	6	2	1	196
4	Markus Pommer	8	7	4	3	9	4	1	2	5	5	5	1	NC	1	8	14	169
5	Mihai Marinescu	4	2	10	Ret	1	2	4	12	4	1	7	7	Ret	7	6	4	161
6	Kevin Mirocha	12	11	3	8	4	10	Ret	3	1	4	6	4	2	4	3	2	159.5
7	Alex Fontana	3	3	7	10	6	5	8	5	Ret	7	14	Ret	1	5	9	6	115
8	Dino Zamparelli	9	6	8	5	13	7	7	10	Ret	3	4	6	6	3	7	7	106.5
9	Daniel McKenzie	5	4	13	6	8	8	2	18	10	8	3	8	4	9	11	10	95
10	Hector Hurst	7	10	9	7	10	11	9	9	7	12	9	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	27
11	David Zhu	11	9	5	12	7	9	10	13	Ret	13	13	12	10	11	12	11	22
12	Axcil Jefferies					14	DNS	Ret	7	8	9	10	10	Ret	10	10	8	17
13	Harald Schlegelmilch															5	9	12
14	Vittorio Ghirelli							6	6									12
15	Max Snegirev			17	15	Ret	14	Ret	16	Ret	14			7	15	14	12	6
16	Richard Gonda													8	12			4
17	Plamen Kralev	15	15	15	13	11	DNS	13	17	11	Ret	12	9	9	13	13	13	4
18	Mauro Calamia	14	12	12	11	15	13	12	14	9	11	11	11					2
19	Victor Guerin			11	9													2
20	Kourosh Khani	10	13	14	Ret			Ret	15	Ret	10							2
21	Parthiva Sureshwaren	16	14	16	14	12	12	11	11									0
22	José Luis Abadín	13	16															0
	Samuele Buttarelli	Ret	Ret															0
Pos	Driver	SIL		ALG		NÜR		SPA		BRH		LEC		HUN		MNZ		Points

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap
† – Retired, but classified

Spa Race 2 ran only four laps, and the race was red-flagged because of rain and crashes on Lap 3 that resulted in a caution. The race was subsequently red-flagged, and under the count-back rule in red flag situations, the race lasted only three laps for a total time of 9:38.007, much less than the 30 minutes required in the 40-minute race, so only half points are awarded as the race did not reach the 75% required for full points.

References edit

^ ^a ^b "Formula 2 to visit five current grand prix circuits in 2012". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
^ "Tuscher secures superb pole for opening Silverstone race". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
^ "Luciano Bacheta wins thrilling Silverstone opener". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
^ "Marinescu secures pole for second Silverstone race". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
^ "Bacheta completes superb Silverstone double". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
^ "Max Snegirev returns for remainder of F2 seasont". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 23 April 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
^ "Luciano Bacheta returns for F2 title assault". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Parthiva Sureshwaren secures F2 return for 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
^ "Vittorio Ghirelli joins Spa F2 test line-up". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
^ "David Zhu confirms place on F2 grid in 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Plamen Kralev confirms place on 2012 F2 grid". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "2012 F2 season gets underway!". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
^ "Alex Fontana graduates to Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Victor Guerin joins F2 grid for Algarve". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
^ Allen, Peter (27 March 2012). "Zanella dreams of Williams test after confirming F2 return". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
^ "Daniel McKenzie switches from Formula Renault 3.5 to F2". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
^ "Axcil Jefferies makes F2 debut at the Nűrburgring". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Markus Pommer steps up to F2 in 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
^ "Harald Schlegelmilch joins F2 grid for season finale". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
^ "Hector Hurst to make Formula Two debut in 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
^ "Richard Gonda joins F2 field at Hungaroring". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
^ "Brundle joins Carlin for GP3". Carlin. Capsicum. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
^ "Le Castellet: The Participants". europeanlemansseries.com. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
^ Mercier, Laurent (2 April 2012). "Nogaro: Les équipages affichent complets..." [Nogaro: Crews are complete]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
^ "Fan Force United signs Ebrahim". Firestone Indy Lights. IndyCar. 3 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
^ Rubino, Jacopo (27 January 2012). "Manor molla la serie britannica e si allea con MP Motorsport" [Manor leaves British series and joins forces with MP Motorsport]. stopandgo.tv (in Italian). Stop&Go. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
^ "Jon Lancaster joins Ocean for GP2". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.

External links edit

The official website of the FIA Formula Two Championship

[Calendar-1] "Formula 2 to visit five current grand prix circuits in 2012". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.

[2] "Tuscher secures superb pole for opening Silverstone race". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2012.

[3] "Luciano Bacheta wins thrilling Silverstone opener". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.

[4] "Marinescu secures pole for second Silverstone race". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.

[5] "Bacheta completes superb Silverstone double". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.

[6] "Max Snegirev returns for remainder of F2 seasont". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 23 April 2012. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

[7] "Luciano Bacheta returns for F2 title assault". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[8] "Parthiva Sureshwaren secures F2 return for 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 13 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.

[9] "Vittorio Ghirelli joins Spa F2 test line-up". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2012.

[10] "David Zhu confirms place on F2 grid in 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[11] "Plamen Kralev confirms place on 2012 F2 grid". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[full_entry-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "2012 F2 season gets underway!". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.

[13] "Alex Fontana graduates to Formula Two". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.

[Guerin-14] "Victor Guerin joins F2 grid for Algarve". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.

[15] Allen, Peter (27 March 2012). "Zanella dreams of Williams test after confirming F2 return". The Checkered Flag. BlackEagleMedia Network. Retrieved 27 March 2012.

[16] "Daniel McKenzie switches from Formula Renault 3.5 to F2". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.

[17] "Axcil Jefferies makes F2 debut at the Nűrburgring". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[18] "Markus Pommer steps up to F2 in 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.

[19] "Harald Schlegelmilch joins F2 grid for season finale". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.

[20] "Hector Hurst to make Formula Two debut in 2012". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.

[21] "Richard Gonda joins F2 field at Hungaroring". FIA Formula Two Championship. MotorSport Vision. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.

[Brundle-22] "Brundle joins Carlin for GP3". Carlin. Capsicum. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2012.

[23] "Le Castellet: The Participants". europeanlemansseries.com. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.

[Nogaro_entry-24] Mercier, Laurent (2 April 2012). "Nogaro: Les équipages affichent complets..." [Nogaro: Crews are complete]. endurance-info.com (in French). Endurance-Info. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.

[25] "Fan Force United signs Ebrahim". Firestone Indy Lights. IndyCar. 3 January 2012. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.

[26] Rubino, Jacopo (27 January 2012). "Manor molla la serie britannica e si allea con MP Motorsport" [Manor leaves British series and joins forces with MP Motorsport]. stopandgo.tv (in Italian). Stop&Go. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2012.

[Lancaster-27] "Jon Lancaster joins Ocean for GP2". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.

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