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 Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

and finished on 30 September at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. The 2012 calendar saw the addition of two new races. In the opening round at Silverstone, the first pole of the season was claimed by

Mathéo Tuscher Mathéo Tuscher (born 12 December 1996 in Noville) is a Swiss- French former professional racing driver. Career Karting Tuscher began karting in 2004 and raced primarily in his native Switzerland for the majority of his career, winning Swis ...

, the youngest driver to have taken part in the series. Tuscher was overtaken by

Christopher Zanella Christopher Zanella (born 21 October 1989) is a Swiss former racing driver. Career Formula Renault 2.0 Switzerland Zanella, born in Waldshut-Tiengen, began competing in formula racing with Formula Renault 2.0 Switzerland in 2007. In 2008 he w ...

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. Marinescu claimed pole position for the second race, but could not stop Bacheta taking his second win of the weekend; Fontana again completed the podium, behind Marinescu.

Drivers

Driver changes

; Entering/Re–Entering FIA Formula Two Championship *

Samuele Buttarelli Samuele Buttarelli (born 2 May 1992 in Genoa) is a professional racing driver from Italy. Career Master Junior Formula Buttarelli began his single–seater career in the Spanish–based Master Junior Formula in 2007. He competed in just three ...

switched from

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 ...

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 Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

round. * Daniel McKenzie moved into the series from the Formula Renault 3.5 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 Ecc ...

in 2011,

Kevin Mirocha Kevin Mirocha (born 7 October 1991 in Hamm, Germany) is a Polish-German racing driver. Early life During childhood, Mirocha raced karts in Koszalin, Poland. Career Formula BMW Despite beginning his karting career in 2001, 2007 saw his debut ...

switched to the FIA Formula Two Championship. * After finishing seventh in the

German Formula Three Championship The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship ...

Markus Pommer Markus Pommer (; born 27 January 1991) is a German racing driver. Career Born in Heilbronn, Pommer began his racing career in karting 1999. He remained in karting until 2006. Amongst others he won 2004 the ''Southern German ADAC Kart Cup � ...

graduated into Formula Two in 2012. * Formula Pilota China champion

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 Hector James Hurst (born 15 July 1992) is a British former racing driver. Before retirement from racing, he competed in high level single seater championships, including FIA Formula Two and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship The FIA F ...

all joined the championship. ; Leaving FIA Formula Two Championship * Alex Brundle joined Carlin in 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 ...

. * Jack Clarke and Benjamin Lariche switched to sportscar racing, joining the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

and

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

respectively. *

Armaan Ebrahim Armaan Ebrahim (born 17 May 1989) is a car racer from Chennai, India. He is the vice-president of MECO Motorsports. Background and personal life Armaan was born in an Indian family, the son of Akbar Ebrahim, a former F3 champion. The famil ...

moved to the United States to compete in

Firestone Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road ...

. * Jordan King switched to the Formula Renault Eurocup with Manor MP Motorsport. * Jon Lancaster graduated to the

with

Ocean Racing Technology Ocean Racing Technology (ORT) was a racing team that took part in both the GP2 Main Series and the GP2 Asia Series Championships. The team, owned by Tiago Monteiro and José Guedes, was formed at the end of the 2008 season after being purchased ...

Race calendar and results

An eight-race calendar was published by the

FIA World Motor Sport Council The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) is a part of the governance structure of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. It has responsibility for all aspects of international motor sport. It meets at least three times a year to decide on r ...

on 7 December 2011.

Calendar changes

* As in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, 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 The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ...

and the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...

. * After being removed from the 2011 calendar, the series will return to the

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve The Algarve International Circuit (), commonly referred to as Portimão Circuit, is a race circuit located in Portimão, Algarve region, Portugal. The development includes a karting track, off-road track, technology park, five-star hotel, sp ...

in Portugal. * The races at the

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some from Paris and from Lyon. It staged the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 (succeeding Circuit Paul Ricard ...

and

Circuit de Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...

will be discontinued to make way for new and returning races.

Championship standings

* 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

External links

The official website of the FIA Formula Two Championship
{{F2 drivers FIA Formula Two Championship seasons Formula Two season Formula Two season

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...