2011 FIA Formula Two Season Review

“It’s a game of two halves” say the old, cockney football pundits, but never have I seen such a striking illustration of that cliché in motorsport until this year’s FIA Formula Two Championship.

Below, we have the top eight in the final championship standings listed, with their points total from the first eight races followed by their points total from the second eight races, ignoring the irritations of dropped scores.

                Rounds:          1-8    9-16

1. Mirko Bortolotti             159    157

2. Christopher Zanella       137     58

3. Ramon Pineiro               29     156

4. Miki Monras                  94      59

5. Mihai Marinescu            46      92

6. Tobias Hegewald           66      55

7. Alex Brundle                 59      53

8. Jack Clarke                  42      68 


There are a number of things we can pick up from these statistics. Firstly, the striking consistency of eventual champion Mirko Bortolotti leaps out. Scoring just two points less in the second half of the season proves the remarkable consistency of the young Austro-Italian, who was only missing from the podium on one occasion in each half of the year, in the first races at both Magny-Cours and Brands Hatch.  

Jonathan Palmer gives Bortolotti some tips before his win at Silverstone

Whilst I am in no doubt that Mirko was a worthy champion, this breakdown shows a slightly different story to the 121 point margin he held over Christopher Zanella after the final round in Barcelona. At the half-way mark, after the two races at the Nurburgring, Zanella was hot on the heels of Bortolotti. Less than one win separated the pair of them, but in that midseason break there was a notable shift in fortunes and pace between Zanella and Ramon Pineiro.

Ramon got his act together at Brands Hatch

Pineiro, as can be seen, had a miserable start to the season. The Spaniard had three first lap spins, one at Silverstone then in both races at Spa, and as a result had failed to gain a points total that even vaguely resembled his speed. But at Brands Hatch, things changed. Issues in his personal life were resolved, and on a circuit where he had enjoyed success in the past, Ramon flourished. A second place and a win that weekend were his first podiums of the season, but the Catalan racer would go on to score two more wins at the Red Bull Ring, climbing up the standings to claim a coveted GP2 test. Indeed, in the second half of the year, Bortolotti only scored one more point than him.

Brundle, Marinescu and Bortolotti on the Monza podium

 The opposite was true for Zanella. He would never appear on the podium in the second half of the season, as the form he had early on seemed to disintegrate. Other notable turnarounds were shown by Mihai Marinescu, as the Romanian made changes to his fitness regime, culminating in a win at Monza and a strong end to the season. Jack Clarke too found much more speed in the last eight races, after his maiden win at Brands Hatch, whilst both Tobias Hegewald and Alex Brundle will both be wondering how they didn’t end up on the top step at some point in 2011.

Bortolotti was unquestionably the class act of 2011 in his second year of Formula Two, but he was pushed hard at every race by a group of young drivers that I’m looking forward to seeing progress.