Formula Two news

Italian F3 champion Bortolotti joins F2

Red Bull has signed Italian F3 champion Mirko Bortlotti as part of its junior driver programme, and placed him in the FIA Formula Two Championship for the 2009 season.

Bortolotti has recently tested a Scuderia Ferrari F2008 F1 car as part of his F3 title prize - setting an unofficial lap record for the car at Fiorano just before Christmas. This followed a highly impressive campaign in the 2008 Italian F3 Championship, where he took nine wins and a total of 15 podiums in just 16 races. A run in the new A1GP car and the F1 test with Ferrari followed, before Red Bull invited Bortolotti to join its prestigious Junior Team: "This is fantastic news for me because only the very best international junior drivers get into the Red Bull Junior Team," said Bortolotti. "Formula Two is a very exciting championship and I am extremely grateful to the Red Bull organisation and of course, the people at Formula Two for giving me this opportunity."

Bortolotti's first full season of single seater racing was in 2006, where he finished as runner-up in Formula Azzurra. Fellow F2 competitor Nicola De Marco also contested the same championship, finishing third. A podium in the Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Winter Series followed before he stepped up to compete in Italian F3 in 2007. One win and seven podiums helped Bortolotti to fourth in the overall standings, setting him up for a championship assault in 2008: "I enjoyed a great season in 2008 but I know that I still have a lot to learn," commented Bortolotti. "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."

Mirko Bortolotti is the third member of the Red Bull Junior Team to be confirmed in F2, following Canadian Robert Wickens and Russian driver Mikhail Aleshin.

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