Formula Two news

Newey tours F2 paddock

Red Bull Racing design guru Adrian Newey was welcomed into the Spa-Francorchamps Formula Two paddock last weekend. Present to compete in support races on the Belgian circuit, the designer was invited for a guided tour by series director and former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer.

Newey's CV includes a mix of championship-winning F1 cars

As Tobias Hegewald dominated proceedings on track, Newey enjoyed the experience of exploring the varying ways in which the F2 setup is managed. "I was impressed with what I saw in Formula Two," said Newey, whose Red Bull RB5 won the British Grand Prix nine days ago. "It seems to satisfy the criteria we set as a Formula One team; when we are developing a car, we are looking to develop a driver's ability to describe what the car is doing.

"The key thing is that drivers are able to work with engineers and give good feedback; if they're going to become F1 drivers, then understanding what the car does and how to describe that to your race engineer is absolutely key. From what I saw, Formula Two is a great way to develop young drivers."

Jonathan Palmer launched his Formula Two series in March

With F2's unique rule of drivers changing engineers for every race weekend, rapid adaptation is key when it comes to success. With three Red Bull junior drivers competing, Newey was also keeping a close eye on the lap times. "Obviously, if one of the Red Bull guys dominates in the championship, we would probably give them a test drive in Formula One," he revealed. "It is fantastic to have a senior level category with this kind of budget - it's a great alternative to series like GP2, where it can be so difficult to raise the budget. Having the cars produced to an exact equal standard is also a good way of finding out just how good the young drivers are. I think Jonathan Palmer has come up with a great series."

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