X-Nico

11 unusual facts about Formula Two


Davidstow Circuit

For 1954, two meeting were organised for Bank Holiday Mondays, with Permits of National Status, with the bonus that races would be run for Formula One, Formula Two and Formula Libre in addition to the usual sports cars and Formula Three.

Ferrari 156 F1

The Ferrari 156 was a racecar made by Ferrari in 1961 to comply with then-new Formula One regulations that reduced engine displacement from 2.5 to 1.5 litres, similar to the pre-1961 Formula Two class for which Ferrari had developed a mid-engined car also called 156.

Formula Two

Engines were mostly by Cosworth (based on Ford blocks) and Honda, though some other units appeared, including various Fiat based units and dedicated racing engines from BMC and BRM.

German Grand Prix

German driver Gerhard Mitter was killed during practice driving a BMW Formula 2 car after his rear suspension failed and the car went straight on at the downhill section near the very fast Schwedenkreuz bend; this was the 5th Formula One-related fatality at the 14.2-mile German circuit in 15 years- which was by far the most out of all the circuits yet used for the championship.

Gerry Birrell

Gerry Birrell (30 July 1944 – 23 June 1973) was a Scottish racing driver who was killed in an accident during practice for a Formula Two race at Rouen-Les-Essarts.

Grand Prix du Comminges

After World War II, the creation of Formula One saw the Grand Prix du Comminges modified to a Formula Two event but, with the top drivers no longer competing, economics dictated cancellation after the 1952 race.

Maserati 4CL and 4CLT

A long term campaigner of Maserati automobiles, Enrico Platé recognised the Maserati's shortcomings as a Formula One vehicle, and converted a 4CLT/48 into the Maserati-Platé 4CLT Formula Two variant.

Maserati A6GCM

The same model raced in Formula One races and in Formula Two, in races which counted for the World Championship as well as in non-championship events, as it was often the case in the early 1950s.

Spirit 201

The Spirit 201 was a Formula One/Formula Two racing car designed by John Baldwin and Spirit Racing co-founder Gordon Coppuck which was raced in European Formula Two from 1982 to 1984 and in Formula One in 1983.

In Formula Two racing, the car was powered by a 2 litre naturally aspirated engine.

Theo Fitzau

Generally a Formula Two racer, he participated in one World Championship Grand Prix, the 1953 German Grand Prix, driving an AFM owned by fellow driver Helmut Niedermayr.


1968 Spanish Grand Prix

It was the first race after the death of former double World Champion Jim Clark, who had died in a non-championship Formula Two event in Hockenheim, Germany.

1979 Hitachi Trophy

The 1979 Hitachi Trophy was a non-championship Formula Two, in conjunction with Formula Atlantic race held at Brands Hatch on April 15, 1979.

1980 Evening News Trophy

Giacomo Agostini’s fourth-placed drive was a lonely one in a rebuilt car after a heavy race morning shunt, while the Chevrons of Tony Dean and Brian Robinson squabbled over the F2 category throughout.

Aleix Alcaraz

In 2007, Alcaraz contested both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Italian Formula Renault 2.0 series with the Petrom District Racing AP team, alongside current Formula Two racer Mihai Marinescu.

Henry Pelham Lee

In 1917, Lee's engine company became Coventry Climax Engines, a company which, in the 1960s, produced championship Formula One and Two racing engines.

Jack Fairman

His most significant contribution in this role was during the development of Connaught's Formula Two and later Formula One cars.

JAF Grand Prix

It started as a Formula Libre event, and after the brief suspension between 1971–1973 due to scandal, it was used as a pointed round in Formula 2000, Formula Two, and Formula Pacific events until 1986.

Skarpnäck Airfield

The airport was used as an auto racing circuit for the 1948 Stockholm Grand Prix, a Formula Two race, and the following year the Swedish Summer Grand Prix was held here.

Willi Krakau

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, he built a reputation as a constructor of special racing cars, sometimes based on the BMW 328, with which he enjoyed some success in various formulae including Formula Two.