Bailly signs up for Formula 2

The 19-year-old Belgian is the reigning Formul'Academy Euro Series champion and is backed by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, which also supports GP2 racer Jerome d'Ambrosio, Formula Renault 3.5 champion Bertrand Baguette and German F3 champion Laurens Vanthoor.

"Formula 2 is a great championship and I'm delighted to be joining it for 2010," said Bailly. "I like the concept of the series and the fact that all the cars are equal means the driver makes all the difference. In other categories, if you're not with a good team you can't get the results."

Bailly drove the F2 car in last year's post-season test at Portimao and is confident he can make a strong start in the series.

"Andy Soucek proved what a good learning step F2 is when he set the fastest time in his Formula 1 test in Jerez. I proved I could be fast when I tested at Portima, and I'm certainly targeting podiums and even race wins this year."

Series boss Jonathan Palmer added: "I'm delighted Benjamin is joining us as our first Belgian driver. I have seen the Formul'Academy and it is clearly very competitive. His talent was obvious in the winter F2 tests when he was always towards the top of the timesheet."

Bailly joins Dutch racer Kelvin Snoeks and Indian Armaan Ebrahim, who have already been confirmed on the F2 grid for 2010.