Formula 2: Runners and riders

#2 Will Bratt (GB)

F2 starts: 0
2009: Euroseries 3000 champion (4 wins)

On paper, the reigning Euroseries 3000 champion looks like one of the early contenders to succeed Andy Soucek.

The 21-year-old is a multiple race winner in Formula Renault and has experience of F3 and GP2 cars as well as the 3000 car, which places his pedigree above most on the F2 grid before he even straps himself in.

#3 Jolyon Palmer (GB)

F2 starts: 16
F2 poles: 0
F2 wins: 0
2009: 21st in F2

The son of the series boss had a tough job last year, going up against far more worldly rivals with only Formula Palmer Audi behind him.

He showed flashes of speed on occasion but no more, and needs to take a step forward in his second year to prove he can cut it at this level.

#4 Benjamin Bailly (B)

F2 starts: 0
2009: Formul' Academy champion (6 wins)

Bailly is something of an unknown, but won the French-based Formul' Academy in his first full years in cars, succeeding the likes of new F3 star Jean-Eric Vergne, Loic Duval and Franck Montagny, so could be one of the more promising rookies.

#5 Ricardo Teixeira (AO)

F2 starts: 0
2009: GP2

The Portuguese Angolan's journey around European motorsport continues with a foray into Formula 2 this year.

With years of British F3 and now a season of GP2 behind him, he should be prepared for the F2 car, but he's still yet to hoist himself far up any competitive grid.

#6 Armaan Ebrahim (IN)

F2 starts: 15
F2 poles: 0
F2 wins: 0
2009: 17th in F2

He's been around for a long time for a 20-year-old, having raced in Formula BMW and A1GP as long ago as 2005.

He was on the fringes in F2 occasionally last year, but got himself involved in far too many incidents to put a consistent run together.

#7 Ivan Samarin (RU)

F2 starts: 0
2009: Runner-up in Russian F3

The 21-year-old has been racing single-seaters in his native Russia since 2006, finishing runner-up there in F3 last year.

He's also popped up in random places like Finnish F3, but this will be his first adventure in a proper international championship.

#8 Plamen Kralev (BG)

F2 starts: 0
2009: GP2 Asia, Le Mans 24 Hours, International GT Open

The 37-year-old isn't your usual F1 aspirant. He only took up racing three years ago, when campaigns in various GT championships led to an appearance at Le Mans last year.

He's decided on a single-seater route and, following an introduction in GP2 Asia during the winter, comes a full F2 programme.

#9 Mihai Marinescu (RO)

F2 starts: 0
2009: Formula Renault 3.5

The Romanian has done a lot of racing considering he's still only 21. He has raced in Formula BMW Europe, America and Pacific, Formula Renault all over Europe, British F3, Formula Master, FR3.5 and even FIA GT3, though he's still yet to win anywhere major.

#10 Benjamin Lariche (F)

F2 starts: 0
2009: 10th in Formula Renault West European Cup

The Frenchman graduates from Formula Renault after three years, which yielded just a solitary win - at Valencia in the 2008 West European Cup.

But he was a midfielder at best and will do well to improve on that in his F2 debut.

#11 Jack Clarke (GB)

F2 starts: 16
F2 poles: 0
F2 wins: 0
2009: 18th in F2

Another of the Britons to come through the FPA route to F2. Clarke also showed glimpses of a competitive pace in his rookie season, but too many potentially good days were blighted by errors and incidents.

It's make or break now with a second year of F2 coming at the age of 22.

#12 Kelvin Snoeks (NL)

F2 starts: 0
2009: Formula Master

Another new series for Snoeks, who failed to impress in both Formula Renault and Formula Master.

He'll need all the help he can get from his mate Renger van der Zande if he is to propel himself up the grid in F2.

#14 Sergei Afanasiev (RU)

F2 starts: 0
2009: Formula Master runner-up (1 win)

Afanasiev is another Formula Master graduate, but he is at least a race winner.

He finished runner-up in the end, to runaway champion Fabio Leimer, and should be one of those newcomers on the verge of the top six from the off.

#17 Johan Jokinen (D)

F2 starts: 0
2009: F3 Euro Series, Formula Renault Eurocup

Like many of his F2 rivals this year, the Dane comes into the series without a great deal behind him.

Just a lone Formula Renault North European Cup win and a season of struggling around in a Kolles-run F3 Euro Series car prepare him for F2.

#19 Nicola de Marco (I)

F2 starts: 16
F2 poles: 1
F2 wins: 0
2009: 10th in F2

The Italian was probably F2's least consistent driver in 2009. He took a pole position and started on the front two rows four times, but also qualified 18th or lower seven times. But he still finished 10th in the standings and can only move forward this year.

#21 Kazim Vasiliauskas (LT)

F2 starts: 16
F2 poles: 1
F2 wins: 1
2009: 7th in F2

The standout rookie of 2009, Vasiliauskas should be one of the main contenders this time around.

He was one of the few drivers with an answer for Soucek, albeit rarely, and fared well in GP2 testing as well. If Lithuania's finest is the real deal, he'll be tough to beat in 2010.

#24 Tom Gladdis (GB)

F2 starts: 16
F2 poles: 0
F2 wins: 0
2009: 20th in F2

Last year was something of a reality check for Gladdis after clinching a maiden career victory in Star Mazda in 2008.

He's still only 19, but has a long way to go to work his way up the Formula 2 grid.

#26 Parthiva Sureshwaren (IN)

F2 starts: 0
2009: N/A

One of four Indians on the F2 grid this year, Sureshwaren raced in Formula Ford in Britain as far back as 1998.

He's popped up in Barber Dodge, A1GP and Formula V6 Asia since the turn of the millennium, but don't expect him to find his first success outside of India this year.

#27 Paul Rees (GB)

F2 starts: 0
2009: 8th in Formula Palmer Audi

Two FPA seasons without a win don't say much for Rees's prospects when three of that series' regular winners, including a champion, struggled to get on terms in F2 last year.

He'll be hoping to emulate his father, one-time grand prix starter Alan Rees, who won twice in F2 back in 1967.

#28 Ajith Kumar (IN)

F2 starts: 0
2009: N/A

The Bollywood film star hasn't raced much in the last five years while making movies.

He has a bit of Formula BMW and British F3 experience behind him from 2003 and '04, but nothing to suggest that he'll be anywhere near the front.

#33 Philipp Eng (A)

F2 starts: 0
F2 poles: 1
F2 wins: 1
2009: 8th in F2

Along with Vasiliauskas, Eng is one of last year's promising talents to return to the series this year.

He won just a single race and finished eighth in the championship, but was regularly within range of the podium and should be a title threat in his second season with less opposition around this time.

#48 Dean Stoneman (GB)

F2 starts: 0
2009: 4th in Formula Renault UK (1 win)

Like his countryman Bratt, Stoneman looks one of the better F2 newcomers. He too has won races in Formula Renault and has looked quick testing both F2 and GP3 cars during the winter.

He's still hoping to race in GP3, but if he does a full F2 season he's a genuine threat.

#77 Natalia Kowalska (PL)

F2 starts: 0
2009: N/A

Kowalska has only had a handful of races in Formula Renault in Europe and Star Mazda in the United States since graduating from karting in her native Poland.

She's yet to impress and will be another with a steep learning curve in F2.

Read the full preview to this season's Formula 2 championship in this week's AUTOSPORT magazine, or in the digital edition.