Van der Zande to try F2 at Portimao

The 23-year-old Dutchman took third in the British F3 standings this year with Hitech despite not contesting the full season, and also secured Motopark Academy's first F3 Euro Series victory in another partial campaign.

Van der Zande has now set his sights on F2 for 2010, having been impressed by the boost it gave champion Andy Soucek's profile.

"I have followed Formula 2 closely during 2009," said van der Zande. "Jonathan Palmer has a reputation for doing things right and that is one of the reasons why I am really excited about testing the car this week.

"When you look at what the championship has done for Andy Soucek, you can see that it is a great way to raise your profile and show F1 teams what you are capable of.

"For these reasons, I have to be extremely interested in the possibility of running in Formula 2 next year."

Superleague Formula driver Duncan Tappy, McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner Dean Smith, US F1 aspirant Jonathan Summerton and GP2 midfielder Ricardo Teixeira are among the other people evaluating F2 at Portimao.

Series regulars Kazim Vasiliauskas, Alex Brundle, Jolyon Palmer, Jack Clarke and Tristan Vautier will also be in action at the test, along with champion Soucek - although he will be focusing on 2010 developments with the Williams-designed F2 car.