The new F2 championship, which will feature 24 identical cars running on Avon tyres, has been created as the ultimate feeder category for Formula One. Designed to be an affordable series for aspiring young drivers, the maiden season begins this weekend at Valencia, Spain with sixteen races that will take place at eight circuits across Europe, 25 years since the F2 last season.

21-year-old Swiss driver Natacha Gachnang is part of the line-up and hopes to have a successful season. Natacha is the only female driver in the re-launched Formula Two championship - she also hopes to follow her cousin Sebastien Buemi into Formula 1.

"I started racing when I was just five years old," she explains. "My father Olivier bought me a kart for Christmas and I was immediately hooked. For us, in the family, racing is a family story. Our grandfather Georges raced in Le Mans (1960) and now Sebastien Buemi is in F1 at Toro Rosso. I have been working my way up from karting, into F2 and now I have some very strong results behind me and am looking forward to adding to that in F2."

During the first F2 test sessions in May 2009, at Silverstone, Natacha Gachnang had the most track time, completing 94 laps in her new F2 car.

"It was a good reward and a good way to end the first test day of testing. Overall, the weather prevented us working more on the car."

The first round is in Valencia, Spain on 31 May, 2009. Natacha adds...

"For sure, the championship will be very tight. There's no real hierarchy as the differences are minimal. No less than 21 drivers were in the same second
when you read some of the testing result sheets! I know Valencia of course. It is an interesting technical track. But it is not my favourite. Let see what we can get out of there. I am eager to discover with my engineer the limit of the car on this track."