Mirko Bortolotti eyeing F2 return in 2010
Italian refusing to be distracted by F1 rumours
Italian driver Mirko Bortolotti says he wants to focus on a
potential second season in Formula Two rather than think about
speculation linking him with a drive in Formula One.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a whirlwind 18 months in motorsport,
which has included an Italian F3 title, an F1 test with Ferrari,
his first F2 race victory in Brno and a further Formula One test
with Toro Rosso. Rumours persist that a number of F1 teams are
monitoring Bortolotti's progress, but the Italian is in no rush to
make the step up the highest level of the sport.
"F2 is still a major option for me in 2010 and I am not even
thinking about F1 at the moment," said Bortolotti. "I am only
20-years-old and I think it is vital that you are fully prepared in
terms of speed, experience and consistency before you make the step
to Formula One. You have to have been through it all; you need to
know how to be quick over one lap but also consistent over a race
distance, you need to know how to turn bad situations into a good
one for example. There are so many things that you need to learn
and I want to reach Formula One when I am in the right moment of my
career. F1 is F1 - it is not a game, so at the moment I am better
to focus on learning and improving further for the future."
Despite his reticence over an F1 call-up in 2010, his recent
test with Toro Rosso has certainly whetted Mirko's appetite for
Formula One. "It was a great experience," he commented. "We had a
different programme to the other teams of course, and mainly we
were testing parts for 2010 on medium and hard tyre compounds. I
would have been able to go a lot faster in terms of lap times but
we didn't get the chance to complete a low fuel run. The most
important thing however, is that the test was a real success and
the team were very happy with the results.
"It was great for me to have the job of a real F1 test driver -
the team had a belief in me and I was trusted with some very
important development work, which meant a lot."
Mirko's immediate future could consist of a second season in
Formula Two after the Italian claimed one victory and a total of
five podiums on his way to taking fourth in the overall standings
in 2009. The youngster is no longer with the Red Bull Junior Team
but he remains confident of securing a race programme for the
upcoming campaign.
"Returning to F2 this season is an exciting possibility," he
notes. "We were able to fight at the front last year but I had some
bad luck, which meant I probably lost some positions in the
championship. It was my first year in international motorsport so
finishing fourth was a pretty good season - it can always be better
of course, but that's racing!
"I am looking forward rather than backwards anyway and I really
liked being in F2 last season - it is a great concept and a good
championship. I know that the car is going to be improved and
Jonathan Palmer and the team are working hard to push the
championship forward in every way, which is impressive. I really
don't know where I will be in 2010 at this moment, but if I am
racing in F2 then I will definitely be targeting the
championship."