McLaren Autosport Awward finalist to make debut at Silverstone

British driver Dino Zamparelli has confirmed his place on the grid for the 2012 FIA Formula Two Championship.

The BRDC Rising Star has proven himself to be one of his country’s most exciting prospects ever since he won the Ginetta Junior Championship title on his car racing debut in 2008 with 10 wins and five podiums.

The following year he progressed to single seaters with the Formula Renault BARC Championship where he finished third overall, winning three races and collecting a further six podiums from just 13 races.

In 2010, Zamparelli was forced to sit on the sidelines but he returned to the Renault series in 2011 to claim championship victory, earning him a place as a McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist and his first taste of the Williams designed JPH1B F2 car, which he sampled during the driver assessment process.

18-year-old Zamparelli said: “I’m delighted to be on the grid for F2 this weekend. Since January we’ve been working very hard to find the budget so it’s great to see all that hard work pay off. The F2 test last month went well and it was good to get behind the wheel again as it‘s been a while. I feel like I’m mentally and physically prepared now and will be pushing for top three this weekend, although I go into every race trying to win. I have every chance of winning the championship too but we’ll just have to take it step-by-step.”

Jonathan Palmer, Formula Two Chief Executive, added: “I’m delighted to see Dino step up to Formula Two this year. Dino was a well deserving 2011 McLaren Autosport BRDC finalist and tested the F2 car at Silverstone as part of the evaluation. He has worked really hard with very modest funding and achieved outstanding results on his way up. F2 is ideal for such a driver and will provide Dino with an equality of opportunity that he simply could not afford anywhere else.”‏