Alex Brundle signalled his intentions for his return to the FIA Formula Two Championship by setting the fastest time on the first pre-season test day at Silverstone.
The day was split into four sessions, and after topping the first hour session in the morning Brundle posted the fastest time of the day in the final session in the afternoon – when the cars' overboost facilities were enabled.
Fellow Briton Jack Clarke set the quickest time during the two morning sessions, with Brundle in second.
“It’s always nice to be on top and now we’ve just got to stay there,” said Brundle. “I’m not getting complacent by any means and I’ve got to keep pushing at the Snetterton test [next Wednesday]. We had a decent race car at the end there today and I pulled it out the bag a bit on the lap but I still need to build more consistency. It’s a great car to drive on new tyres and I really enjoyed the session.”
In addition to twelve drivers confirmed for the 2011 season, several drivers who raced in 2010 were present at the test. Of these, Mihai Marinescu was fastest, the Romanian topping the day's penultimate session and ending the day third overall, behind returnee Brundle and GP3 convert Miki Monras. Ramon Pineiro, who scored points in his F2 debut at the final round of 2010 at Valencia, was fourth fastest, ending every session in the top five.
Brothers Johannes Theobald and Julian Theobald, who both joined the series towards the end of 2010, were both in action in the test. Mikkel Mac and Jukka Honkavouri, who took part in winter testing at the end of 2010, were also taking part.
Three drivers made their first appearances in F2: former British Formula Ford champion James Cole, Formula 3 driver Jose Luis Abadin and South Korean Sunghak Mun.
Tom Gladdis, who is confirmed for the 2011 season, was forced to miss the test as he recovers from a serious foot injury. He hopes to be present at Snetterton. Russian Alexey Karachev was due to take part but was unable to due to a delay in his visa application.
Combined morning times:
| Pos | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1. | Jack Clarke | 1:51.537 | |
| 2. | Alex Brundle | 1:51.843 | + 0.306s |
| 3. | Ramon Piñeiro | 1:51.850 | + 0.313s |
| 4. | Mihai Marinescu | 1:51.984 | + 0.447s |
| 5. | Miki Monras | 1:52.194 | + 0.657s |
| 6. | Maxim Snegirev | 1:52.211 | + 0.674s |
| 7. | James Cole | 1:52.675 | + 1.138s |
| 8. | Thiemo Storz | 1:52.729 | + 1.192s |
| 9. | Mirko Bortolotti | 1:52.762 | + 1.225s |
| 10. | Armaan Ebrahim | 1:53.012 | + 1.475s |
| 11. | Benjamin Lariche | 1:53.061 | + 1.524s |
| 12. | Jukka Honkavuori | 1:53.112 | + 1.575s |
| 13. | Tobias Hegewald | 1:53.225 | + 1.688s |
| 14. | Kelvin Snoeks | 1:53.494 | + 1.957s |
| 15. | Natalia Kowalska | 1:53.504 | + 1.967s |
| 16. | Mikkel Mac | 1:53.612 | + 2.075s |
| 17. | Julian Theobald | 1:53.655 | + 2.118s |
| 18. | Johannes Theobald | 1:53.691 | + 2.154s |
| 19. | Plamen Kralev | 1:54.288 | + 2.751s |
| 20. | Jose Luis Abadin | 1:54.560 | + 3.023s |
| 21. | Parthiva Sureshwaren | 1:54.762 | + 3.225s |
| 22. | Sunghak Mun | 1:55.851 | + 4.314s |
Combined afternoon times (overboost enabled for final 45 minutes):
| Pos | Driver | Time | Gap |
| 1. | Alex Brundle | 1:50.221 | |
| 2. | Miki Monras | 1:50.514 | + 0.293s |
| 3. | Mihai Marinescu | 1:50.515 | + 0.294s |
| 4. | Ramon Piñeiro | 1:50.530 | + 0.309s |
| 5. | Mirko Bortolotti | 1:50.663 | + 0.442s |
| 6. | Armaan Ebrahim | 1:50.747 | + 0.526s |
| 7. | Maxim Snegirev | 1:51.051 | + 0.830s |
| 8. | Jack Clarke | 1:51.348 | + 1.127s |
| 9. | Kelvin Snoeks | 1:51.462 | + 1.241s |
| 10. | James Cole | 1:51.601 | + 1.380s |
| 11. | Tobias Hegewald | 1:51.725 | + 1.504s |
| 12. | Benjamin Lariche | 1:51.978 | + 1.757s |
| 13. | Mikkel Mac | 1:51.980 | + 1.759s |
| 14. | Thiemo Storz | 1:52.484 | + 2.263s |
| 15. | Johannes Theobald | 1:52.559 | + 2.338s |
| 16. | Sunghak Mun | 1:52.683 | + 2.462s |
| 17. | Jukka Honkavuori | 1:52.684 | + 2.463s |
| 18. | Natalia Kowalska | 1:52.848 | + 2.627s |
| 19. | Julian Theobald | 1:53.278 | + 3.057s |
| 20. | Plamen Kralev | 1:53.456 | + 3.235s |
| 21. | Jose Luis Abadin | 1:53.682 | + 3.461s |
| 22. | Parthiva Sureshwaren | 1:54.455 | + 4.234s |
