LEADING FIA Formula 2 Championship racer Will Bratt was forced to miss the latest two rounds of action at Brands Hatch last weekend due to funding difficulties – all but ending the Banbury driver’s title hopes.

Despite the efforts of Bratt’s management team and the principals of F2 – literally all the way up to the final few minutes before qualifying began – the required budget for the weekend just could not be raised in time.

The 23-year-old was forced to sit on the sidelines for an event in which he would almost certainly have been a contender for two race wins.

In recent weeks, his title challenge has really gathered momentum with his maiden victory coming at Spa-Francorchamps amid a run of three podiums from his last four races contested.

The Oxon driver is still fourth in the standings.

Although running on a race-by-race basis with a limited pool of resources to call upon, Bratt is determined to be back at the wheel of his Williams JPH1B in Austria on August 27-28.

He said: “We started the year with really only enough budget for the first two races at Silverstone, somehow though we managed to get half-way through the season.

“Not doing Brands was a serious blow as it’s both a circuit I like and a circuit I’ve won on three times in the past.

“I was very confident we’d have been really competitive.

“The F2 organisation has been brilliant but, at the end of the day, there’s only so much you can do if you can’t raise the funds.

“Although it’s mathematically possible, the title bid is over, but I want to be back to fight for more race wins.

“We’re talking to several potential sponsors and I am confident of being in the car for Austria.”