Photos: Renault Sport

Following the news that Renault has lost Daniel Ricciardo to McLaren for 2021, it’s natural to assume that the team will be looking for a high-profile replacement. In the long term, youth could be the answer it needs

Sebastian Vettel’s decision to not agree to a new contract with Ferrari for 2021 has thrown Formula 1’s driver market wide open, with moves for Carlos Sainz Jr (to Ferrari) and Daniel Ricciardo (to McLaren) already agreed.

While there are many drivers out of contract elsewhere at the end of this year, the focus for now is on who will complete Renault’s line-up alongside the returning Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman has two-and-a-half seasons of race experience under his belt with Manor and Racing Point, and will plan to establish himself again on track and at Enstone this year.

Four-time world champion Vettel and former Renault drivers Fernando Alonso (a two-time champion with the team) and Nico Hulkenberg are already being linked to the second Renault seat, as is talent from within the manufacturer’s own under-pressure driver development programme.

Other drivers to have previously raced for Renault in F1 include Alain Prost, Rene Arnoux, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Eddie Cheever, Patrick Tambay, Jarno Trulli, Jenson Button, Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica.

Formula Scout presents five young drivers, and an older Renault-known star, who should be in consideration for a 2021 seat…

Guanyu Zhou CHINA 20y/o
2020 F2, 7th in 2019 F2, 8th in 2017 & ’18 FIA European F3, 8th in ’17 Macau GP, 6th in 2016 TRS, 2nd in 2015 Italian F4

Photo: F2 Media Service

Photo: Renault Sport

A former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Guanyu Zhou was a surprise package of 2019, when he took it to the established Formula 2 stars in his rookie campaign. He is one of the many drivers on Renault?s books and is now its official test driver, making this move the most logical.

He showed consistent progress in his three years in FIA European Formula 3, but didn’t leave the series with many expecting him to perform as strong as he did in F2. His first year with Virtuosi Racing featured five podiums, and a pole at Silverstone, and while victory never came his way he did put in one of the performances of the season in the Barcelona feature race.

Now, to convince Renault he is F1 standard, he needs to show that he can win races on a regular basis at that level. It won’t just be a case of making the most of when he is in a winning position, but taking strong results when luck isn’t going his way.

Of the few times where he could have won in 2019, Barcelona was the clearest case and he led on merit. Unfortunately those occasions did become less frequent as the year progressed.

Zhou not only has a year of F2 experience under his belt now, but put in more laps than all but the Prema drivers during pre-season testing. This will be crucial with the time spent out of the cockpit due to the current coronavirus crisis, as adapting to the changes that F2’s new 18-inch wheels bring will be all the more important with a lack of factory simulator access.

Talking of simulators, Zhou won F1’s first Virtual Grand Prix for Renault. And in real life he would become China?s first F1 driver ? an important market for both the series and the manufacturer. It would make for a much-needed feel-good story within F1, would strictly speaking be the first driver to progress into the series having impressed on the game and the sponsorship potential that comes with it could be crucial to Renault?s long-term presence in the world championship.

Christian Lundgaard DENMARK 18y/o
2020 F2, 23rd in 2019 F2, 4th in ’19 Macau GP, 6th in ’19 FIA F3, 2nd in 2018 FR Eurocup, 2017 F4 NEZ champion

Photo: F2 Media Service

Photo: F2 Media Service

In the discussion of underrated drivers in the junior ranks, Christian Lundgaard is regularly named. The Dane was on the pace immediately in FIA Formula 3 last year and would have become the series? first winner were it not for a penalty.

While finishing sixth in the FIA F3 Championship standings does not sound particularly impressive on paper, there are a fair few caveats to consider. Lundgaard was inexperienced at F3 level in comparison to many of his contemporaries, and his ART Grand Prix team did not turn out to be the title-challenging force it had been for in predecessor series GP3.

In fact, no driver was really going to get a look in to the top three in the F3 points last year such was Prema’s dominance, and Lundgaard was therefore only one point off being second best of the rest.

Renault placed its faith in Lundgaard during his rookie car racing season, in which he dominated the North European Zone and Spanish Formula 4 championships, and getting him all the way to F1 with the works team from there would be a good justification for a junior programme which is yet to create an F1 graduate.

The 18-year-old’s impressive maiden F3 campaign ? in which he firmly shaded Renault stablemate Max Fewtrell after losing the Formula Renault Eurocup title to the Briton as a rookie the year before – had cemented his place as one of the top drivers on the team?s books and bagged him a move up to F2 before Fewtrell.

Going against Lundgaard for an F1 drive though is of course his lack of F2 starts. We should have had a picture of his place in the order by now, but the delayed season and his failure to attend pre-season testing due to being quarantined means we only have two starts from last year to go off. They were tricky, but not discouraging, and like Zhou he has already been called up to test for Renault in the real world and race for the team in the virtual one.

Jack Aitken BRITAIN/SOUTH KOREA 24y/o
2020 F2, 5th in 2019 F2, 2nd in 2017 GP3, 15th in ’16 FV8 3.5, 2015 FR Eurocup champion, ’15 FR2.0 Alps champion

Photo: F2 Media Service

Photo: Williams Racing

Jack Aitken was a Renault test driver until last winter, when he left the team to take on a reserve role at Williams.

He was inducted into the Renault Sport Academy as one of the founding members in 2016 as reigning Eurocup champion, but could not see a way into a race seat as the team brought in Ricciardo and Ocon. But perhaps the greater opportunity to step up now lies at his former team.

Last year was one of his most impressive on track, taking a resurgent Campos Racing to the top step of the podium three times in F2 and coming sixth in Formula Scout’s end-of-year top 50 list of junior single-seater drivers.

He is popular, marketable (as a British-South Korean) and is one of the more experienced drivers on this list. The drives he produced to take victories at Baku, Silverstone and Monza in 2019 were all classy for vastly different reasons ? and included F2’s overtake of the year to win at home.

Sticking with Campos for this season was a risk given a title campaign would still be an act of giantkilling on Aitken’s part, but that’s the kind of performances that earn F1 seats and would strengthen the leadership credentials that Renault sorely needs.

Aitken knows the team at Enstone well, as well as the race-side operation, and is of the same mould as some of Renault?s recent drivers, making him a strong figure to place into the car.

Going against him is having to rebuild the bridge with Renault ? having left for a team he must have felt more confident of getting a race seat with. However, the kind of behind-the-scenes efforts that would be required to bring the two parties back together would be exactly the sort of story that Renault could do with right now, having changed its F1 line-up every year since its 2016 return.

Pascal Werhlein GERMANY/MAURITIUS 25y/o
18th in 2017 F1 – currently 14th in 2019-20 FE, 12th in 2018-19 FE, 2015 DTM champion, 2nd in 2012 F3 Euro Series

Photo: Manor Racing Press

Photo: Mahindra / Spacesuit Media

Pascal Wehrlein has some unfinished business with F1, and is still young enough for a return to generate a legitimate buzz.

He was brought into F1 originally by Mercedes-Benz through the DTM, a touring car move which came at the expense of an impressive-looking FIA European F3 campaign, and was placed at backmarker team Manor in 2016 when he was 21 years old.

His unconventional path mirrored Paul di Resta’s, a driver who perhaps should have also had another proper F1 opportunity.

When Wehrlein earned his F1 promotion, Ocon was the driver who was put in Mercedes’ DTM line-up in his place. That only lasted half a season, as he was then also promoted to a Manor seat, and immediately outshone team-mate Wehrlein.

Werhlein was no slouch, with a DTM title and an F1 points finish already to his name, but it was Ocon who earned a move up the grid to Force India for 2017. Nico Rosberg’s retirement also briefly put him in contention for a factory Mercedes seat.

Instead he bounced back at Sauber, although started badly with a pre-season injury, and had little say in keeping his seat for a second year as the team strengthened ties with Ferrari. That prompted a DTM return and an inspired move to Formula E.

While recent results have not been stellar, primarily due to the Mahindra team slipping down the order, Wehrlein has been a star of the series and made a big impact when he debuted with a near-win on his second start and a pole position.

It’s unfortunate that he still does not to have a win to his name, and he richly deserves one, and he has been stronger than ever since leaving Mercedes at the start of last year to join Ferrari’s F1 fold as simulator driver. A reunion with Ocon at Renault could bring both drivers and the team up to new heights.

Sacha Fenestraz FRANCE/ARGENTINA 20y/o
2020 SuperF, 2019 Japanese F3 champion, 6th in ’19 Super GT300, 3rd in 2018 Macau GP, 2017 FR Eurocup champion

Photo: Super Formula

Sacha Fenestraz is another former Renault junior with unfinished business and with a return story with feel-good elements.

He’s half-French, which makes him desirable to a team that wishes to promote talent from its home country (at least on the engine side) and wants someone who integrates well into the squad and as team-mate to Ocon.

The 20-year-old spent one year as a Renault junior in 2018, a place earned by winning the previous year’s Eurocup title, and his departure was as a result of being dropped after one underwhelming season in European F3 and a Macau Grand Prix podium.

Fenestraz needed to rebound last year, and did it in style. He moved out of the Surrey apartment he shared with Lando Norris and relocated to Japan to tackle Japanese F3 with debuting team Motopark. Five wins in the first six races marked him out as title favourite, and a continued podium presence made him a dominant champion.

Adding a sportscar campaign with Kondo Racing in Super GT’s secondary GT300 class helped build up a reputation that meant all of the local manufacturers were wanting his signature for 2020.

He settled on Toyota’s offer, and will race this year for Kondo in Super Formula and for TOM’S in Super GT’s top class. These are seats that are not only very well deserved, especially after what was arguably a harsh drop by Renault, but could also realistically carry him to the title as a rookie in either category.

It is a bit of an outside bet for him to be considered by Renault, but not one that would be totally unusual given Japan’s premier single-seater series has been used as a holding ground in recent years for F1-bound talent. Fenestraz also didn’t entirely end his links with Renault at the end of 2018, as last year’s GT3000 drive came in a car provided by partner manufacturer Nissan.

And one that missed the boat…

Pierre Gasly FRANCE 24y/o
2020 F1, 7th in 2019 F1, 15th in 2018 F1 – 2nd in 2017 SuperF, 16th in 2016-17 FE, 2016 GP2 champion, 2nd in 2014 FV8 3.5

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Another young Frenchman who could have been in the frame is Pierre Gasly. However the 24-year-old has had a publicly known feud with Ocon in recent years, which might be too much to overcome to make this move across the F1 paddock likely.

Gasly?s 12-race stint with Red Bull Racing last year does not do him justice, but nor did it rid his reputation as a choker, yet his performances with AlphaTauri either side of that drive show he is more than deserving of being an F1 driver.

The resilience he showed from his failed stint at the A-team should make a transition to the higher-pressure environment of Renault easier than he found his last shot at machinery with podium potential, but would come at the cost of his relationship with Red Bull’s engine supplier Honda and the energy drink brand itself – an already flexible tie that doesn’t need to be cut.

He does have experience in the Renault ladder, having won the 2013 Eurocup and finished runner-up in FR3.5 a year later, and fits the bill nicely (Ocon situation aside) for what Renault actually needs. Such a move would also make him the third driver in as many years that Renault has poached from Red Bull, following on from McLaren-bound Ricciardo and Ferrari-bound Sainz.

And one that should have been on this list…

The unfortunate omission from this list is Anthoine Hubert ? a promising driver who was hot property in F2 last year but was tragically killed at Spa-Francorchamps. Hubert was bound for a seat at a top team this season and would have been a title contender, and it would have been exciting to see how he would have added to his two 2019 wins at the struggling Arden.

Given Ricciardo’s frustrations from his first year with Renault, and the slim chance of him being in a race-winning car this year, the Australian may have left the team even if Vettel’s Ferrari departure hadn’t occurred, and Hubert would have taken his place.

Additional?reporting by Elliot Wood

The post Five young drivers Renault should take a F1 chance on appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Zak Mauger / F2 Media Service

Bizarre is the only way to describe Formula 1’s ?silly season? for 2019 seats. Started by Daniel Ricciardo?s move from Red Bull Racing to Renault, it began a chain reaction of moves. Some top talents lost their drives, yet none of them ended at the one team desperate for drivers: Toro Rosso.

The complexities surrounding the bigger teams complicated matters immensely for this year. Toro Rosso is a place for the top Red Bull Junior Team members to graduate to F1, an entry level environment where they can prove their value before joining the pressure cooker of Red Bull. Not a place for, say, Mercedes to place its young drivers, in preparation for fighting Red Bull in the future. The same goes for its rivals.

For a while, it looked like none of Mercedes’s juniors would be in F1, but Formula 2 champion George Russell managed to secure a Williams seat on individual merit, and Pascal Wehrlein separated from Stuttgart. Esteban Ocon has excelled in two years at [Racing Point] Force India, but he’ll act as Mercedes’ reserve in 2019 after the Lawrence Stroll-led takeover of Force India meant Lance Stroll took his seat.

As a result, three-car teams have been floated. But this seems to be a Mercedes problem only. It had the opportunity to promote Ocon to its factory team but chose not to. The three-car comments seem even more bizarre when Toro Rosso has struggled to find adequate talents for 2019.?It’s now confirmed line-up consists of drivers dropped entirely by Red Bull in the past, one who has been demoted three times already.

It’s been the responsibility of 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Helmut Marko to oversee Red Bull?s junior programme since 1999, and the Austrian has been instrumental in bringing drivers into Red Bull’s F1 teams, but in some ways, it is now a victim of its own success.

Photo: Zak Mauger / F2 Media Service

Toro Rosso is currently an unattractive proposition for young drivers. It exists solely as a development home for Red Bull?s young drivers, but with Max Verstappen committed for the long term and new team-mate Pierre Gasly unlikely to disappoint with the senior team, there’s little chance of anyone else driving at Red Bull for the time being. Toro Rosso now holds an ‘end of the road’ status. What’s attractive to drivers about piloting a middling car and being contracted into no upward trajectory?

It would be unlike Red Bull to axe such a high-profile member of its team, driver or management, even as a scapegoat to any future problems with the Honda powertrain. Toro Rosso has had a few changes over the years regarding top personnel, but it’s hardly a ?sacking team?. Stability, besides the driver line-up, has been key to its rise to midfield status since becoming a constructor of its own right in 2009.

2019 would not be the first time Toro Rosso has had to look elsewhere for drivers. In 2008, it called upon four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais to partner Sebastian Vettel. Takuma Sato then tested for the team ahead of ’09, but it opted again for Bourdais, alongside Junior Team member Sebastien Buemi. Current Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley was dropped by Red Bull years before he was given an F1 seat in late ’17. But this year will mark the first time Red Bull has signed two drivers from beyond its own stable.

One issue that stands in Red Bull?s way of promoting drivers to F1 is FIA superlicense points. This was, arguably as a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, brought in after Verstappen became an F1 driver aged 17 after one year in cars. It has come to bite Red Bull, as favoured protege and two-time Macau Grand Prix winner Dan Ticktum lacks the points required to race in the top echelon. He’s recently been racing in the Asian Formula 3 Winter Series, an exploit that has proven unsuccessful and ultimately pointless as it turned out superlicense points were not on offer.

Should blame be placed on anybody over this situation? As the orchestrator of all the previously mentioned moves, it should be Marko. However, neither he or anyone else in F1 had expected Ricciardo?s Renault move. Had that not occurred, there may have been the possibility that Red Bull and Toro Rosso would both be unchanged ? and few would have complaints. Gasly would rightly get a second season, while Hartley could have further opportunity to show what he is capable of. But that’s not the case.

Photo: Toro Rosso

While Gasly has proven himself worthy of a Red Bull seat, Hartley was deemed lacking what’s required to be part of Red Bull?s plans. Funnily enough, the 2019 line-up consists of two drivers who were told the same.

Alexander Albon was dropped in 2012 after his first year in single-seaters. He challenged Russell for the ’18 F2 title, and was such hot property that Red Bull had to buy him out of his factory Nissan e.dams Formula E contract.

Daniil Kvyat had a difficult time in both of Red Bull’s F1 teams, and was dropped entirely after ’17. Ferrari snapped him up as development driver, but a few months after that Red Bull was already asking for him back.

Meanwhile Sergio Sette Camara, another former Junior Team member, has finished sixth in F2. The talent that almost took him to Macau victory in ’17 is clear to see, and he’s now McLaren’s reserve driver. It?s situations like this where Marko?s past decisions begin to count against him.

He may be forced to reduce the ‘one poor season and it?s over? mantra applied to so many Red Bull recruits. Long-time faith in drivers, even if they don’t make it to F1, can be rewarded in other ways. Buemi’s brand allegiance has continued into his title-winning FE stint, while Neel Jani has done the same in the World Endurance Championship. Drivers who cut ties with Red Bull entirely, such as FE champion Jean-Eric Vergne and IndyCar star Robert Wickens, have also gone on to success.

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost regarded Kvyat?s third crack at Toro Rosso as ?mission successful? for Marko?s programme. He could not be any further from the mark. The 2019 Toro Rosso line-up is filling seats up for the sake of filling seats (albeit with two talents absolutely deserving of F1), almost seemingly as placeholders for whenever the next pair of Verstappen-like young drivers will make it, however long that may take.

By this point you have to question Toro Rosso’s purpose, and whether Marko should take a step back. But maybe it’s motorsport being wound up in itself. Teams invest in F1 drivers to do a job, not because they owe them a career.

Photo: Toro Rosso

The post Why Helmut Marko is to blame for F1’s quite-so-silly season appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service

The full entry list for the first day of GP2 post-season testing in Abu Dhabi features Red Bull Junior Pierre Gasly and Mercedes DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein driving for series debutants Prema.

Multiple championship-winning Formula 3 team Prema is stepping into GP2 after taking over the Lazarus entry and on its first day will run Gasly, who took three poles in the final four events of his rookie GP2 season for DAMS, and Wehrlein, who has admitted GP2 could be an option if a Formula 1 seat does not materialise.

It’s known that on the second day of the test, Prema will run its F3 champion Felix Rosenqvist alongside Formula Renault 3.5 champion Oliver Rowland.

Taking over Gasly’s place at DAMS for the first day of the test alongside its regular driver Alex Lynn is Nicholas Latifi, who did a part-season this year with MP Motorsport.

Rowland – who did four GP2 events this term with MP and Status – takes over the car of champion?Stoffel Vandoorne at ART alongside regular?Nobuharu Matsushita.

Dean Stoneman will remain with Carlin after taking in the final three rounds with the team and be joined by two-time race-winner Richie Stanaway.

Sean Gelael switches from Carlin to Campos alongside the Spanish squad’s Euroformula Open champion Konstantin Tereshchenko.

Speculation places Mitch Evans as Gelael’s team-mate at Campos in 2016, but the Kiwi is testing with Audi’s DTM squad this week.

GP3 runner-up Luca Ghiotto sticks with Trident for his first run in a GP2 car alongside fellow GP3 graduate Jimmy Eriksson.

On Thursday, Ghiotto will move over to Racing Engineering, which is running top 2015 rookie Sergey Sirotkin on day one alongside its regular racer Jordan King.

Eriksson will appear on the latter two days for Arden, which is running another Swede Gustav Malja and its 2015 racer Norman Nato on Wednesday. The Frenchman is another that will sample Racing Engineering, on Friday.

Russian Time protege Artem Markelov is joined by FR3.5 race-winner Tio Ellinas on Wednesday, with Japanese-based Andrea Caldarelli due in the car on Friday.

Rosenqvist makes his GP2 bow for Status (he won the Macau Grand Prix for team owner Teddy Yip Jr under the Theodore Racing banner), while the team will run Philo Armand on all three days of the test.

Status GP3 racer Alex Fontana and Malja will also feature for the team later in the week – Fontana makes his GP2 debut for Rapax on Wednesday alongside usual Arden racer Andre Negrao.

MP completes the entry list with ex-Hilmer GP2 racer Nick Yelloly and former Auto GP driver Richard Gonda.

Wednesday entry list

The post Gasly and Wehrlein to test on Prema’s first day in GP2 appeared first on Formula Scout.

In 2015, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, Felipe Nasr, Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens have made the step and are all making a positive impression to varying degrees.

Predicting who might end up where at this early stage is difficult to call (we rated Merhi’s chances at 5% this time last year) and involves a fair amount of educated guessing.

To further complicate things, with teams holding onto veterans like Kimi Raikkonen, the market certainly isn’t favoured towards aspiring rookies this time around.

But if any newcomer does get the chance to race in F1 in 2016, chances are they will be one of the following.

Stoffel Vandoorne

Currently: First in GP2
F1 status: McLaren test and development driver

Photo: McLaren

Sometimes it’s not obvious who the most F1-ready driver is in the junior ranks at any one moment. But in 2015 it’s been clear.

Stoffel Vandoorne has been a cut above the rest in GP2 this year, and although his form has not been unexpected, it’s been truly impressive nonetheless.

After winning the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 title in 2011, Vandoorne joined McLaren and then finished second in Formula Renault 3.5 and second in GP2 in consecutive rookie seasons. Now he returns from GP2’s summer break for his home round at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend with 194 points to his nearest rival’s 109.

That he’s even doing GP2 this year was ultimately down to McLaren’s driver logjam, rather than him not already being ready to make the jump. But he’s used his sophomore season to emphatically demonstrate his ability, and to prove he can live up to the highest of expectations.

At this point it should be near-guaranteed that Vandoorne will be an F1 driver next year, but nothing’s happened so far this year to resolve McLaren’s problem of having twice as many drivers than it has seats.

Vandoorne has perhaps done enough though to elevate himself ahead of his old FR3.5 rival Kevin Magnussen in the team’s thoughts – no small feat given the Dane really did nothing to deserve being dropped to the subs bench in the first place.

Vandoorne’s 2015 performances have been such that if McLaren don’t give him the graduation that he deserves, there will be no shortage of other teams interested in his services, including the very best. That may just force McLaren’s hand and make this most difficult of decisions quite straightforward.

Verdict: He’s done all he can. Has a realistic shot at a McLaren seat and will no doubt have offers elsewhere.

Rio Haryanto

Currently: Second in GP2
F1 status: Tested for the Manor team in 2010 and 2012

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Media Service

Most of the rest of this feature can also double up as a look at who might finish second to Vandoorne in the GP2 standings – the battle that will surely be the main focus in the second half of the series. All of the drivers in contention could be considered candidates for F1 seats, and the superlicence system means there’s plenty at stake between them.

The driver currently holding second is perhaps the least fashionable of the lot. Rio Haryanto’s in his fourth season in GP2 and only managed a couple of podiums prior to this year.

A move to Campos for 2015 has unexpectedly paid off, however. He’s been Vandoorne’s toughest rival at times, and claimed three sprint race victories.

Experience has played it’s part, but Haryanto is mixing it with some very talented drivers and showed promise in his GP3 days with three wins in two seasons, coming off the back of a dominant Formula BMW Pacific title.

Haryanto’s profile appears to be massive in his native Indonesia, and is no doubt increasing rapidly with his recent success. He’s long been supported by state-owned oil firm Pertamina, and being on the brink of F1 could well attract further funding.

Pairing such backing with second place in GP2 and the superlicence points that come with it could make him a tempting proposition for an F1 team.

His most likely destination would surely be Manor. John Booth’s operation and Haryanto know each other well, he having raced for Manor in his two GP3 seasons and continued the relationship into his maiden GP2 campaign. His GP3 performances in 2010 earned him a prize F1 test with the squad, and he appeared again alongside then-team-mate Max Chilton in 2012.

Some other F1 teams may be unsure about Haryanto’s ultimate ability, but Booth will know one way or the other. He knows a talented driver when he sees one, and has ensured the race drivers for his F1 team have always met a certain standard, even in difficult times.

Basically, if Haryanto races for Manor, it won’t just be because of funding, but because Booth is satisfied that he’s good enough.

Verdict: Unlike to attract bigger teams, but backing and history could make him a Manor contender.

Alexander Rossi

Currently: Third in GP2
F1 status: Five free practice outings with Caterham and Marussia 2012-14

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Media Service

Alexander Rossi saw a potential F1 debut slip away on no less than three times last season. Perhaps it’s just not meant to be?

He was announced to be racing with Marussia in Belgium, only to make way again after first practice once a reported payment issue was resolved. As reserve he was entered to race in Russia after Jules Bianchi’s tragic accident, but the team entered just one car and then did not even make it to America, where Rossi would have made a popular home debut.

Those near misses came after three-and-a-half years affiliated to the Caterham team, in which time Tony Fernandes gave him four free practice runs but never promoted him to a race drive.

In that period he was placed with Fernandes’ often-struggling junior series teams, causing him to lose the momentum of consecutive third-place finishes in GP3 and FR3.5. There was a feature race win at the end of his rookie GP2 campaign in 2013, but the following year was a write-off.

There was speculation he might return to America for 2015, but the impending arrival of the Haas team added new impetus to his F1 ambitions.

With an undisputed top GP2 team in Racing Engineering, Rossi has had nowhere to hide this year but began very brightly, taking the fight to Vandoorne with some consistent and strong early results, and a pole position in Monaco.

Things faded with a blank weekend in Hungary just before the summer break – not ideal timing, just as speculation of potential Haas drivers ramped up.

Rossi is the most accomplished American racer to ascend the European junior scene for a long time, and it could be a while until a compatriot matches his record. If there’s any driver who fits an American-entered Ferrari B-team right now, it’s the Californian of Italian heritage.

There is some strong competition from established F1 drivers, though. Rossi’s current form might be enough to secure a Haas seat, but some big wins before the season is out would cement it.

Verdict: The obvious candidate for Haas, but a truly convincing run of form would smooth the process.

Sergey Sirotkin

Currently: Fourth in GP2
F1 status: Sauber tester in 2014

Photo: Zak Mauger/GP2 Series Media Service

This isn’t the first time that Sirotkin has featured on a list like this, but on this occasion it’s not because of some monetary fortune that’s been pledged to a struggling F1 team, rather because he’s putting in the performances on-track.

The Russian’s rookie GP2 season has been outstanding, with podiums in Monaco and Austria followed by a feature race win at Silverstone and a double visit to the rostrum in Hungary. He resumes the season in Spa just six points behind second-placed Haryanto.

His form has gone a long way to repairing the damage done to his reputation by the attempts by some around him to get him into a Sauber race seat well before time.

With the required funds never appearing, his 2014 Sauber appearances were limited to a test day and a Sochi free practice session. After failing to live up to his status as one of the FR3.5 pre-season favourites last year, he’s now been able to focus entirely on his actual racing and the benefits are clear to see.

A real future in F1 is now considerably more tangible than it ever was before. If he can secure second place in GP2 – and on current form he’s well on course to do that – there can be little doubt that several F1 teams will be taking a serious interest in him.

As well as a top GP2 driver, they will see the potential commercial benefits of a good Russian racer. But the political and economic situation there means that Sirotkin being able to deliver on such expectations from a team may be tough.

The all-encompassing SMP Racing scheme is his biggest visible sponsor at present, and although it may have F1 ambitions, it was known last year to have been hit by the sanctions against Russia.

For 2016, getting Sirotkin into a team like Manor may be straightforward. Recent performances could certainly attract bigger teams, but a little more patience and a GP2 title tilt in 2016 may ultimately be needed for such an opportunity to become reality.

Verdict: Outstanding recent results make him hot property, but reputation means big funds will be expected.

Alex Lynn

Currently: Fifth in GP2
F1 status: Williams development driver

Photo: Williams Martini Racing

Alex Lynn might have followed up his 2013 Macau Grand Prix win with the GP3 title last year, but the competition in the Red Bull ranks meant he couldn’t use that as a springboard straight into F1.

With opportunities limited, he chose to part with the firm and instead secured a development role with Williams and a top GP2 seat with DAMS.

He’s made a fine impression with the latter opportunity, being on the pace from the off and taking a reverse-grid win in just his second weekend, at Barcelona. Better was to come in Hungary when he won the feature race from pole.

That performance came as speculation increased as to the future of Williams incumbent Valtteri Bottas, with Lynn doing everything he could have done to put his name into the frame as a possible replacement.

To be doing so well in a first season in GP2 – particularly when stepping up from GP3 as opposed to ‘across’ from FR3.5 – is impressive, but is it good enough to get as competitive an F1 seat as one at Williams? It seems unlikely.

Good commercial support means Lynn could probably take a sponsorship package to get a seat at a smaller team for next year – he would almost certainly be attractive to Manor – but you get the feeling he has his sights set higher than that.

If a Williams seat is what he wants, he may well have to wait. But with Bottas contracted through to the end of 2016 and Felipe Massa reaching the end of his career, he could be very well-placed for such an opportunity with a strong second GP2 season.

Verdict: Reputation constantly growing, but Hungary repeats will surely be needed to get Williams seat he wants.

Pierre Gasly

Currently: Sixth in GP2
F1 status: Red Bull Junior, RBR/STR tester

Photo: Andrew Hone/Getty Images

With Carlos Sainz (the only driver to finish ahead of him in FR3.5 last year) moving on up to F1 and Lynn leaving the scheme, Pierre Gasly has assumed the position of chief Red Bull Junior this year – a status evidenced by testing appearances for both Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso.

Much was expected in his rookie GP2 season after some searing testing pace, but his form in competition has not reached such heights.

Being sixth in his maiden campaign with three podiums to his credit is certainly not bad, but Gasly has generally been outshone by his team-mate Lynn. That’s unlikely to be making him popular with Helmut Marko, who presumably let Lynn go on the assumption that Gasly would be the better bet.

All that doesn’t really matter for now though, given that it seems unlikely that a vacancy will arise at Toro Rosso this winter, and Gasly’s not yet doing enough to make sure that a space gets opened up for him somewhere.

For Red Bull to think about letting him go would be foolish though, given that they really ought to have somebody ready in case of an opening.

Whether Gasly has a future in F1 with Red Bull might be hard to say, but he does have another option going forward. He’s been closely tied to Renault since winning the Eurocup FR2.0 title in 2013, and with talk of the French manufacturer returning to F1 team ownership in the near future, Gasly could have opportunities there.

Even if a Renault reacquisition of the Lotus team happened in time for 2016, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado would probably be secure, so Gasly seems likely to be waiting whatever happens.

Verdict: First in line at Red Bull’s door without banging it down, Renault’s future could be key to his.

Raffaele Marciello

Currently: Seventh in GP2
F1 status: Ferrari Driver Academy member, Sauber tester

Photo: Sauber Motorsport AG

When Raffaele Marciello signed with Sauber as a test and reserve driver for this season, it seemed obvious that the Swiss-born Ferrari protege was being lined up for a race seat there in 2016.

But despite making three free practice appearances with the team so far this season, the door appears shut already for next year with both Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson re-signed (cue jokes about Sauber having more than two drivers).

Sure, finances and politics would always play its part in any deal for Marciello to race for Sauber, but the fact is that his GP2 performances aren’t up to scratch either.

His sophomore campaign in the series has been a disappointment, and Spa this weekend marks a year since his one and only victory – an impressive triumph over Vandoorne in wet conditions.

Unlike last year, he has been able to consistently score points, but opportunities for big results keep being spoiled.

With the Sauber option gone, the Ferrari-powered Manor and Haas would remain as possibilities, but it would surely take an upturn in form before the end of the season for the Scuderia to try to push for such a deal.

Verdict: 2016 chances get slimmer with every GP2 weekend that passes without him winning.

Oliver Rowland

Currently: First in Formula Renault 3.5
F1 status: Mercedes simulator work

Photo: Florent Gooden/DPPI

At the next FR3.5 round at Silverstone, Oliver Rowland will get to drive an F1 car for the second time. For the second time, it will be as a prize. On this occasion it’s a Red Bull as reward for leading the FR3.5 standings, three years after sampling a McLaren as a prize for winning the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award.

Rowland is currently on course to follow in the footsteps of Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz by winning the title, but can he succeed them in moving straight into an F1 race seat?

While those two were officially tied to F1 teams, Rowland isn’t, meaning there isn’t just somebody ready to give him a seat if he gets the job done. Furthermore, his funding his limited compared to some, relying on the Racing Steps Foundation to be able to race.

Even though he appears to have built a link with Mercedes, it’s difficult to see a berth opening up for him at most teams. Perhaps a possible avenue could be Manor, though.

The team may not be the most obvious destination for a driver short of backing, but it has given Roberto Merhi a chance this season.

And if it can offer a similar opportunity to a driver next season, a FR3.5 champion hailing from the same South Yorkshire area that the team calls home would surely be the perfect choice.

Of course even if such an option exists, it will depend whether Rowland and those around him feel that would be the best route to take.

Verdict: Chances slim with limited funds, but would be a home-grown star at Manor.

Pascal Wehrlein

Currently: Third in DTM
F1 status: Mercedes reserve, Force India tester

Photo: Daimler

Pascal Wehrlein might not have raced a single-seater since early 2013, but we’ve kept a close eye on him since and particularly after Mercedes started moving him towards Formula 1 by making him its reserve driver towards the end of last year.

Mercedes knows it needs to start building for the future on the driver front to continue on from its current spell of dominance, and like the result of a lab experiment to create the ideal successor to Hamilton and Rosberg, Wehrlein is the focus of those efforts.

On the F1 side he’s been kept busy testing for both Mercedes and Force India, while he’s been doing a fine job in the DTM, following on from becoming the series’ youngest winner last year by being a strong title contender this year.

To have done that in the extremely competitive, fully professional series shows that the 20-year-old is something special.

Those performances make it seem increasingly likely that Mercedes will push for him to him to race in F1 soon, and its engine customer Force India seems like the place to make that happen.

A potential hurdle is the superlicence system, which at the second attempt is still only giving a DTM champion a fraction of the points needed, but to block Wehrlein on those grounds would be madness.

The only sad thing is that with teams like Ferrari making such conservative driver choices, Nico Hulkenberg may have to be forced out to make way.

Verdict: If Mercedes wants him racing a Force India, he’ll be racing a Force India.

The post Which of these junior racers will be Formula 1 drivers in 2016? appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Scuderia Ferrari

A number of stars from junior single-seater racing were again in Formula 1 action in a two-day test at Spielberg this week, including Ferrari debutant Antonio Fuoco.

Fresh from his maiden GP3 podium at the Austrian venue last Saturday, 19-year-old Italian Fuoco undertook his first run in an official F1 test on Tuesday.

On a day where the morning running was disrupted by heavy rain, Fuoco was the fourth quickest driver despite crashing at Turn 1.

?I am very angry with myself for making a mistake today, but getting behind the wheel of a Ferrari has always been my dream and today it finally came true,” said Fuoco, who has been part of the Driver Academy at Maranello since 2013, when he won the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps title.

“All the same, I am pleased with the work I was able to do, gathering useful data for the team, even if the rain affected our programme today. I would like to thank Scuderia Ferrari for the opportunity they have given me.”

Setting the quickest time on Tuesday was DTM racer and ex-F3 star Pascal Wehrlein ahead of fellow Mercedes protege Esteban Ocon, who got another day in the Force India after making a last-minute debut in Barcelona.

?It?s been a mega day and thank you to Force India for the opportunity once again,” said the European F3 champion and current GP3 competitor.

“It was a shame that we had so much rain this morning, but I?m happy that we were able to run late into the evening. The car was brilliant today ? very enjoyable to drive and I noticed how much it had improved compared to the last time I drove in Barcelona.

Photo: Sahara Force India

“On days like this you learn so much because mileage in a Formula 1 car is so precious and I was able to test in both the wet and the dry. I didn?t want the day to end because it was such a fantastic experience to work with the engineers and the whole team.?

The team’s chief race engineer Tom McCullough said: “Despite the rain delays, Esteban took everything in his stride with a very mature approach and didn?t put a foot wrong all day. The primary objective was to continue giving him as much experience as possible across the changing weather conditions.”

Either side of Fuoco in the times were active F1 racers Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean, followed by GP2 stars Pierre Gasly, Raffaele Marciello and Stoffel Vandoorne. Williams’ Susie Wolff completed the first day’s runners.

After making his debut in Barcelona, Gasly got another day driving for Red Bull, while the Ferrari-supported Marciello was in action with Sauber again in his role as reserve driver. Dominant GP2 leader Vandoorne, who has won every feature race so far this season, was getting his first drive of a McLaren this year.

“It was still difficult with the conditions and the track was quite greasy, but I felt very at ease with the car from the beginning and got up to speed pretty quickly, which was positive,” said the Belgian.

McLaren team manager Dave Redding commented: “Stoffel performed admirably in the variable conditions, especially considering it was his first time in MP4-30.”

Photo: McLaren

In contrast to the opening day, not one current junior racer was in action on Wednesday, though as in Barcelona, every team ran at least one ‘rookie’ over the two days.

In drier conditions, Austrian Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg set the best time of the week for Mercedes ahead of Ferrari tester Esteban Gutierrez and Williams racer Valtteri Bottas.

Third quickest – and with the highest number of laps at 158 – was ex-F3 racer Marco Wittmann, the 25-year-old driving for Toro Rosso as a prize from BMW for winning the DTM title last year.

Wehrlein was fifth for Force India with a combined 199 laps from the two days, ahead of?reigning GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer in his continuing role with Lotus.

Combined testing results

Drivers in bold are rookies

The post Ferrari debutant Fuoco among junior stars in F1 Spielberg test appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Red Bull Racing

Pierre Gasly made his Formula 1 testing debut as one of a number of junior single-seater drivers taking part in the post-Spanish Grand Prix running in Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Fresh from his maiden GP2 podium at the same circuit on Sunday, Red Bull Junior driver Gasly got to spend one day in this year’s Toro Rosso and one in the parent team’s car.

“All drivers dream of driving a Formula 1 car and having now done it, I am even more determined to reach my goal of racing in this category,” said Gasly, who completed a total of 203 laps over the two days.

“It was awesome and I can’t wait to try it again. Thank you Red Bull and thank you Toro Rosso.”

Gasly’s DAMS GP2 team-mate Alex Lynn, who won the sprint race in Barcelona, got his first on-track action in his new role as Williams development driver. The reigning GP3 champion’s Wednesday mileage in the FW37 followed his debut run in an F1 car for Lotus at the end of last year.

“I didn?t really sleep that well last night as I was so excited about today,” said Lynn after managing 52 laps.

“It has been an amazing day and great to get behind the wheel of the FW37. We managed to get through a really important schedule and I completed a number of runs in the car. The team were happy with how we got on and with my performance, so all-in-all it has been a really positive day.”

Williams engineer Rod Nelson said: “We have been impressed with his speed and maturity throughout the day and he has helped us with some chassis and aero work. It has been a positive day and he has done a really good job.”

Photo: Williams F1 Team

Nick Yelloly followed up his GP2 debut last weekend – when he qualified a commendable ninth – with his first 109 laps in an F1 car for Force India on Tuesday. Formula Renault 3.5 and GP3 race winner Yelloly has been working in Force India’s simulator, leading to his GP2 chance with the affiliated Hilmer squad.

“It felt really good to finally get my chance in a Formula 1 car,” he said. “I?ve been working towards this day for a long time and I need to say a big ?thank you? to everyone at Force India for giving me this opportunity. The first few laps felt a bit unusual, but I soon got comfortable in the car.”

Tom McCullough, Force India’s chief race engineer, added: ?It?s always enjoyable seeing a young driver get to grips with a Formula 1 car for the first time. Nick was clearly excited about the opportunity, but he was very mature with his approach and he impressed the team with his feedback. He didn?t put a foot wrong all day and helped us gather a lot of very useful data.”

Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

In the Force India on Wednesday was European F3 champion Esteban Ocon. His call-up was a late one after Mercedes reserve and ex-F3 ace Pascal Wehrlein was forced out of driving the car on Tuesday by illness, causing? Yelloly’s debut to be brought forward by a day and a replacement needed for Wednesday when Wehrlein took over from Spanish GP winner Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes.

?I was very happy to get the opportunity to drive today and I?m pleased with how things went,” said Ocon, who was announced as a Mercedes-supported driver last week and followed that by winning on his GP3 debut in Barcelona.

“It?s always good to get more experience in a Formula 1 car and I?ve learned a huge amount about this car and this team. The team has given me some good feedback and I improved during the day ? step by step with each run. I hope I get another chance to drive a Formula 1 car soon.”

McCullough also had positive words for the Frenchman, who drove 94 laps: “It has been a pleasure working with Esteban, who is clearly a very talented young driver with a bright future ahead of him. Due to the late call-up, he was at the track until quite late last night completing the seat-fit and getting comfortable in the VJM08. We also had to get him up-to-speed with some of the systems on the car and the steering wheel.

?The programme today progressed relatively smoothly and Esteban did an excellent job. He settled in quickly and improved with each run.”

Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Ferrari protege Raffaele Marciello got his second official test with the Scuderia on Tuesday, before returning to Sauber, where he has been getting Friday practice runs this season, for Wednesday.

The Swiss-born Italian did 125 laps for Ferrari and was third quickest and best rookie, but a crash early in his Sauber running limited to him to the bottom of the times after 75 laps.

GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer continued to rack up mileage for Lotus on Wednesday and topped the times with a late lap on the supersofts ahead of Wehrlein and Gasly.

Every team ran at least one rookie with no F1 race experience over the course of the two days, with McLaren nominating long-time test driver and ex-FR3.5 and GP2 frontrunner Oliver Turvey.

The second and final in-season test for this year will take place after next month’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Combined testing results

Drivers in bold are rookies

The post Gasly makes F1 test debut among junior racers in Barcelona action appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Glenn Dunbar/Lotus F1 Team

Numerous stars of junior single-seater racing in 2014 will take part in this week’s Formula 1 test at Yas Marina after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The champions of GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 will both be in action. Jolyon Palmer will make his F1 test debut for Force India on Tuesday, when Carlos Sainz will conduct his prize of one day testing with Red Bull for winning the FR3.5 title.

The Spaniard previously drove for the Red Bull team at the young driver test at Silverstone in July 2013, and is now believed to be favourite for the available 2015 race seat at Toro Rosso.

They will be joined on track by the winner of the FIA F3 European Championship,?Esteban Ocon, who will follow up his free practice run with Lotus last Friday with a full day’s driving. He is set to remain in Abu Dhabi to do all three days of GP2 testing from Thursday to Saturday ahead of a likely move to the series for 2015.

Stoffel Vandoorne, fresh from securing second place in the GP2 standings at the end of his rookie season, will do both days of running for McLaren as the team gives the first proper test to its new Honda engine. His Ferrari counterpart Raffaele Marciello finally gets his maiden official F1 test with the Scuderia.

Felipe Nasr, who finished third in the GP2 standings, will complete his duties with the Williams team rather than make his debut for Sauber, who have signed him as race driver for 2015.

Ocon’s F3 rival Max Verstappen will do both days of the test for Toro Rosso as he continues his preparation for his 2015 race drive, following practice outings at Suzuka, Austin and Interlagos.

Former F3 star and current DTM ace Pascal Wehrlein will get to drive the dominant 2014 Mercedes car in place of champion Lewis Hamilton. It will be Wehrlein’s first official test with the team after they named him their reserve driver earlier in the year following a run in an older car in Portimao.

Formula Renault 3.5 race winner Will Stevens will continue with the Caterham team after a solid race debut in Abu Dhabi.

Full test line-up

Mercedes: Nico Rosberg/Pascal Wehrlein
Red Bull: Carlos Sainz/Daniel Ricciardo
Williams: Valtteri Bottas/Felipe Nasr
Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen/Raffaele Marciello
McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne
Force India: Jolyon Palmer/Spike Goddard
Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen
Lotus: Esteban Ocon/Charles Pic
Sauber: Marcus Ericsson
Caterham: Will Stevens

PaddockScout comment

The talent on show in this week’s test is pretty mouth-watering. It’s rather ironic that so many deserving young drivers are being given their chance now that the annual young driver test doesn’t exist. Those events often saw top teams running experienced testers, and the smaller teams selling their seats to the highest bidder.

But the vast majority of drivers taking part this week are fully deserving. Only one team, Sauber, will not be running a driver with no more than one F1 start under their belt. And all the others are running a driver who won races this year in GP2, FR3.5, F3 or DTM.

This is perhaps down to timing more than anything. More than ever, the top Formula 1 teams have got talented, successful young drivers on their books. Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus had very little choice other than to give their top proteges their chance after strong seasons.

But, the scrapping of the old young driver rules has also meant that there is more to lose for teams that take on lesser drivers in return for cash. Previously, when forced to run a rookie, teams took money in order to make it worth it for them. Now, they could be running experienced race drivers, and so taking a less capable driver would be even more of a penalty.

Another crucial thing is the date of the test. The best time of the year to have a test in order to have young drivers taking part is now. Their seasons have finished, they won’t be distracted from their main focus, and they can be rewarded for good performance and meeting their targets. Other vital factors are that the cars are at the end of their development, and the fact that race drivers want to go on off on their holidays. Time pressures are tough on the teams at this end of the season, but such an occasion needs to be preserved regardless of how the calendar looks.

Perhaps the one sad thing is that Marussia can’t be there to give Dean Stoneman the test he would have won for being their GP3 team’s top performer. It would have been quite a story, on the track where he made his debut for Williams four years ago, in his last action before his career was turned upside down…

The post Junior superstars on show in Abu Dhabi Formula 1 test appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Damiler

Mercedes has made 19-year-old protege and former F3 star Pascal Wehrlein the official reserve driver for its dominant Formula 1 team

Wehrlein is currently in his second season competing in the DTM for the German marque, and yesterday claimed his maiden win in the category at Lausitz, becoming the championship’s youngest ever victor.

Wehrlein previously finished second in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2012 as a rookie, behind Daniel Juncadella and ahead of Raffaele Marciello. The year before he was champion in the ADAC Formel Masters series in Germany.

“In addition to his DTM duties, Pascal has played an integral role in the Formula 1 team?s race support operations during the 2014 season,” said Mercedes in its announcement.

“In total, he has completed more than 30 days in the simulator this season, covering over 12,000 km in the virtual F1 W05 Hybrid. Pascal reached another important milestone in his career development last Thursday 11 September, when he drove a Formula 1 car for the first time at the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portimao.

“As part of a Young Driver Evaluation test conducted by the team, Pascal took the wheel of the team?s 2012 challenger, the F1 W03. Running a programme designed to familiarise him with the car, Pascal achieved a total of 500 km on the day, completing 109 laps and impressing the team with his progress and feedback.

“Pascal will travel with the team from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards as part of his reserve driver duties.”

Wehrlein said: ?I was delighted when I learned that I would be completing a Formula 1 test for Mercedes AMG Petronas in Portimao. It took me a few laps to get used to the incredible speed, the very hard brakes and the high cornering speeds ? it?s in another league compared to the DTM.

“But I adapted quickly and was able to improve in each of my short and long runs. In total, I drove 500 km and didn?t want to head back into the pits! The test was simply the greatest experience I have had so far in motorsport. There weren?t any nerves, which surprised me ? I just felt ready for it.

“The feedback from the team and from Toto was very encouraging and I think that I did a good job. It certainly helped that I have been working hard in the simulator since February. For me, it is a nice recognition of my efforts that I have been nominated as reserve driver for Mercedes AMG Petronas. For me, it?s a dream come true to have completed this test and now to take on my new role. All my life, I have worked hard to get the opportunity to drive an F1 car. And it was always my goal to do it with Mercedes-Benz.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: ?We are delighted to officially welcome Pascal to the team after his successful test last week in Portugal. He has worked hard behind the scenes this year in our simulator, playing a very important role in our pre-race preparations.

“Aside from Nico and Lewis, he is the driver most familiar with all the procedures of our F1 W05 Hybrid and therefore the right choice for the role of reserve driver. He took an important step last week when he drove a Formula 1 car for the first time ? and we were pleased to see him deliver a composed and impressive test, in line with our expectations.

“This was followed by a fantastic win yesterday at the Lausitzring in the DTM, making the most of conditions where pure driving talent was able to shine. Pascal has a bright future ahead of him and we are excited to have him onboard for what will be an intense conclusion to the Formula 1 season.?

The post Pascal Wehrlein promoted to Mercedes F1 reserve role appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: FIA F3 European Championship

The inaugural season for the revamped European F3 championship was met with a lot of excitement from all sides involved, but, ultimately, wound up being the expected evolution of the F3 Euro Series – a great grid with some fascinating racing, yet still mostly dominated by Prema and Mucke despite the involvement of the two big British squads.

It was a Marciello – Rosenqvist show, but that didn’t mean there weren’t lots of people to watch all around the grid – veterans, regional F3 graduates and ambitious upcomers from ADAC Formel Masters and Formula Pilota China alike. Below, we give you the rundown of the drivers who headlined FIA F3’s first year…

1. Raffaele Marciello

Italy, Prema Powerteam, age 18

489.5 points, 13 wins, 19 podiums, 12 pole positions, 7 fastest laps

After lighting up the F3 Euro Series with a powerhouse debut season in 2012 following two decent campaigns in Italian single-seaters, the pressure was on Marciello in 2013 as the Ferrari protege came into the championship as the favourite (further bolstered by Pascal Wehrlein’s DTM promotion).

Over the first four rounds he took six wins from 12 races despite losing one due to a technical infringement. Many were ready to call it there, but a dreadful weekend at Spielberg severely decreased his lead. The pattern continued for the rest of the year. A phenomenal weekend at Nurburgring would be followed by an absolute shocker at Zandvoort and, due to the inconsistencies, he had to wait until the last round to officially become champion.

It was not perfect – he noticeably struggled when not in the lead and seemed to falter when Prema wasn’t the best car at a given round. But he was often so eerily untouchable that you tend to forget the bumps. Having set the pace in GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 testing, he looks set to continue his winning ways next season with the latter series his likely destination. Season rating: 8/10

2. Felix Rosenqvist

Sweden, Mucke Motorsport, age 22

457 points, 10 wins, 18 podiums, 4 pole positions, 10 fastest laps

2013 marked Rosenqvist’s third year in European F3, after a stellar debut in 2011 and a very up-and-down 2012. After Wehrlein was called up to DTM, the Swede quickly slotted into the status of Mucke’s chief title hope and fully lived up to that title as the season went on.

The severely rainy opener at Monza wound up being his worst showing of the year, as from that point on he began reliably increasing his points tally. When Marciello faltered at Spielberg, Rosenqvist took advantage with a stunning triple victory and then scored more points than anyone at the Norising. Just like Marciello, he also had some crucial points losses, stalling on the grid at Nurburgring and going off in qualifying at Vallelunga. Still, each time, the Swede fought his way back into the points, fighting for every single position.

It wasn’t enough in the end, but it sure made an impression. His F3 tenure should be over now and, while he hasn’t been that prominent in post-season testing, he would be a very welcome addition to the GP2 or the FR3.5 grid. If not, his Mercedes and Mucke ties should create a DTM opportunity. Season rating: 8

3. Alex Lynn

United Kingdom, Prema Powerteam, age 20

339.5 points, 3 wins, 14 podiums, 5 pole positions, 4 fastest laps

After three years with Fortec, which included a Formula Renault UK title and a solid debut season in British F3, Lynn secured a Prema deal for his European move and was soon one of the potential title contenders.

The first rounds went rather according to plan, as he reliably made the points and fought for podiums, even taking a maiden pole at Silverstone. At another British track – Brands – he finally took his first victory and later added another at Norisring. There were some issues and inconsistencies mid-season, but that was ironed out quick, as he made the top eight in the final eleven races of the championship, adding yet another victory at Vallelunga. Having secured third in the standings, he then confidently won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

Another year of F3 seemed to be the plan, but after the Macau triumph, the Briton instead lined up a switch to GP3 with Carlin. He’s also been accepted into the Red Bull Junior Team, which should provide a clear path of progression for his career. Season rating: 8

4. Lucas Auer

Austria, Prema Powerteam, age 19

277 points, 1 win, 9 podiums, 3 fastest laps

Auer might be the nephew of the President of FIA’s Single-Seater Commision – one Gerhard Berger – but nepotism has nothing to do with where he is right now. He broke into FIA F3 on merit, having taken the 2011 JK Racing Asia title in his debut year and then finishing third in German F3 in 2012.

Not a lot of people mark their first race in a championship with a podium – but that’s what the Austrian managed at Monza, following it up with a similar success at Silverstone. He kept reliably bagging points throughout the first half and inherited his first victory when Marciello was disqualified at Brands.

There was a bit of pattern change in half two, as Auer reliably finished within the top seven, yet only managing the occasional podium. He briefly challenged Lynn for third in the standings, but wound up settling for fourth. He’s already sealed the deal to do a sophomore FIA F3 campaign, switching to Mucke, with who he’ll surely be expected to challenge for the title. Season rating: 8

5. Harry Tincknell

United Kingdom, Carlin, age 22

227 points, 1 wins, 2 podiums, 2 pole positions

Having been mostly UK-bound for the early years of his single-seater career, Tincknell had a big jump ahead of him in the switch to European F3, despite having two previous years in the British series.

But from race one Tincknell adapted exceptionally well. He scored in all three races at Monza and then held on to his first win in the series from pole at Silverstone. At Brands, he added another podium, but that’s where standout performances came to a halt as the Briton continuously put in solid but unremarkable weekends, before a return to form at Hockenheim with three fifth-place finishes.

He still seems to lack that one final tenth, but the fact that he’s second only to Rosenqvist in total points finishes is one to be proud of. Mentored by Allan McNish, Tincknell has been linked with a move into the LMP2 class of endurance racing and it’s hard to imagine a driver more perfect for the role.?Season rating: 7

6. Jordan King

United Kingdom, Carlin, age 19

176 points, 2 podiums, 1 fastest lap

The highest-placed driver without prior F3 experience in the standings, Formula NEC runner-up King was a more than welcome addition to the grid, but ended up surpassing expectations.

The initial adjustment phase, which yielded some quality finishes yet also a bit too many retirements, was over at Spielberg, where King snatched his first podium in the series. From that point on, he was reliably a force at the front, with four fourth-place finishes and another podium at Zandvoort.

Having also added the British F3 title to his CV in 2013, the young Briton really put himself on the market, testing in a number of series after the season was over. Still, he is expected to stay in FIA F3, where he could look to end Prema’s dominance. Season rating: 8

7. Tom Blomqvist

United Kingdom, EuroInternational, age 19

151.5 points, 3 podiums

Another Formula Renault UK champion in the field, Blomqvist scored a Red Bull Junior Team spot after a strong 2012 and stayed on for a sophomore year in FIA F3.

Having joined EuroInternational, who he knew from a grandiose part-time campaign in German F3 last year, Blomqvist was rather surprisingly left by himself, as the second seat of the car was unfilled for most of the season. That did not make things easy for him or the squad and, together, they were often rather inconsistent. Still, the talent and experience showed – he scored three podiums in the first three rounds and was generally a reliable points finisher, which allowed him to repeat his rookie year’s result of seventh place.

As Red Bull have been pretty ruthless when it comes to selection, in both past and present, one tough year proved enough for Blomqvist to lose his backing. Still, it seems he won’t be lost without it, as he’s heavily tipped to join Carlin for a 2014 campaign in FIA F3, with backing from KFC Indonesia alongside Gelael and Giovinazzi. Season rating: 7

8. Pipo Derani

Brazil, Fortec Motorsports, age 20

151.5 points, 3 podiums

After a promising rookie year in Formula Renault NEC was followed up by three difficult campaigns in various F3 championships, the Brazilian needed to perform big-time in 2013.

But, while his team-mates got up to speed in the FIA F3 championship rather quickly, Derani had a very tough adjustment period, scoring a rather paltry 18 points over the first five rounds. However, just when Fortec began losing drivers and struggling for results, something clicked for Derani. At Nurburgring, he was suddenly the team leader, taking two podiums as he doubled his pre-round points tally. More strong weekends followed, capped off with another podium at Vallelunga and, finally, he firmly took over as the top Fortec driver in the standings – something that seemed completely implausible halfway through.

His season culminated with a third-place finish in the prestigious Macau GP. Shortly after that, Derani announced a switch to Road to Indy’s Pro Mazda series for 2014. He’s earned that one fully. Season rating: 7

9. Sven Muller

Germany, ma-con/Van Amersfoort Racing, age 21

122 points, 1 podium

The 21-year-old ADAC Formel Masters graduate was tipped for great things in FIA F3 after a stellar rookie year with Prema in 2012. However, plans came undone when he was not retained by the Italian squad, forcing him to secure a quick move to the familiar ma-con squad.

The partnership wouldn’t last all year as Muller, who was routinely quick but kept narrowly missing out on podiums and being involved in way too many crashes, switched to Van Amersfoort Racing come Zandvoort. While that didn’t dramatically improve his results, he found some welcome consistency and managed a great final weekend at Hockenheim where he finally took his first podium of the year.

It seemed rather likely that Muller could stick around as one of F3’s experienced drivers, but he wound up securing Porsche backing for a season in the Carrera Cup Germany, where he has the potential to build a long career in sportscars. Season rating: 7

10. Alexander Sims

United Kingdom, ThreeBond with T-Sport, age 25

112 points, 5 podiums, 1 fastest lap (12/30 races)

When T-Sport needed a replacement driver for the departing Buller, they wisely opted to call up McLaren GT3 man Sims, who further solidified himself as an exceptionally handy guest driver in 2013.

He made that especially apparently in his four rounds with T-Sport, as he climbed into the top ten in the standings with a very limited schedule. Stepping in at Norisring, he immediately showed frontrunning pace, confidently taking two top-five finishes. At Nurburgring, he gave the team their first podium of the year, and while Zandvoort didn’t go so well, he was the man of the moment at Vallelunga, taking podiums in all three races on a track generally dominated by Prema.

Combined with his outright brilliant guest showings in GP3, Sims has duly returned into the single-seater limelight, despite the rather above-average age. It’s fair to say he’s earned at least one crack at GP2 or FR3.5, but if he continues in single-seaters, another year at the F3 level is more likely. Season rating: 8

11. Felix Serralles

United States, Fortec, age 21

104 points, 2 podiums, 1 fastest lap

Fortec’s chief hope in F3 after coming within one round of the British crown, the talented Puerto Rican had some serious expectations to live up to in his first year in the European championship.

The season started well enough, too. As Fortec were coming to grips with the new challenge, Serralles delivered some good finishes in the first two rounds before hitting a jackpot at Hockenheim, where he finished runner-up twice. His season would completely come apart after that. He left Spielberg and Brands empty-handed and, following two decent enough showings at Norisring and Nurburgring, would not score again for the remainder of the year, consistently hitting trouble and seemingly struggling due to a back injury remission. The absolute lowpoint came at the Hockenheim finale when, after colliding with Estonian Kevin Korjus, he deliberately ran into the latter’s car and was excluded from the race.

Having missed Macau, Serralles has now joined series newcomers West-Tec for 2014. He’s surely talented enough to succeed, but there are issues that need ironing out. His career will hinge on whether he can do that as soon as possible. Season rating: 6

12. Josh Hill

United Kingdom, Fortec, age 22

56 points, 1 podium (15/30 races)

Coming out of what is perhaps the most successful racing family in single-seaters, Hill finally entered the big leagues in 2012 when he took third in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC. Pressure was again on to perform this year as he lined up the switch to European F3.

The first two rounds at Monza and Silverstone weren’t the easiest, as he often failed to maximize his pace and only took two points finishes. But at Hockenheim, it all suddenly clicked as Hill took a very impressive podium finish in race two. He’s remained largely on-pace for the next two rounds, despite some rather inconsistent performances.

Midway through the rather promising season, Josh officially called it quits on his motorsports career, instead focusing on music. Season rating: 7

13. Eddie Cheever, Jr.

Italy, Prema Powerteam, age 20

50 points

After a good sophomore year in Italian F3, Cheever was finally given the nod to the European scene, and remained with Prema for his rookie year in the FIA series.

As matching his teammates would probably have been a rather tall order, his occasional points finishes early on were a pretty decent start. However, there wasn’t much in the way of noticeable improvement at mid-season, where he had a seven-race non-scoring streak, as he continued to struggle with converting decent qualifying results into points. It wouldn’t have been a season to be remembered fondly, but his performance on home turf at Vallelunga was genuinely encouraging, as he took his best finish of the season in fourth and his second-best – a fifth place.

He might be done with single-seaters after this year, as news has been circulating that he’s lined up a seat in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Season rating: 6

14. Pascal Wehrlein

Germany, Mucke Motorsport, age 19

49 points, 1 win, 3 podiums, 2 pole positions, 2 fastest laps (3/30 races)

After an outright stunning rookie year in F3 Euro, Wehrlein was set to come back for a title campaign, but was called up at short-notice by the Mercedes DTM squad.

He still got to do the opening weekend at Monza and showed just what we’d be in for if he stuck around, with a double pole and a victory in tricky conditions.

His rookie year in DTM went alright after all, despite some rather noticeable bad luck. He’ll surely stick around for another year in touring cars at least, but, as we’ve seen previously, there’s always a chance he’ll be back to running open-wheelers at some point down the line. Season rating: N/A

15. Nicholas Latifi

Canada, Carlin, age 18

45 points

After a rather quiet, if promising, rookie single-seater year in Italian F3 and a TRS campaign, the Canadian youngster wound up making the huge FIA F3 jump with Carlin.

Surpisingly, it took Latifi just one round to adapt – in race four of the season, he suddenly took a very impressive fifth-place finish and then had a number of other standout results as the year went on.

There was not much in the way of consistency, which explains the 45 points, but the pace shown by Latifi was extremely promising for a single-seater sophomore. He deserves another year in FIA F3 at the very least and looks rather set to get the chance, potentially switching to Prema. Season rating: 7

16. William Buller

United Kingdom, ThreeBond with T-Sport/Fortec, age 21

39 points (15/30 races)

If Buller’s Formula Renault 3.5 venture was the really good part of his season, his fourth year in Formula Three, on the contrary, didn’t quite go to plan.

After some very promising pre-season tests with the T-Sport squad, he was expected to fight at the front, but the pace just wasn’t there. His brilliant opening race, where he went from 12th on the grid to fourth, wound up his best result of the year. Opting for a change of scenery after just four rounds, he signed up to race with Fortec, but, after his debut round with them yielded no points, the Northern Irishman called it quits on European F3, focusing on the British series instead.

While his F3 efforts this year have been extremely par for the course, he has shown something special in 3.5 and is expected to make the full-time switch in 2014. Season rating: 6

17. Antonio Giovinazzi

Italy, Double R Racing, age 19

31 points

After British F3 was scaled back, the ultra-promising Formula Pilota China champion wound up getting a European F3 drive in just his second year in single-seaters.

To say it was a challenge would be an understatement, as both he and the team lacked the experience to regularly fight for points. Yet Giovinazzi still looked very competent – he routinely finished on the outskirts of the top ten, picking up the occasional point and noticeably improving along the way. Much of his season was hurt by poor qualifying – he hadn’t started higher than tenth before the Hockenheim finale. The German track, however, seemed to suit him and Double R reasonably well and, having made it in the top ten for all three grids, he almost doubled his points total in one weekend.

Largely reliant on the backing of his teammate Sean Gelael, as the rookie duo will move higher up the field for 2014 by joining Carlin, where Giovinazzi in particular could shine. Season rating: 7

18. Lucas Wolf

Germany, URD Rennsport, age 19

28 points, 1 podium

A year ago, the underexperienced ADAC Formel Masters graduate surprised Formula 3 with a podium in his otherwise tough maiden season and, as such, was deserving of another European F3 campaign with family-run team URD Rennsport.

Admittedly, with a severely increased grid, it was always going be much harder to replicate the feat. And, for most of it, Wolf was achieving results par for the course – only managing to break into the top ten on one weekend and often involved in incidents. However, the Spielberg weekend midway through the season saw Wolf fight on an entirely different level. He qualified for all three races in the top three and, despite one DNF, managed to bag a podium.

It’s tough to see where 2014 will take the young German – it’d make sense to stay in F3, but he’s tried his hand at GT3 racing and might end up switching his focus. Season rating: 6

19. Michael Lewis

United States, Mucke Motorsport, age 22

23 points (27/30 races)

Having not been retained by Prema after an up-and-down rookie season in F3, American Michael Lewis struggled to find another seat on the grid and was not there for the opener, after a predicted deal with Romeo Ferraris fell through.

He was, however, the obvious choice for Mucke to replace the outgoing Wehrlein and stepped into the German’s seat from round two. Still, it was Rosenqvist’s year in the team, as the rest seemed to struggle – and the American was no exception. A quiet and ultimately disappointing second year saw him race mostly on the outskirts of the top ten, picking up the occasional points but failing to achieve standout results.

At 22, the California native could afford another year in F3, but looking for outside alternatives seems more sensible – he’s definitely capable enough to adapt to the Road to Indy racing scene should it come to that. Season rating: 5

20. Dennis van de Laar

Netherlands, Van Amersfoort Racing, age 18

22 points

Dutchman Dennis van de Laar was a surprise promotion for Van Amersfoort Racing, joining their FIA F3 squad after just one midfield year in German F3.

As such, rookie season struggles for inevitable. To van de Laar’s credit, he adapted rather quickly, scoring in the opening two races when the Dutch squad’s car was showing very promising pace.

The promising start didn’t seem to lead to much and, by the end, he was outclassed by new teammate Muller, finishing with a best result of sixth to the German’s podium. Still, it was a decent enough rookie season and one that van de Laar will be hoping to follow up on, having secured a deal to race with Prema in 2014. Season rating: 6

21. Jann Mardenborough

United Kingdom, Carlin, age 22

12 points

There’s one thing that always prefaces any discussions of Mardenborough’s results – that being, his background. The GT Academy winner didn’t come from karting and, instead, is one of the “gamer turned racer” types. His first season in cars came in 2012, when he looked spectacularly sharp in British GT.

A new challenge beckoned for 2013 in the form of single-seaters and FIA F3 in particular. And, while Mardenborough doesn’t have the background to match any of his competitors, he’s shown a rather remarkable ability to adapt, being a rather consistent factor in the midfield from the get-go.

His best finish did come in the penalty-fest that was the Norisring opener and his 12 points pale in comparison to Latifi’s 45, yet, on sheer pace, he was mighty impressive. He has tested in FR3.5 and GP3 and looked impressively ready for a switch, but his single-seater efforts are probably not his main focus. Season rating: 7

22. Roy Nissany

Israel, Mucke Motorsport, age 19

11 points

After two midfield years in ADAC Formel Masters, Nissany opted for the rather huge leap to FIA F3 – admittedly, a move that worked out well in the past for others.

However, Rosenqvist was the only driver this year capable of consistently bagging points in the orange car and Roy was no exception. To his credit, it was a better season than expected – while he was often amongst the backmarkers, he was more than capable of fighting for the occasional point.

His middle of the season was probably stronger than the end, yet it still wound up painting a nice picture. He’s earned the chance to be retained by Mucke for 2014. Season rating: 5

23. Mitch Gilbert

Australia, Mucke Motorsport, age 19

10 points

After finishing fourth in his rookie German F3 year, Gilbert looked more than ready for the FIA F3 switch and lined up a very good seat with Mucke.

So, not much was indicating that a “nightmare” year was upcoming. But, in the end, that’s what happened. He was surprisingly lacking pace over the few opening rounds, often running with the backmarkers, and, while points and other decent finishes started coming in in the second half, it was not enough to salvage the year.

But those things happen. And, indeed, Gilbert has shown his considerable talent before and has what it takes to bounce back from a tough year. A change of scenery will suit him well for 2014, as he looks to be a prime candidate for a Fortec seat. Season rating: 5

24. Andre Rudersdorf

Germany, ma-con, age 18

3 points

German youngster Andre Rudersdorf came into 2013 after two titles the previous year, but, when compared to FIA F3, both were pretty minor (Austrian F3 and German F3 Trophy Class).

So, with a smaller team like ma-con, all Rudersdorf really needed to do was run on-pace and, for the majority of the running, he lived up to the mission.While let down by his qualifying efforts (making the top 20 on the grid only twice), he’s generally been neat and tidy in the races, which allowed him to pick up three points.

Should be retained by ma-con for 2014 and will hopefully strive to become a more prominent part of the top ten. Season rating: 5

25. John Bryant-Meisner

Sweden, Fortec Motorsport, age 19

2 points (6/30 races)

The Swede, recovering from an injury that sidelined him for pretty much all of 2012, spent most of this year racing German F3, but did try out the final FIA F3 rounds with a clear goal of stepping up to the category in 2014.

He’s made an impression, too, managing to mostly keep up with the other Fortec drivers in both qualifying and races. Reliably in the midfield on his debut, he would record five top-16 finishes and, among them, picked up two points. If this was the audition for 2014, you’d have to imagine that he passed it. Season rating: N/A

Daniil Kvyat

Russia, Carlin, age 19

1 win, 7 podiums, 5 pole positions, 2 fastest laps (21/30 races)

Red Bull Junior Team’s Daniil Kvyat was a surprise part-time acquisition by Carlin, as the Russian was simultaneously signed up for GP3.

Ultimately, it turned into a double campaign and one Kvyat could be mighty proud of. He took an against-odds pole during his first round and, while struggling with starts, still managed to convert that into a podium. He was masterful at Spielberg, taking a triple pole but ultimately finishing runner-up to Rosenqvist on all three occasions. Finally, he managed to convert his fifth pole into a win at Zandvoort and then capped off his campaign with several other strong finishes.

Sure, there were off rounds, but they weren’t due to any inherent lack of pace. And, with this kind of FIA F3 guesting on his resume and a GP3 title, Kvyat, who was promoted by Red Bull into an F1 seat for next year, can make that step with his head held high. Season rating: 8

The rest of the field

Double R’s Sean Gelael and Tatiana Calderon did not wind up scoring points, although it wasn’t for the lack of trying, especially on the Indonesian’s part. Gelael, thus, has probably fulfilled his goals for the huge step to FIA F3 and, at 17, remains a very interesting prospect.

Dmitry Suranovich began the season with Fortec, but ended up retiring from racing altogether after the first round. Alfonso Celis and Ed Jones both appeared in one-offs with the British team at later stages.

Mans Grenhagen was extremely promising in testing for Van Amersfoort Racing, but couldn’t convert the pace into any points and was replaced after one too many crashes. Spike Goddard was competent but quiet in his first season with T-Sport, albeit finding himself in a fair share of incidents in wheel-to-wheel racing.

Sandro Zeller had a tough year after a somewhat encouraging rookie season in 2013, while Romeo Ferraris couldn’t really find themselves in a position to fight for points during the several appearances with Gary Thompson and Michela Cerruti.

Kevin Korjus and Stefano Coletti checked off an appearance each to qualify for the Macau GP. Finally, Toyota Racing Series New Zealand double champ Nick Cassidy was very rapid on his two guest rounds, but never quite managed to convert the pace into a standout result.

The post 2013 FIA F3 European Championship season review appeared first on Formula Scout.

PaddockScout takes a look back at the first weekend of the 2013 season proper, as title races begin in GP2 in Malaysia and the F3 European Championship and Auto GP at Monza.

GP2 Series

Coletti quick, but still hard on his rubber

Stefano Coletti had set the fastest time on two of three days of the final pre-season test in Barcelona, adding his name to the list of potential challengers for pre-season favourite James Calado. In qualifying in Malaysia, he edged out Calado by just 0.004 seconds for pole position. Calado’s fellow second-year driver Felipe Nasr was the same distance further back in third.

But while he had to make do with fourth on the grid, Fabio Leimer made a flying start. Coletti held the lead ahead of the Swiss driver, but having built up a reputation for struggling to make his tyres last in previous seasons, it was unsurprising when Leimer caught him as the first stint of the race wore on. Though Coletti managed to keep his lead after the stops had played out, his earlier change of tyres meant that, inevitably Leimer was always going to get past before the end, and so did Calado.

Coletti was back in the lead on Sunday thanks to a great start of his own, but again he struggled to make his tyres last, just holding on under late pressure from Nasr, who was fourth on Saturday. The Rapax driver has taken an early points lead and proven he has the speed to be champion, but his success will be determined by how well he can handle his disadvantage with tyre wear.

Leimer finished the sprint race down in 12th after an off-track moment, but still holds second in the points. His feature race win was his first since late 2011 – he was amongst the quickest drivers over the course of 2012 but some misfortune and mistakes left him win-less. If he can shake that off and score consistently top results, he could be hard to beat.

Coletti leads Leimer (Photo: Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service)

Fourth and second was a good return for Nasr, suggesting he should be a consistent threat at the front for the duration of the season. At the same time, the Brazilian Carlin driver could do with getting that maiden win monkey off his back sooner rather than later. Having qualified third in Bahrain last year, he’ll have high hopes for Sakhir.

Second place in the feature race was a decent enough start for Calado, though he was slightly disappointed to have slower pace than Leimer. It’s hard to know whether that was a factor in the uncharacteristic error that took him out early of race two. Having fallen back behind Leimer again at the start, he was caught out by the Racing Engineering man braking earlier than he expected, knocked his front wing and clattered into the second RE car of Julian Leal and into the gravel. He held his hands up and apologised, but not only has it left him chasing a points deficit to the more-experienced Coletti and Leimer, but he has also been slapped with a ten-place grid penalty for Bahrain. How he recovers could make or break his crucial season.

Elsewhere, GP3 champion Mitch Evans was the star debutant. Starting the feature race a fine fifth, he moved ahead of the squabbling Calado and Nasr up into third at first. He fell back as far as tenth, but a third-place from there in the sprint was superb, particularly as he’d been suffering from food poisoning, in the most physically demanding car and weather conditions the 18-year-old had ever raced in.

On the other hand, fellow GP3 graduate Daniel Abt had a weekend to forget, qualifying well down the order and retiring from the first race after he slid off track and stalled. He’s taken time to get into his stride before, such as in GP3 last year, and will surely improve as the year goes on.

Two drivers rivalled the top four on performance without getting the same results. Sam Bird had been fifth fastest in qualifying on his first day back in a GP2 car since 2011 but despite a grid penalty for impeding and a drive-through for ignoring yellow flags, he raced to seventh place and set the fastest lap on the way. He was another to take race-ending contact from Calado at the start of the sprint race, but once he and Russian Time truly hit their stride, he could be as fast as anyone.

Fellow Englishman Jolyon Palmer joined Abt towards the rear of the field in qualifying after struggling with a sticking throttle, but after climbing into the front half of the field at the start, he stayed out in the lead in his opening stint on the harder tyre and finished up in sixth. He would have to come from the back again in the sprint after stalling on the formation lap, but put in a load more overtakes to finish just outside the points in ninth.

Palmer recovered better than Ericsson (Photo: Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service)

Finally, a former teammate of both Bird and Palmer, Marcus Ericsson, did nothing to prove his doubters wrong. Traffic played its part in him qualifying 13th, but only he was to blame for his lap one exit from the feature race after tripping over Palmer under braking. Starting from the back in the sprint, he failed to make the same progress as Palmer. If he is to take DAMS’ third straight drivers’ title and finally deliver on the promise his early career showed, he’s got work to do on his pace and his racecraft.

Report: Leimer takes victory in Malaysia GP2 season opener

Report: Coletti holds on under pressure from Nasr to win Malaysia sprint

Next round: Bahrain, 20-21 April

FIA F3 European Championship

Winning send-off for Wehrlein, Marciello magnificent at home

The first season of the FIA’s revamped F3 series had looked set to be a battle between Raffaele Marciello and Pascal Wehrlein?after they finished second and third last year, but Wehrlein’s surprise last-minute call-up to the DTM had ruled him out of contention. He still went to Monza though, and began his F3 send-off well when he beat home racer Marciello to a double pole for races one and two.

Ferrari protege Marciello made the best start to race one though, jumping into the lead and starting his title bid with a victory. Embarking on his first full season at this level, Lucas Auer crossed the line second for a Prema 1-2, forcing Wehrlein to settle for third.

The rain came down for Sunday’s two races, but that didn’t stop a battle between Marciello and Wehrlein for the win. On the first racing lap after a safety car start the German ran wide and let his rival through, but he would fight back again later on to claim the victory. Conditions seemed even worse in race three, with Marciello managing to hold his lead from pole over Wehrlein until the race was red flagged.

With Wehrlein moving on, will anyone get close to Marciello? (Photo: FIA F3 Europe)

With Wehrlein unlikely to add to his points tally, Marciello leaves with a healthy margin in the championship over his nearest true rival, with 55.5 points to Auer’s 24. The Austrian crashed out before the racing even began in race two but took fourth in the final encounter. He still had an unexpectedly stronger weekend than Alex Lynn, nominated as Prema’s number two and seen by many as Marciello’s nearest rival for the title in Wehrlein’s absence. Slightly disappointing qualifying results led to him finishing eighth and sixth in the first two races, but he did manage to hold third in the final race, albeit unable to keep up with Marciello and Wehrlein.

He sits fifth in the standings behind fellow British F3 convert Harry Tincknell. With two fifths and a sixth, Carlin’s lead driver enjoyed a good and consistent weekend, but that’s really a bare minimum for a third-year F3 driver. What will be interesting to see over the remainder of the campaign is whether he can join Prema’s fast trio at the very front in terms of pace. There were decent showings from two more Brits, Tom Blomqvist and Will Buller, who translated strong pre-season form into good finishes, but mixed that with collisions – Blomqvist causing one and being penalised while Buller was an innocent bystander in one.

Now in his third season at this level and with Wehrlein’s departure making him the clear number one again at Mucke, Felix Rosenqvist should be able to take the fight to Marciello. An 11th, seventh and 12th in qualifying however was not the greatest start, and he finished the weekend with just one fourth place in terms of points finishes, and lies ninth in the standings.

Report: Marciello storms to victory in opening race at Monza

Report: Wehrlein wins rain-soaked race two at Monza

Report: Marciello completes near-perfect weekend with race three win

Next round: Silverstone, 13-14 April

Auto GP

Sato stars at soaking Monza

With only a handful of the teams and drivers having done any mileage with the upgraded Auto GP car before practice on Friday at Monza, there was always a risk that the weekend’s results could be a little unrepresentative. That explains why 47-year-old restaurateur?Giuseppe Cipriani, having undertaken the series’ official shakedown of the new car, was able to qualify ahead of Zele Racing’s pairing of Formula Two champion Luciano Bacheta and HRT F1 refugee Narain Karthikeyan.

Riccardo Agostini came in as a favourite for many after taking last year’s Italian F3 title, and began by claiming a home pole position. He struggled for pace in the race though, and it was Cipriani’s other driver at his new Ibiza team Sergio Campana who claimed the win, having only taken up the drive days earlier. Kimiya Sato took second, while Vittorio Ghirelli crossed the line third only to be penalised for corner cutting and dropped behind Robert Visoiu.

Sato was incredible in the wet on Sunday, quickly fighting through to take the lead from polesitter Bacheta and establishing a 20 second lead by the end of the 14 lap race. Ghirelli finished in third, even if he did crash in the spray after the chequered flag.

Sato has a three-point advantage over Campana at the head of the standings, but it remains to be seen whether either can maintain their pace as the season continues under more level conditions. Ghirelli looks fast in third place and has a top team in Super Nova, while more should also be expected of Visoiu, Bacheta and Agostini, who complete the top six ahead of Karthikeyan, whose future participation is yet to be determined.

Report: Sergio Campana wins Auto GP curtain-raiser

Report: Sato nets a win in second Auto GP race at Monza

Next round: Marrakech, 6-7 April

PaddockScout Driver of the Weekend

Raffaele Marciello

Marciello was given a tough challenge by Wehrlein who outdid him in qualifying, but the Ferrari protege bounced back to take two wins. He wasn’t far from making it a triple win – a near-perfect start to his title bid.

The post Roundup: Coletti and Marciello claim first blood appeared first on Formula Scout.