Marvin Dienst Archives - Formula Scout

The year that kicked off the 2010s was the last in the junior tiers for many drivers, with 15 departing for professional drives in Formula 1, IndyCar and Super Formula, and another two picked up by DTM teams.

Pastor Maldonado broke records on the way to the GP2 title for Rapax, while rival series Formula Renault 3.5 recorded its closest ever title conclusion – just two points separated Carlin’s Mikhail Aleshin and Tech 1 Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

It was another FRenault series that provided the best title battle of the year though.

FR2.0 UK, which would end the following year, had 10 race winners and four drivers spread across three teams with a title shot at the Brands Hatch Indy season finale.

Fortec Motorsports’ Tom Blomqvist led the points, and got lucky after crashing in the first qualifying session. Manor’s Ollie Millroy, team-mate of Blomqvist’s main title rival Lewis Williamson, then had his own off and the resulting red flag enabled Blomqvist to get his car repaired and outqualify his rival. Williamson beat Blomqvist in race one to put them equal on points (with dropped scores) going into the title decider. Blomqvist qualified ahead once again, and by staying there won the title.

He went on to race for BMW in DTM and Formula E, while Williamson has led Strakka Racing’s exploits in various categories. Tamas Pal Kiss – the early title leader – became a rallycross star, and Will Stevens raced for Manor in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship after missing out on the FR2.0 title with the team. Other top talents in the 2010 field include BMW’s Nick Yelloly, Aston Martin’s Alex Lynn and Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Andre Negrao.

Another British series provided the best junior single-seater driver, with F3 champion and Red Bull junior Jean-Eric Vergne being awarded the #1 slot after winning 13 races as a category and circuit rookie with Carlin. He then made several appearances in FR3.5 with Tech 1, winning in his third race and having a better scoring average than champion Aleshin.

He beat fellow FR3.5 drivers Esteban Guerrieri, who missed four races and was disqualified from another but was in title contention until the penultimate race, and Ricciardo. F3 Euro Series dominator Edoardo Mortara was fourth.

The?best race of the year was awarded to GP3’s first trip to Spa-Francorchamps, where rain led to split strategies and Status Grand Prix’s Robert Wickens taking a canny win despite crashing into the pitwall in the wet. He stuck with slick tyres in conditions ill-suited for them, then deliberately ran down the race timer after a safety car period to avoid being overtaken.

Victory in the 2009 Macau Grand Prix prompted Mortara to return to F3 full-time after a tricky time in GP2, and he ended his story with Signature-Volkswagen by becoming the first two-time Macau winner since 1980.

FIA F3 Championship predecessor GP3’s debut season, won by Sauber junior Esteban Gutierrez, squeezed F3 Euro Series’ grids, as did MotorSport Vision’s FIA Formula Two series. F2 champion Dean Stoneman only joined the series after founder Jonathan Palmer pitched successfully on the phone to him, although the Brit’s year sadly ended with a cancer diagnosis.

Stoneman got to be part of the second ever F1 young driver test for Williams, which included some forgotten entrants such as Superleague Formula driver Yelmer Buurman at Force India and Bulgarian GP2 backmarker Vladimir Arabadzhiev at Lotus.

2011

Photo: GEPA pictures/Mario Kneisl

Full-time returns to FR3.5 for Vergne and Wickens the next year resulted in a stunning intra-team title battle that pushed the pair to new heights at Carlin – winning 10 races and taking 11 poles of the 17 available.

After a near-double win for Fortec’s rookie Alexander Rossi at Motorland Aragon, the season became a two-horse race. At Spa, Carlin’s duo took a first and a second each; Vergne?s win earned after he closed down on Wickens and passed him at Les Combes in a move that required Wickens to lock up to avoid contact. There was no bad blood afterwards.

Both had issues at Monza, but Vergne still left with a win and the points lead after a thrilling battle with Ricciardo that left him with a semi-detached front wing for much of the race. Wickens had built up a 34-point lead by the penultimate round at Paul Ricard through a double win at Silverstone, and a win at the Nurburgring. That was down to two points when he left France.

He finished second to Vergne in race one, but the restless Canadian qualified seventh for race two and finished 19th after getting a puncture from contact. The Barcelona finale was full of drama, but the title fell safely into Wickens?s hands.

Vergne qualified ninth for race one using the mandated low drag setup. He finished second, but 21 seconds behind Wickens.

A fast-starting Anton Nebylitskiy led to a cautious Wickens braking early into turn one on the first lap of the title decider, which helped Vergne slip down the inside. Vergne?s front-left wheel slammed into Wicken?s sidepod, but more damage was inflicted on his own trackrod. A second impact did the same to Wickens, and his out-of-control car knocked another car into a roll. Both Carlin drivers retired, although Vergne made it further into the race before spinning out, and Wickens was champion.

Roberto Merhi ended a lengthy F3 career by dominating the Euro Series and winning the FIA International Trophy.

For the third year in a row he had changed teams, and few predicted pre-season he’d beat Signature’s Marco Wittmann and Laurens Vanthoor. He won 11 races in Europe, as well as two non-scoring but dominant successes in British F3’s visit to Spa, and had several sublime drives in the reversed grid second races that included wins at the Red Bull Ring and Nurburgring.

Considering he screwed up at the start of the two biggest races of the year ? the Masters of F3 at Zandvoort and the Macau GP ? it was a sign of his dominance that he was still Formula Scout’s best driver, and won the International Trophy.

The one-off championship was the story of the year. It combined the Masters and Macau with the Pau Grand Prix, the Euro Series’ first Hockenheim round and British F3’s Spa trip, and planned to revive the Korea Superprix. Merhi won the Int. Trophy title two races early at the Masters, despite a first lap clash with Prema team-mate Daniel Juncadella getting him disqualified.

Merhi’s next move was the DTM with Mercedes-Benz, and after two seasons he returned to junior single-seaters in FR3.5. His three wins with underdog team Zeta Corse propelled him to F1 and then WEC with Manor, before leaving for Formula 2.

F2 predecessor GP2 provided the most thrilling race of the year, as Ferrari junior Jules Bianchi and DTM driver Christian Vietoris battled for victory in the Silverstone feature race. After the pitstops, Vietoris eradicated Bianchi’s 7s lead, and passed him at the exit of Luffield. Bianchi got back past at Copse, so Vietoris went around the outside of Stowe to reclaim the lead. The fourth pass of the lap was a late braking move by Bianchi at Stowe. Bianchi eventually got the upper hand to win.

2012

Photo: GEPA pictures/Dutch Photo Agency

Antonio Felix da Costa only joined the Red Bull Junior Team midway through 2012, but that was the motivational boost needed for him to become the best driver of the year. After being signed, he was thrown into the fired Williamson‘s Arden FR3.5 seat, while continuing his GP3 campaign with Carlin. Like magic, he instantly became a winner in the latter series.

At the Hungaroring he took his first FR3.5 win, and became the only ever driver in GP3 to win both races in a weekend. Two second places at Spa kept him in the GP3 title race until the penultimate race, while he won three of the final four FR3.5 races. To make sure he could race in Macau, da Costa entered a round of MotorSport Vision’s F3 Cup with Carlin and won both races, then successfully turned his third Macau appearance into an assured victory. It was the kind of year that drivers dream of.

While the title battles?in FR3.5 (Robin Frijns/Bianchi/Sam Bird) and GP3 (Mitch Evans/Daniel Abt/da Costa/Aaro Vainio) were tense and concluded in memorable style, it was Stoffel Vandoorne and Daniil Kvyat’s FR2.0 Eurocup fight that stood out. Bar one race, they exclusively traded wins from the season opener to the dramatic Barcelona finale.

Vandoorne extended his points lead in race one at Barcelona, but qualified 16th for the title decider as Kvyat took pole. A slick tyre gamble in the wet resulted in a 10-place gain on lap one, but Vandoorne then crashed and retired. Watching from the pits, he won the title when Kvyat was penalised for picking his race tyres too late and was overtaken by the slick tyre runners.

FR3.5’s title fight and dramatic conclusion was a highlight of the introduction of the Dallara T12 car, which provided great racing and set up the story of FR3.5 becoming F1’s primary feeder series over GP2 for the next few years. GP2 did have 2012’s best race: James Calado and Rio Haryanto fought for Valencia sprint victory until clashing, which damaged Calado and ended Haryanto’s race. A slowed Calado led until the last lap, when he clashed with Fabio Leimer just as Luiz Razia passed both to win.

2013

The trend of switching from gaming to racing professionally – or combining both – has changed a lot in the last seven years, and arguably what lit the public’s imagination on the topic was the story of Nissan’s GT Academy and Jann Mardenborough.

Mardenborough was the third winner of the GT Academy, and in his first ever season of racing he lost the British GT title in a final race showdown. His potential was so big that Nissan decided to switch him to single-seaters in F3 for year two.

He made his single-seater debut in the Toyota Racing Series with ETEC Motorsport, and was immediately the best of the team’s five drivers that included future F2 racer Tatiana Calderon and 2014 TRS champion Andrew Tang. Mardenborough came close to taking pole in round four at Hampton Downs, and four sixth place finishes put him 10th in the standings.

Carlin signed Mardenborough for British and FIA European F3, and he didn’t look out of place in the class field of the latter. He did only make the points four times, but 21st in the standings wasn’t awful compared to his team-mates Nicholas Latifi (15th) and Antonio Giovinazzi (17th), both also in their second year of cars and now with drives in F1.

The opposition was far easier in Britain, where he had the same team-mates, and Mardenborough was sixth in the points with a first podium at Spa. During his ‘free’ weekends, Mardenborough took podiums in the Le Mans and Spa 24 Hours.

Mardenborough started 2014 with a TRS return, almost winning the title and earning the backing of Red Bull Racing. He went on to become a GP3 race-winner and reached GP2 before moving to Japan and continuing his career with Nissan there.

Photo: Francois Flamand / Dutch Photo Agency

The best F1 junior of 2013, and Formula Scout’s pick for best junior single-seater driver?was FR3.5 dominator Kevin Magnussen. Son of Corvette sportscar icon Jan, the 21-year-old Dane took five wins (or six if you include the Paul Ricard victory taken away by a technical DSQ) with DAMS, and earned himself promotion to a McLaren race seat for 2014.

He was demoted after one season despite finishing second on his debut, and being kept on contract denied him a 2015 IndyCar seat. His F1 return with Renault was a disappointment, and his three years with Haas since has been a mixed bag.

While Magnussen dominated in FR3.5, the FR2.0 grid had a far closer title battle?between Pierre Gasly and Oliver Rowland. Each won three races at three different circuits, and headed to the Barcelona finale 11 points apart after 12 races. The gap closed in race one, then they got too close in the title decider as they crashed on the opening lap, guaranteeing Gasly the title.

The action stayed mostly on the right side of too close in ADAC Formel Master’s second Slovakia Ring race, which was voted best race of the year. Ralph Boschung was the early leader, with Marvin Dienst jumping from eighth to second within two laps. After a short safety car period, Boschung led a four-way battle including Dienst, Alessio Picariello and Jason Kremer.

With ten minutes to go, Dienst braked lead into the first corner to pass Boschung for the lead, but both were almost immediately passed by Picariello. The top two swapped places multiple times over the next laps, with Boschung and Kremer doing the same over third place. With five minutes to go, Dienst made a move stick on Picariello and pulled away, with the latter coming under late pressure from Kremer and Boschung. Beitske Visser won a thrilling duel with Nicolas Beer for fifth.

2014

Without a doubt, Max Verstappen was the biggest?story, most exciting driver and cause of one of the best title battles in junior single-seaters in 2014. But there wasn’t a follow-up, as the Dutch 17-year-old went to F1 after his one season in F3.

He began his car racing in the Ferrari Driver Academy-organised Florida Winter Series, which included racing on a roval and against two European F3 champions and several journalists (sadly none of Formula Scout’s), and he won four of the 12 races.

FIA European F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing was Verstappen’s next stop, and he was on pole by his fifth race – adding to the three he took in America. The first of many engine issues prevented him from even starting that race, but he was on the top step for the first time later that weekend at Hockenheim. Two crashes in Pau were his fault, but his next race was ended by another engine failure. He finally got his winning run started at Spa, going unbeaten there, at the Norisring and Masters of F3 (signing for Red Bull shortly after) to mark himself out as closest rival to Prema’s five-time winner Esteban Ocon.

This required Ocon to up his game, which is exactly what he did by taking a triple win at Moscow Raceway next time out. The pair then clashed at the Red Bull Ring, and Ocon’s pointless weekend allowed Jagonya Ayam with Carlin’s Tom Blomqvist to close in. Further success by he and Verstappen wasn’t enough to deny Ocon the title, and status as best?driver of the year.

Beating even that?title battle was the one for the British Formula Ford crown between Jayde Kruger and Harrison Scott, which was decided in the national court after a penultimate race clash led to a penalty, an appeal and a counter appeal.

GP2 once again supplied the best?race, with Raffaele Marciello tracking down, duelling with, then beating Stoffel Vandoorne in greasy conditions to win the Spa feature race. Felipe Nasr qualified 11th, but made several bold overtakes to finish fourth.

Part Two of Formula Scout’s Review of the 2010s will cover every season from 2015 to present
Additional reporting by Peter Allen

The post Formula Scout Review of the 2010s Part 1: 2010 – 2014 appeared first on Formula Scout.

PaddockScout top 50 drivers of 2015: 40-31

Peter Allen — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 17:00:25 +0000

The second part of our countdown of the year’s junior single-seater stars includes another handful of F4 drivers, some promising F3 youngsters and a pair of GP2 reverse-grid masters

Click here to check out the first part and drivers 50 to 41

40. Joel Eriksson

Photos: Gruppe C GmbH

New entry

Sweden ? age 17

Second in ADAC Formula 4

The younger brother of GP3 frontrunner Jimmy finished runner-up in ADAC F4 in his second year in single-seaters, after taking seven victories including three double wins.

Sticking with the family?s favoured team Motopark after taking fifth in the final ADAC Formel Masters season, Eriksson was always likely to be among the title contenders and quickly set out his stall.

At both round two at Spielberg and then round three at Spa, he won the two feature races to pull out a gap in the standings, which he held onto with another win at Lausitz.

However, an off-colour weekend at the Nurburgring dropped him back behind Marvin Dienst, and even another double at Oschersleben couldn?t bring him back onto level terms.

Despite the fluctuating form and speed, it was still an impressive campaign from the Swedish youngster, and an expected move into European F3 with Motopark could see him repeat the promise shown by previous ADAC series frontrunners.

39. Mikkel Jensen

Photos: FIA Formula 3 European Championship

Down 13

Denmark ? age 20????????

Ninth in FIA F3 European Championship

Jensen didn?t enjoy the highs of his 2014 ADAC Formel Masters title-winning campaign this year, but he still had a promising first season in Formula 3.

The undoubted peak was at Monza when ? as other rookies lost their heads behind ? he pushed rapid Prema pair Felix Rosenqvist and Jake Dennis hard and came away with a second and a third.

He was then a polesitter and win contender next time out at Spa before being taken out by a wayward Lance Stroll.

Jensen and Mucke?s form was never that strong again, but the Dane still showed his quality thereafter with some consistent showings, scoring points more often than not, even if he couldn?t match the tally of team-mate and Formel Masters rival Maximilian Gunther.

With the Monza showing as proof of what he?s capable of, the Mercedes-backed Jensen ought to be a more frequent frontrunner next year if he can secure a return.

38. Rio Haryanto

Photos: GP2 Media Service

New entry

Indonesia ? age 22???????

Fourth in GP2

After the promise of his early career, Haryanto?s GP2 stint had been a slow-burner but a move to Campos for his fourth year in the category paid off and has put him on the brink of a Formula 1 opening.

He was a surprise rival for Stoffel Vandoorne in the opening round in Bahrain, finishing second in the feature race and then getting his maiden win in the sprint from alongside the Belgian on row four of the grid.

That level of form wasn?t maintained and any title hopes quickly faded but he marked himself out as a reverse-grid demon with more wins at Spielberg and Silverstone, even if those did come from the front row.

He was unlucky not to add another in Sochi, when the race was neutralised just as he was diving down the inside of Stanaway for the lead. He was unfortunate too not to end up third ? he likely would have done had the Abu Dhabi finale not been called off.

On feature races alone he wouldn?t have placed so highly, a poor qualifying record meaning his Bahrain podium was not repeated.

Aways well-supported back home, Haryanto’s improved season has provided the impetus for a bid to get him to F1 for 2016, even if it wasn’t good enough for him to meet the superlicence requirements.

37. Richie Stanaway

Photos: GP2 Media Service

Down 17

New Zealand ? age 24

10th in GP2

Three years ago, Stanaway?s single-seater career seemed to have come to a sad, injury-triggered end but this year he was a two-time race-winner in GP2.

Like in GP3 last year, the chance came courtesy of Status Grand Prix, which drafted him in as a capable, lead driver for its new GP2 operation.

Unfortunately, the old Caterham team?s struggles carried over to its successor, but Stanaway still grabbed his opportunities like in Monaco (always a good leveller) where he beat Raffaele Marciello to win the sprint race.

At Silverstone he qualified third before fading, at Monza he took a pair of fourth-places, and then in Sochi he grabbed another reverse-grid win. His season ended there when Oliver Rowland took over his car, but conversely that only underlined the job Stanaway had done as the Formula Renault 3.5 champion toiled down the order.

Stanaway has an established sportscar career with Aston Martin and interest from LMP1, but this year reinforced his single-seater talents. To win twice and finish in the top 10 is a fine result for a GP2 rookie, but when you factor in the circumstances, it?s outstanding.

36. Kevin Jorg

Photos: Paul Davies Photography

New entry

Switzerland ? age 20???

Third in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, second in NEC

Jorg was very much the quiet man of the six leading Eurocup contenders this year both off track and on it, yet he came pretty close to stealthily nicking the title.

With just one win, his campaign was built on typically-Swiss efficiency but he was tied with Louis Deletraz for the lead with one round to go.

He was still level with Deletraz at the end of the Jerez triple-header, but this time for second. Had it not been for a baffling call for wet tyres in the deciding race, he could have snatched the big prize.

He couldn?t match his team-mate and compatriot in the NEC, where he had just two wins to the dominant Deletraz?s nine.

Although consistency is commendable in a category as competitive as FR2.0, that lack of stand-out days holds him back relative to his peers here. He’s shown no lack of speed in promising Formula 3.5 V8 and GP3 tests, however.

35. Will Palmer

Photos: Jakob Ebrey Photgraphy

New entry

United Kingdom ? age 18

BRDC Formula 4 champion

Palmer becoming BRDC F4 champion didn?t raise many eyebrows but by the end of a dominant campaign he?d won half of the 24 races and claimed two victories at every event in the second half of the season.

The son of series founder Jonathan and younger brother of Jolyon had already established himself as a frontrunner in his rookie 2014 campaign before winning the winter title.

This time he was 35 points down after a nightmare round two at Rockingham but was near-perfect from then on, winning all but two of the remaining 12 ?feature? races.

How good is he? Unlike his predecessors Jake Hughes and George Russell, he had that prior year of experience and his competition didn?t seem as strong.

He went well though in a Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 one-off, then took a surprise win in the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award after an on-track assessment against some esteemed opposition.

He?s therefore certainly one to watch when he steps up to either GP3 or F3 next year.

34. Nick Cassidy

Photos: Japanese Formula 3 Association

Up 14???????????????

New Zealand ? age 21

Japanese Formula 3 champion

Cassidy has been ever-present in these lists since 2012 but only this year did the double Toyota Racing Series champion get a full-season programme.

He certainly made the most of it, winning the Japanese Formula 3 title as the first overseas champion since Marcus Ericsson.

The chance came thanks to his 2014 Macau Grand Prix podium, catching the eye of the Toyota-backed Tom?s team.

Winning it was never an easy task. His team-mate was last year?s runner-up Kenta Yamashita, and the duo?s title scrap began by them coming to blows in the opening race.

It was nip-and-tuck between the pair all year long and they went into the final round tied on points and with five wins each, but after a strong two-round cameo in the European series with Prema, Cassidy returned to nail the deciding weekend with two wins.

After that it would be a surprise if he wasn?t offered the chance to progress with Toyota but a European return can?t be ruled out, undertaking further Prema running just this week.

33. Marvin Dienst

Photos: Gruppe C GmbH

New entry?????

Germany ? age 18???????

ADAC Formula 4 champion

While other ADAC Formel Masters stars Mikkel Jensen and Maximilian Gunther moved on, 2012 Formula BMW Talent Cup champion Dienst was given the chance to contest the inaugural ADAC F4 season by former Mercedes DTM chief Gerhard Ungar and his HTP Junior Team.

Dienst grabbed the opportunity with both hands by winning the title, taking eight wins including three double victories.

After a fine start at Oschersleben, poor weekends at Spielberg and Spa dropped him over 50 points behind Eriksson, but he quickly moved ahead again thanks to dominant runs at the Nurburgring and Sachsenring.

There?s no doubt that the HTP team was strong (it locked out qualifying at all but two events) and that Dienst has a lot of experience at this level, but he?s also shown year-on-year that he?s a top driver, culminating in his 2015 success. And remarkably he?s still only 18.

He might lack the budget to progress in single-seaters, but Dienst is good enough for a future somewhere in racing.

32. Maximilian Gunther

Photos: FIA Formula 3 European Championship

Re-entry (29th in 2013)

Germany ? age 18???????

Eighth in FIA F3 European Championship

Having finished runner-up in ADAC Formel Masters in two consecutive seasons, Gunther stepped up to Formula 3 with Mucke Motorsport and demonstrated his potential on a wider stage by winning a race in his rookie season.

In a competitive field it was far from guaranteed that Gunther would be able to shine but he was quickly on it, and qualified third for six consecutive races across the Hockenheim and Pau events in May.

Some ragged races meant it took until the last of those for Gunther to finally make the podium, but he proved he could race when he won at the Norisring from 12th on the grid in arguably the race of the season.

His form with Mucke quickly dropped off after that and he left the team with two rounds to go before resurfacing with Prema for the final round, confirming his speed by qualifying on the front row immediately. Understandably, he wants to keep the seat for 2016.

31. Santiago Urrutia

Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

New entry

Uruguay ? age 19

Pro Mazda champion

When promising seasons in Formula Abarth and Euroformula Open were followed by a nightmare non-scoring GP3 campaign with Koiranen, and with funding limited, it was not a surprise to see Urrutia head to the US.

What was a surprise – to himself at least – was his instant results despite limited pre-season mileage; he was second on his debut and won at round two.

By round four he was into a points lead he would never lose. Three wins was one fewer than rival Neil Alberico, but his consistency was outstanding, finishing outside the top four just once excluding ovals.

His Laguna Seca crowning carried extra significance, 16 years and one day since his hero Gonzalo Rodriguez lost his life at the same venue in a Champ Car accident.

Now graduating to Indy Lights, Urrutia?s on the way to becoming his nation?s second driver to reach the pinnacle of US racing.

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2015 FIA F3 European Championship season review

Peter Allen — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 17:07:36 +0000

Photos: FIA F3 European Championship

The European F3 series wasn’t always in the spotlight for the right reasons in 2015, and was won by a driver in his fifth season at this level. Yet it was still full of many future stars, as reviewed in-depth by Peter Allen.

Whenever the FIA Formula 3 European Championship caught mainstream racing attention in 2014, it was for the right reasons: Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen defied their lack of experience to mark themselves out as future megastars.

In 2015, the series was often making headlines for the wrong reasons, when a large field of exuberant young drivers overstepped the mark with sometimes frightful results.

But to see that as the main story about European F3 in 2015 would be to be disregard the potential on show. Last season had great quality in the top 10, but the number of quick drivers was arguably double that this year.

Many lacked experience, and a struggle to prove themselves was probably both cause and effect of the high number of incidents, but no series could claim to have more promise in its ranks.

Particularly impressive were the six F3 newcomers that were able to get results regularly and finish the year in the top 10. They were led by Charles Leclerc, who produced some Ocon-esque results out of the box to keep veteran Felix Rosenqvist and the not-quite-so-experienced Antonio Giovinazzi quiet and led the standings into the second half of the year.

That Rosenqvist won out in the end in his fifth year in the series was perhaps not the most exciting outcome, but no less than he deserved and a lesson in perseverance. Indeed, he had to work hard for it and only took charge late on leading a purple patch for the Prema team.

Adding the investment of Lance Stroll’s billionaire father to the leading team in a category open to development was always going to be a potent mixture, and it showed in the closing stages of the campaign.

Indeed, if there’s a pessimistic note to end on for the future, it’s the fear of F3 becoming an arms race, with two other teams believed to be linked to investment by mega-rich parents for next season.

But for now it remains a popular destination for some of the best young drivers around – whatever headlines and tweets might say to the contrary.

We do like to look further down the order in these season reviews, and to write in-depth about each of the top 20 drivers on this occasion was certainly justified because they all have talent.

1. Felix Rosenqvist

Sweden, Prema Powerteam, age 24

508 points, 13 wins, 24 podiums, 17 pole positions, 13 fastest laps

Rosenqvist?s win in the season finale came from his 32nd start at Hockenheim in an F3 car, but his title win was convincing.

For the second straight year he unexpectedly remained in the category but this time – recruited by Prema Powerteam to be its fifth straight champion – there was nowhere to hide.

For much of the year it wasn?t easy. After winning the first race at Silverstone, a qualifying exclusion left him playing catch up and after a rough events at Spa and the Norisring he was nearly 70 points adrift.

From there he was relentless though, never off the podium and winner of seven of the next 12 races to take the title with a round to spare.

It?s easy to knock Rosenqvist but he?s always been a frontrunner in his five years at European level and he only kept coming back because the bigger opportunity he deserved never came.

With an increasing number of sponsors appearing on his car towards the end of the year and the well-funded Prema now expanding into GP2, he might just avoid another return in 2016. Season rating: 9/10

2. Antonio Giovinazzi

Italy, Carlin, age 21

412.5 points, 6 wins, 20 podiums, 4 pole positions, 4 fastest laps

Like Rosenqvist, Giovinazzi had deserved to graduate from F3 already and so this was a ?must-win? season for him too, but losing out should not be regarded as a failure.

Carlin had been the team to beat over the latter part of 2014 but that form was never really carried over. He therefore did a fantastic job to make the podium in all of the first nine races, but he then never visited the rostrum in the next six after getting too involved in the Monza and Spa scraps.

Impressively matching Rosenqvist entirely over the Zandvoort and Spielberg rounds gave him a 20.5-point lead ahead of the last three rounds, and he was rewarded with a very fortunate but deserved Audi DTM debut at Moscow.

He suffered a terrible return at Portimao a week later though, to the point that he was now relying on a Rosenqvist slip up that never came.

Fundamentally, his rival had more experience and a faster car, so second is really the best Giovinazzi could have done. He deserves a place in GP2 or the DTM next year, but is relying on the support of the Gelael family or the Volkswagen group. 9/10

3. Jake Dennis

United Kingdom, Prema Powerteam, age 21

377 points, 6 wins, 16 podiums, 6 pole positions, 5 fastest laps

When Dennis made the switch from Carlin to Prema early in the off-season there were definite title ambitions, but those took a hit when Giovinazzi and Rosenqvist returned.

He was going to need his more experienced rivals to be inconsistent, but perhaps understandably it was the Briton who struggled on that front.

After a poor start, double wins at Pau (it should have been three but damage handed the GP win to Giovinazzi) and Spa briefly put him second ahead of both of his expected rivals, only for him to then fail to score completely in an incident-filled Norisring nightmare.

Further wins at Spielberg and Portimao demonstrated he could be the class of the field on his day, either from pole or from alongside Rosenqvist on the front row, but those days didn?t come often enough. In salvaging third, there?s little to be ashamed about though.

Dennis certainly has some refinement to do still, but Racing Steps Foundation support should give him that chance. GP3 seems to be next step, and he’ll undoubtedly be at the sharp end there too. 8/10

4. Charles Leclerc

Monaco, Van Amersfoort Racing, age 18

363.5 points, 4 wins, 13 podiums, 3 pole positions, 6 fastest laps

Leclerc matched Ocon?s efforts from 2014 by taking two wins and five podiums from the first six rounds. Both were 17, but Leclerc wasn?t driving for Prema and only had one year?s Formula Renault 2.0 experience rather than two.

Another win at Spa and a stronger weekend than his rivals moved him into the championship lead, which he strengthened to 42.5 points with a repeat performance at the Norisring.

He didn?t finish on the podium again.

VAR, like most, couldn?t keep up with Prema in the later part of the season but Leclerc seemed to lose some individual sparkle too.

That?s forgivable for a teenage rookie though, particularly with the early-season highs becoming impossible to match. And no young racer should have to say goodbye to a life-long friend and mentor mid-season.

Leclerc might not have been champion but he was F3?s standout talent in 2015.

Mid-season a step up to GP2 seemed inevitable, but now GP3 is the obvious and sensible next move. A second season in F3 doesn?t make sense. 9/10

5. Lance Stroll

Canada, Prema Powerteam, age 17

231 points, 1 win, 6 podiums

While the top four were really in their own class, Stroll performed quite a miraculous turnaround to end up as best of the rest.

Arriving in F3 with Italian F4 and Toyota Racing Series titles freshly under his belt, he had a perfectly reasonable beginning to the season.

But then came Monza and a frightening crash after giving Giovinazzi the squeeze, and Spa where he contrived to take himself, Rosenqvist and Jensen out as they fought for the lead.

He was rightly given a race ban but it wasn?t long afterwards when improvements became clear to see.

A breakthrough podium (after five previous P4s) came at Spielberg and he capitalised on Prema?s Portimao pre-eminence to add another two, something he did again at the Nurburgring. The maiden victory at Hockenheim was handed to him on a plate by Rosenqvist, but it wasn?t undeserved.

We?ve said before that Stroll?s combination of funding and potential means getting to F1 will just be a matter of time, and an imminent deal with Williams brings him a step closer. Staying in F3 with Prema in 2016, he ought to be champion. 8/10

6. George Russell

United Kingdom, Carlin, age 17

203 points, 1 win, 3 podiums

Russell and Leclerc had begun the season by colliding even before the first racing lap, but they ended the Silverstone weekend as winners and looking like title contenders.

But the Briton then suffered a prolonged qualifying struggle and didn?t start a race inside the top eight again until round six.

There was then evidence of a slight step forward but he was still starting too far back to make the podium regularly. And when he was the only driver close to Rosenqvist at the Nurburgring, he lost three front row slots to the FIA?s draconian engine-change penalties.

Disappointing raw pace is not the take-home message from Russell?s season, though. For a 17-year-old with a single year?s car racing experience who started most races in the mid-pack of a championship full of needless contact, his ability to stay out of trouble was incredible.

It was not until race 33 of 33 that he failed to finish, when a backmarker took him off. It was only his fifth non-score – matching the top two – despite frequently starting in the teens.

Look beyond his one obvious weak-spot this year and it?s clear Russell is a star. A possible switch to Hitech for 2016 would be a gamble, but it might just give him the complete package. 8/10

7. Alex Albon

Thailand, Signature, age 19

187 points, 5 podiums, 2 pole positions, 1 fastest lap

While Leclerc and Russell made the headlines, Albon also had an impressive debut at Silverstone. And while he had two years on his fellow rookies (both on Earth and in a racing car), he was the lead driver for what was essentially a new team in F3, even if Signature had won titles in the past.

He seemed to spend much of the season glued to Russell but one difference between the pair was qualifying, where Albon provided some giant-killing laps.

At the Norisring he beat form-man Leclerc to two poles and got one at Portimao against the otherwise unbeatable Prema (then lost it for not being underfueled).

It?s a shame Rosenqvist wasn?t as charitable to him in the finale at he was to Stroll, because Albon deserved a win just as much and pushed the champion hard early in the race.

His three years in Formula Renault 2.0 were underwhelming but Albon demonstrated his class this year.

He?s shown outstanding pace on a couple of 3.5 try-outs too and would fly if he got a proper chance. Annoyingly, the bigger picture between Lotus, Gravity and Renault means he could face a long wait over his 2016 fate just as he?d built some momentum. 8/10

8. Maximilian Gunther

German, Mucke Motorsport, age 18

152 points, 1 win, 2 podiums (10/11 rounds)

The twice runner-up in ADAC Formel Masters got a deserved chance to step up to F3 with Mucke and quickly defied the size of the jump to qualify third on the grid for all three races at the Hockenheim (which he knew well) and then again at Pau (which he didn?t know at all).

That it took until the last of those six races to make the podium was down to quite a bit of raggedness, but he got it together to take second in the GP.

Not long later came his Norisring victory, not from the front row of race one but from 12th in race two, capitalising on errors from those ahead.

But after spending most of the subsequent races mired in the midfield, he split with his team of three-and-a-half years.

There was a hint he?d be back for the finale though, with a convenient vacancy at Prema. He promptly joined Rosenqivst on the front row for his first race for the team.

A poor start kept him off the podium but he demonstrated he could be an ideal 2016 team-mate for Stroll: at least as fast but maybe not refined enough (yet) to snatch the title. 8/10

9. Mikkel Jensen

Denmark, Mucke Motorsport, age 20

117.5 points, 2 podiums, 1 pole position

Having unexpectedly but convincingly beaten Gunther to the ADAC title, Jensen transferred over to Mucke for his graduation to F3.

While Gunther appeared to be the quicker of the pair and obviously scored more points, Jensen was competitive throughout the season and scored at every round.

His best weekend was undoubtedly Monza, where from the third row of the grid he gave Rosenqvist and Dennis a race in the opening two encounters to finish second and then third as other youngsters lost their heads behind.

He did end the weekend in the gravel after getting too close to bad-boy Stroll but showed further potential at Spa to put it on pole in tricky conditions in second qualifying. He was innocently taken out of race two by Stroll?s sideswipe, and led again in race three before spinning off while side-by-side with Dennis.

The remainder of his season was spent mostly further back in the top 10 but Mucke was another team that struggled to keep up and Jensen did well to remain on-pace. Like Gunther, Jensen should go well next season wherever he ends up. 8/10

10. Markus Pommer

Germany, Motopark, age 24

116.5 points, 1 win, 2 podiums, 1 fastest lap

He might have started racing F3 cars earlier than even Rosenqvist did (in 2009) but Pommer?s run to the German title last year meant he warranted the chance to step up to the European series together with the returning Motopark team.

Generally he did well, ensuring the outfit was on the pace from the off and gradually building form until a fine Zandvoort weekend that began with a podium and ended with a win ahead of Giovinazzi and Rosenqivst.

Such form wasn?t kept up, but frequent top-six finishes ensured he maintained a top-10 place in the standings until the end of the season.

While his performance level was good for a driver outside the established top teams, it was disappointing for his relative maturity and experience in a racing car that he was involved in so much contact.

He even earned a black flag at Spa ? when stewards? patience was strained ? for spinning Rosenqvist around just after being handed a drive-through for squeezing him under breaking.

It remains to be seen what Pommer does next, but it?s probably time he moved on from this level. 7/10

11. Santino Ferrucci

United States, Mucke Motorsport, age 17

91 points, 1 podium, 1 fastest lap

Having had to wait until he turned 16 in mid-2014 before he could make his debut, Ferrucci then showed flashes of real promise with Eurointernational and Fortec over the following months, so a move to Mucke for this year promised much.

Disappointingly, the start of his season was very low key, trailing rookie team-mates Gunther and Jensen. There were then strong drives at Monza and Spa though, yielding a pair of fourths and a maiden podium with second in the chaotic race two in Belgium.

It would be his only podium of the season, but his fade matched the trend of Mucke’s season. He did capitalise on improved form at the Nurburgring to take a trio of sevenths, though.

That showed that Ferrucci was making progress in getting a solid weekend together, but at Hockenheim there was a repeat of the sort of incidents that peppered his season and reminded you that he still lacks experience.

Indeed, having jumped out of karts at 14 and not raced in a European F4-level series either, he’s arguably still learning compared to many of his peers despite having past F3 mileage.

There’s clear potential there, next year he needs to just add some refinement. 7/10

12. Callum Ilott

United Kingdom, Carlin, age 17

65.5 points, 1 podium

Ilott had the unenviable task of following Max Verstappen in making the leap up from karts to F3 with the pressure of driving in Red Bull colours from the start. He got nowhere near the level reached by Verstappen but compared well against more ‘normal’ expectations.

He came off the back of a Toyota Racing Series campaign in which he was fast but incident-prone, and there were some more scrapes along the way in F3.

And yet, remarkably, he was classified in every one of the 33 races, an feat unmatched by any other driver. That must have taken some luck, but also great maturity and car control.

His pace was good enough for the top 10 at Silverstone and then the top five at Hockenheim and Pau, but he then went missing for much of the summer – though that’s understandable in the context of team-mates struggling similarly in qualifying.

When Russell got back to the podium at Spa, Ilott was one place behind him in fourth, and when Russell was quick but penalised at the Nurburgring, he benefited to start and finish third.

Spectacular results may otherwise have been lacking but Ilott hasn’t done much wrong either, and so it would be silly for Red Bull to drop its support already. He’s got potential and will be in demand for 2016 regardless. 7/10

13. Gustavo Menezes

United States, Carlin, age 21

65 points, 1 fastest lap

Menezes made an off-season switch from Van Amersfoort to Carlin for his second year but it didn’t yield an improvement in results. In fact, he dropped two places compared to 2014.

He didn’t manage to repeat his pair of podiums from last year, and he was also a less frequent top 10 finisher this campaign. But when he was there, he was more often than not in the top seven.

That inconsistent form often fluctuated with Carlin’s – for instance he nearly made the podium at Silverstone after a flying start, only to have a last-lap fuel pressure issue. And yet, it was an otherwise torrid weekend for the team at Portimao when he matched that best finish of fourth.

Qualifying was a clear issue with far fewer top-10 starts than finishes, but that seemed to be a trend for every Carlin driver.

It’s never good to go backwards in a junior series, and Menezes should arguably have been able to use his two years of F3 mileage to his advantage in a series full of rookies. But it was also a field 20-deep with promise, and his results still showed ability even if they weren’t what he wanted.

The savvy Menezes is the sort who could do anything next: he’s already dabbled in sportscars, could return to the US or even try rallycross. 6/10

14. Sergio Sette Camara

Brazil, Motopark, age 17

57.5 points, 2 podiums

The surprise package of the season? He might have only been 14th, but that was a lot more than could ever have been predicted for a driver whose car racing experience was limited to little more than a handful of Brazilian F3 events last year, and lacked the karting pedigree of Ilott.

To make European F3 his first full campaign seemed a step too far but he was quick from the off and on the fringes of the top 10 very early on.

His two podiums came with plenty of luck – the first in chaos at Spa, the second in a race that never was at Spielberg – but were fair reward for impressive progress during the year.

He’d broken into the top 10 in Belgium, was there again at Zandvoort and his third place in Austria came because he qualified there, ahead of his veteran team leader Pommer. He went on to star at the Masters, and kept scoring series points.

Sette Camara would be a tempting proposition for any team next year, but sticking with Motopark looks likely and makes sense. 7/10

15. Brandon Maisano

France, Prema Powerteam, age 22

53 points (8/11 rounds)

Maisano beat Rosenqvist to the best time in the opening practice session of the season at Silverstone, yet ended his campaign at the start of August, splitting with Prema in the middle of the Spielberg event.

The ex-Ferrari protege had been recruited by Prema and the Strolls for Italian F4 last year and was rewarded for his good work by being handed a chance in European F3. With two previous seasons in Italian F3 under his belt and five TRS wins at the start of the year, things were looking good.

After a good start at Silverstone, Hockenheim and Pau were not so strong, but he then went well at Monza and Spa. He was just one point behind Stroll at this stage, with both at the bottom of the top 10.

But while his team-mate then took great strides forward, Maisano went backwards. He failed to score at all at Zandvoort and parted by mutual consent with the team after dropping to the back of the pack in the first Spielberg race.

That was of course swiftly followed by the first of Stroll’s many podiums, and Maisano’s car joined the other Prema entries at the front at subsequent rounds.

Maisano was quickly given a one-race shot in GP3 by Campos Racing, but it’s difficult to see where his career goes from here. A shame, because his record below F3 is pretty impressive. 5/10

16. Nick Cassidy

New Zealand, Prema Powerteam, age 21

43 points, 2 podiums (2/11 rounds)

Cassidy was the probably the obvious man to replace Maisano for Portimao – partly because just about every other European single-seater series was in action that weekend.

But after a handful of chances with other F3 teams in 13-14 culminated a podium at Macau, Cassidy had been given a full-season chance in Japan and was making the most of it.

Cassidy was quickly and unsurprisingly on the pace of the other Prema cars, qualifying on the front row for the first two races.

Various dramas meant he scored just two points that weekend but put things right at the Nurburgring, finishing second to Rosenqvist in the opener and on the podium again in the finale.

He missed the final round due to a clash with the Japanese F3 decider, where he clinched the crown.

Cassidy’s usual funding shortfall means he’d be relying on well-resourced Prema again to return to European F3 next season, but he could well have good offers on the table from both Toyota (for his Japanese success) and BMW (where he’s been on their junior programme this year). Rating n/a

17. Pietro Fittipaldi

Brazil, Fortec Motorsports, age 19

32 points

Stepping into European F3 from a dominant campaign in Formula Renault BARC in the UK was always going to be a different world for Fittipaldi, but he showed more flashes of his clear promise in a challenging campaign.

He was almost single-handedly leading a Fortec team that, for all its success in other categories, has struggled to cement itself in European F3 and he was its only driver to show real competitiveness.

He made the points on his debut at Silverstone and bounced back from a hand injury at Pau to score twice at Monza and again at Spa, where he was a fine fourth in first qualifying.

The second half of the season was largely a nightmare, save for a brilliant pair of sixth places at Portimao, perhaps capitalising on the pre-event test.

There were plenty of incidents, but Fittipaldi has the potential and the backing to go well in the future. He could star next season in the right team. 6/10

18. Arjun Maini

India, Van Amersfoort Racing, age 17

27 points

Maini was making a significant step up from BRDC F4, but having run Russell close to the title there and then had an impressive run in the Toyota Racing Series, it seemed to be the right move.

It was a challenging season, though. A fantastic weekend in Pau, where he finished fourth and fifth in two races, suggested he had got it together, but that was a one-off. Beyond a 10th place in the next race at Monza, he would only score in one further race.

Unlike some other youngsters, the vast majority of his races did at least pass by without incident, but there was just a serious lack of pace during the middle of the year before a small upturn in the final two rounds. Some of this could be put down to the team’s form, even though he struggled to get close to Leclerc.

The Pau performance though, along with those from before F3, suggest he has great potential, he just needs to unlock it in an F3 car on a regular circuit. Perhaps a move to Carlin for 2016 could do just that. 6/10

19. Dorian Boccolacci

France, Signature, age 17

27 points

Boccolacci had to make a bigger step than many in going to F3. French F4 doesn’t have teams, and almost without fail it takes its graduates a year to adjust to the next level, even if that’s just Formula Renault 2.0.

While team-mate Albon (with his three years in FR2.0) ran at the front from the off, Boccolacci didn’t trouble the scorers in the early rounds – not even in Pau, his star circuit in F4.

Things did suddenly come together at Spa, where a strong second qualifying and clean race two delivered a fifth place – his best finish of the season. There was more of the same at the Norisring, starting sixth and scoring in all three races.

He would only score one further point though, on one of Signature’s strongest weekends at Portimao.

Boccolacci did a perfectly decent job, but just needs more time to be a success in F3. Even 12 months ago, conventional wisdom said it was too early for him to be there.

Politics probably played its part, and with uncertainty over the Gravity development scheme going forward, it’s now a worry as to whether he’ll get further seasons. He’d be perfect for Renault… if only he hadn’t skipped its own series. 6/10

20. Alessio Lorandi

Italy, Van Amersfoort Racing, age 17

26 points

Ilott might have been Verstappen’s successor in terms of Red Bull backing, but it was his 2014 karting rival Lorandi that made the step to F3 with Van Amersfoort. In fact his first contact came via the Dutch driver.

Fortunately, expectations were played down. After struggling in the opening rounds he joined Maini in flying around Pau, scoring twice from three top-10 starts.

Where he then bettered his team-mate was in keeping up some form into the summer, scoring in all three races at Spa and in two at the Norisring. The points came from poor grid slots, showing some great racing skill.

Then came a drop off in pace for VAR and the pressure to maintain form seemed to tell on Lorandi, who was involved in an increasingly silly number of incidents and never returned to the points (although he was close across the final weekend).

A frustrating end to the season, but the middle of it was very promising and he can build on that next year whether he returns with VAR or with another team. 6/10

The rest

Raoul Hyman was good enough to be grouped with the drivers above but fell just outside of the top 20. He acquitted himself well after a late deal to step up from BRDC F4 and had an impressive weekend inside the top dozen at Monza. Maintaining that form was difficult, especially once he was left in a one-man West-Tec team by Fabian Schiller departing with three rounds to go having failed to get results from some decent pace.

Schiller was one of five other drivers to score points, all doing so with a solitary ninth place finish. The first to achieve it was Sam MacLeod in Pau but the multiple race-winner in the British and German series in 2014 struggled with Motopark and left before the finale.

His team-mate Nabil Jeffri didn?t fare any better. He did qualify sixth at Zandvoort and although he carried over a grid penalty from a Norisring crash, he picked up his points there.

Also scoring at Zandvoort was Ryan Tveter. Stepping up to this level with limited experience was always going to be difficult, even in a Carlin car. He was surprisingly quick at Silverstone but only repeated that sort of form in the Dutch dunes.

Michele Beretta should have had a better second season in F3 after switching to Mucke but it took him until the final race ? his 65th start ? to score.

Of those who failed to score, Tatiana Calderon was the major surprise. Last year she scored points at each of the last seven events, so it?s a mark of the depth of quick drivers in F3 in 2015 that a move to Carlin and a more stable pre-season yielded nothing.

The size of Fittipaldi?s task at Fortec is emphasised by the fact that none of his team-mates scored. That included the top two from the last British F3 season, Hong Wei Cao and Matt Rao. Rao saw out the season but was too incident-prone, Cao was reliable but only lasted five rounds.

His place was taken by Macau?s Wing Chung Chang, who could make progress if he does a full season in something better suited to his experience level. Li Zhi Cong drove Fortec?s fourth car either side of four events missed due to family/business reasons.

Completing the Chinese contingent was Kang Ling at Mucke, whose pace was decent given his past record but failed to finish too often and left with three rounds to go. His car was driven by the returning Felix Serralles at the Nurburgring.

Hong Kong?s Matt Solomon had a steep learning curve jumping up from Formula Masters China in a Double R team that lacked a qualified leader. Team-mate Nicolas Pohler had F3 experience but not speed and missed two rounds to injury, with MSA Formula frontrunner Matheus Leist filling in at Spielberg.

Julio Moreno performed decently for a driver with an uninspiring FR2.0 record in a one-car team, but T-Sport deserved more after its Macau 2014 podium.

The last regular was Motopark?s Mahaveer Raghunathan, who never looked comfortable at this level despite promising Italian F4 results and stepped back before the final round. Tanart Sathenthirakul took over and brought the car up the order as expected for a driver with two Euroformula Open seasons under his belt.

Nicolas Beer raced the likes of Jensen and Ilott at Silverstone and would have gone well had Marvin Kirchhofer turned up as his Eurointernational team-mate from Hockenheim as expected. He didn?t and so the Dane departed after a tough second round.

The team gave a street-circuit debut to Gustav Malja in Pau and then drafted in Facu Regalia and Artur Janosz for Monza but Regalia gave up before even racing and the team?s season ended there.

Alexander Sims returned with the new Hitech team at Portimao and was a Prema challenger at Hockenheim but ineligible to score.

The Artline team arrived with its Arttech chassis for the Nurburgring, with Latvian veteran Harald Schlegelmilch joined by new ADAC F4 champion Marvin Dienst for the finale.

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Maximilian Gunther gets Prema seat for Hockenheim F3 finale

Peter Allen — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 15:39:40 +0000

Photo: FIA F3 European Championship

FIA Formula 3 European Championship race winner Maximilian Gunther will race for Prema Powerteam in this weekend?s season finale at Hockenheim.

Gunther contested most of this season for Mucke Motorsport, winning at the Norisring, before leaving prior to the last round at the Nurburgring after nearly four years with the squad.

He held onto eighth in the standings despite his absence from the penultimate event.

18-year-old German driver Gunther takes over Prema?s four car, vacated by Brandon Maisano when the Frenchman split with the team during the Spielberg round in August.

Nick Cassidy occupied the seat at Portimao and the Nurburgring, scoring two podiums at the latter, but was always due to miss the Hockenheim races due to the clashing decider in Japanese F3, where he jointly leads the standings.

“Gunther has been one of the most surprising rookies of the 2015 season,” said team boss Rene Rosin.

“He is a bold driver and we saw him win and fight inside the top 10.

“He will be an added advantage for Prema, giving the team the chance to test a really promising driver.”

Gunther?s fellow German Marvin Dienst is the other addition to the field for the final round, making his F3 debut after securing the inaugural ADAC Formula 4 title two weeks ago.

Dienst will drive for the Artline Engineering squad in the second of its Artech chassis, which made its first appearance at the Nurburgring in the hands of Harald Schlegelmilch.

Gunther?s old team Mucke seems set to be down to just three cars from the five it ran earlier in the year. Felix Serralles took over the former Kang Ling car at the Nurburgring but his planned Macau Grand Prix entry has failed to materialise.

The HitechGP squad will be back for its second appearance of the season with Alexander Sims after making its bow at Portimao.

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Dienst, Hyman, Jorg and Olsen vie for Porsche junior status

Peter Allen — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 07:56:05 +0000

Photo: Porsche AG

Four stars of junior single-seater racing made the final phase of the selection process to become a Porsche junior driver in 2016.

Newly-crowned ADAC Formula 4 champion Marvin Dienst, European Formula 3 racer Raoul Hyman and Formula Renault 2.0 frontrunners Kevin Jorg and Dennis Olsen were chosen from more than 100 applicants for the initiative.

Eight drivers underwent initial tests and interviews away from the circuit, before the final quartet proceeded to an on-track shootout at Lausitz on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The chosen driver will participate in the German Porsche Carrera Cup next year as a Porsche junior driver.

Other drivers to have been selected for the same scheme in recent years include ex-F3 racer Sven Muller, a four-time winner in the Supercup this season, and former GP3 driver Michael Christensen, who is now a fully-fledged factory athlete in the World Endurance Championship.

“We were impressed with all of them,” Porsche Motorsport junior programme manager Andrea Hagenbach.

“Selecting our new junior won?t be easy. In addition to sheer speed on the track we also take into account their personalities, how they work within a team and their communication skills.

“We will meticulously evaluate all the data over the next few weeks and we?ll then make our decision.”

A second Porsche junior will be chosen from another shootout, made up of drivers already competing in national Porsche one-make cups, to take part in the Supercup next season.

Among the drivers taking part in that process are ex-Italian F3 champion and GP3 racer Riccardo Agostini, who currently leads the Italian series and will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Matteo Cairoli as well as 2013 victor Earl Bamber, who won the Supercup a year later and then the Le Mans 24 Hours outright in June this year.

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Beckmann wins on countback after horror crash with Norris

Valentin Khorounzhiy — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 16:22:14 +0000

Photo: ADAC F4

David Beckmann was declared the winner of an incident-filled second ADAC F4 race at Hockenheim, which was red-flagged due to a scary crash between Beckmann and teammate Lando Norris.

The duo battled for the lead for much of the race after champion Marvin Dienst missed his braking point at the hairpin and gave up the top spot.

The race featured three safety car periods, triggered by a mechanical failure for Janneau Esmeijer, retirements for Jonathan Cecotto and Cedric Piro and a hairpin crash between Mike David Ortmann and Kim-Luis Schramm respectively.

On the final restart, Norris was all over Beckmann for the lead and ended up going over his teammate’s rear wing on approach to the Mercedes corner.

He was briefly airborne and slowed in the gravel, where he rolled. The red flag came out immediately and, while Beckmann limped to the pits, Norris needed to be extricated from his Mucke machine and was carried into the medical car on a stretcher.

With the race results rolled back to lap 13, Beckmann was declared provisional winner, ahead of Norris and Joey Mawson.

Dienst recovered to fourth, with Mick Schumacher in fifth and Jason Kremer passing Tim Zimmermann for sixth.

Joel Eriksson took eighth, with Harrison Newey and Kami Laliberte making up the top ten.

If the results stands, it will be recorded as Beckmann’s first ADAC F4 win and he will have become the series’ rookie champion.

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Dienst wraps up ADAC F4 title in Hockenheim thriller

Gruz David — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 10:55:33 +0000

Photo: ADAC F4

Marvin Dienst?became the 2015 ADAC F4 champion by winning the first race of the weekend at Hockenheim.

The German inherited the lead following a drive-through for his main rival Joel Eriksson for aggressive defensive driving, which put the Swede out of contention.

Although Dienst had a great getaway off the line, Eriksson stole the show at the start, flying past the slowly starting Janneau Esmeijer and forcing his was through Lando Norris to grab second.

Esmeijer’s race turned from bad to worse as he was sent into a spin at the hairpin, triggering several drivers to avoid his car, including Marilyn Niederhauser, who collected the Lechner duo of Kevin Kratz and Max Hofer with her manoeuvre, triggering the safety car.

Although Dienst had a good restart, Eriksson soon claimed the lead while further incidents saw Australian F4 regular Luis Leeds and Benjamin Mazatis tangle.

Dienst refused to settle for second though, as he had battled Eriksson for several consecutive laps, drawing alongside the Swede on one occasion only to run wide at the hairpin.

He was soon demoted to third by David Beckmann with Norris and Mick Schumacher also catching up with the duo.

Following a couple of laps, a counter-attack from the series leader saw him reclaim second and he was on Eriksson once more, only to be slightly forced off to the grass by the Motopark driver.

Eriksson’s defensive driving resulted in a drive-through penalty which dropped him out of the point-scoring positions.

From that point on, Dienst’s lead was unchallenged as he quickly built a safe gap to see the chequered flag first for the eighth time this year.

The podium was completed by Mucke duo Beckmann and Norris, the duo the charging Tim Zimmermann at bay.

Mike David Ortmann grabbed fifth ahead of Toni Wolf, who scored his best result of the season in sixth, and Harrison Newey, who ended up as the best VAR driver after pitstops for both Joseph Mawson and Schumacher, the latter first suffering a puncture then later retiring.

The top ten was completed by Michael Waldherr, Marek Bockmann and Mawson, who charged through the field after a front wing change.

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Marvin Dienst to lead two all-HTP front rows at ADAC F4 decider

Peter Allen — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:35:31 +0000

Photo: ADAC

ADAC Formula 4 leader Marvin Dienst set the quickest time in qualifying for the deciding round of the season at Hockenheim, with team-mate?Janneau Esmeijer lining up alongside him in the first two races.

It was MSA Formula leader Lando Norris who set the pace for much of the first group’s qualifying session, until Dienst outpaced him by 0.129 seconds with his final lap.

Esmeijer, who had rotated HTP Junior Team pole position lockouts with Dienst at the past four rounds, then went quickest of the drivers in the second group – beating Dienst’s rivals Joel Eriksson and Joey Mawson – but was three tenths slower than his team-mate’s benchmark.

Both Dienst and Esmeijer set second-best times within a tenth of their quickest, locking out the front row for both races one and two.

Dienst takes a 30-point advantage into the weekend over Eriksson with Mawson a further 24 behind.

Behind the HTP pair, Norris and Eriksson will share row two, while David Beckmann – prioritising ADAC over the Italian series thsi weekend – will head Mawson on row three.

Mike Ortmann beat Mick Schumacher to fourth in Group A, putting him seventh on the grid with Schumacher ninth behind Van Amersfoort team-mate?Harri Newey, who beat Jason Kremer to fourth in Group B.

The top 10 order will be entirely unchanged on the grid for race two.

The post Marvin Dienst to lead two all-HTP front rows at ADAC F4 decider appeared first on Formula Scout.

Weekend Review: A special triumph for Urrutia at Laguna Seca

Peter Allen — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 08:56:41 +0000

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Success at Laguna Seca last weekend was extra special for Santiago Urrutia.

The Uruguayan crowned a fine first season in the United States with the Pro Mazda title, coming after a tough campaign in GP3 last year.

But more prominent on his mind was the historical significance of his achievement, for him and his country.

The day before Urrutia wrapped up the title with a second-place finish in the penultimate race of the season marked 16 years since Gonzalo Rodriguez lost his life in a Champ Car accident at Laguna Seca.

While his passing came just before I started to follow other areas of racing, it only takes a quick look at Rodriguez’s record – or to watch the new film about his life, Gonchi – to see how good he was and why he was such a hero to those in Uruguay, a country with little previous heritage in the sport.

That weekend at Laguna Seca was to be his second start in Champ Car, for none other than Roger Penske. At the time, he was second in the Formula 3000 standings behind Nick Heidfeld, and had finished third a year earlier, with only Heidfeld and Juan Pablo Montoya ahead. He’d taken convincing wins at the Nurburgring, Spa and Monaco.

From the amount of support he has from his homeland (emotionally, if not financially), it’s clear that Urrutia is seen as the closest Uruguay had to a successor to Rodriguez, in terms of his potential to represent the country at the highest level. He does benefit from the same state-owned oil company backing that Rodriguez had, too.

Urrutia paid his first visit to the Californian circuit last weekend with Rodriguez firmly in his mind, racing with a tribute helmet and determined to win the title in his honour. When he did just that, the emotion was clear to see, picking up a Uruguayan flag from a marshal for his drive back to the pits.

?It is special to win the championship at this track. I?m sure ‘Gonza’ was here today. He is a hero in Uruguay; he’s my hero, too,? he said.

?I am grateful for everything he did for the sport in Uruguay. We are only three million people and he worked hard to get to IndyCar. I am giving the helmet to his foundation in Uruguay and I hope to one day be the second driver from Uruguay to race in IndyCar.?

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

For Urrutia, his title represented unexpected glory in his first season in the USA, when he’s returned to winning ways after a very challenging GP3 campaign in 2014.

Urrutia’s reputation grew, both to his compatriots and to us at PaddockScout, with his performances in Formula Abarth in Italy in 2012.

With just a few races in the previous season under his belt, he won on three occasions to finish fourth in the standings behind the more experienced trio of champion Nicolas Costa, current GP3 leader Luca Ghiotto and Formula Renault 3.5 racer Bruno Bonifacio.

A switch to the Euroformula Open series followed for 2013, with Urrutia again finishing fourth in the standings with two wins.

After that promise, there were high hopes for his move into GP3, particularly as he had joined a strong team in Koiranen. The season was a nightmare though, with Urrutia failing to score a point, not finishing higher than 11th in 18 races.

Getting the budget together to do GP3 in the first place had been tough, so a season void of results wasn’t going to make doing a second campaign particularly easy. It was little surprise then, despite rumours of a switch to another GP3 team, that he headed to America.

Urrutia was a frontrunner from the off in Pro Mazda, with second in his first race and a win in his third. Two more victories followed and he was particularly consistent, only finishing outside of the top four on three occasions.

Thanks to Mazda’s Road to Indy scheme, Urrutia is poised for Indy Lights next season, and the possibility of emulating his hero Rodriguez by reaching the top level is well within reach.

Jamin dominates in USF2000

Urrutia was not the only former driver from the European single-seater scene celebrating at Laguna Seca, as Frenchman Nico Jamin sealed the USF2000 title with his fifth and sixth straight wins.

Jamin headed Stateside last year after seasons in French F4 and Formula Renault 2.0, and after taking ninth in his rookie USF2000 campaign, he won 10 of the 16 races this year and was off the podium just once.

He joins compatriots Jean-Karl Vernay, Tristan Vautier and Florian Latorre as Road to Indy champions since 2010.

Results Roundup

Formula Renault 3.5 ? Round 7/9 ? Nurburgring, Germany

Oliver Rowland continues to build his points lead over Matthieu Vaxiviere, winning race one from pole position. He was on pole again for race two but finishes 10th in mixed conditions, though that was one place ahead of Vaxiviere, who was fourth in race one. Tio Ellinas leads Gustav Malja in a Strakka 1-2 on Sunday, with Nyck de Vries taking two podiums to go third in the standings.

Race 1: 1 Rowland; 2 de Vries; 3 Jaafar; 4 Vaxiviere; 5 Dillmann; 6 Ellinas
Race 2: 1 Ellinas; 2 Malja; 3 de Vries; 4 Celis; 5 Orudzhev; 6 Stoneman
Standings: Rowland 235; Vaxiviere 185; de Vries 116; Stoneman 106; Jaafar 106; Elinas 96
Next round: Le Mans (26-27 September)

Photo: Gregory Lenormand/DPPI

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 ? Round 5/7 ? Nurburgring, Germany

The title race closes up further, with the top four now split by just 12 points. While Louis Deletraz, Kevin Jorg and Jake Hughes have solid but unspectacular weekends with best finishes of fourth, fifth and fifth, Jack Aitken gets his third win of the year in race one. Ben Barnicoat recovers from Silverstone nightmare to win race two, meaning he’s only 45 points off the lead, with Anthoine Hubert within 29 after?a podium.

Race 1: 1 Aitken; 2 Sasahara; 3 Isaakyan; 4 Barnicoat; 5 Hughes; 6 Deletraz
Race 2: 1 Barnicoat; 2 Kodric; 3 Hubert; 4 Deletraz; 5 Jorg; 6 Aitken
Standings: Deletraz 144; Jorg 139; Aitken 136; Hughes 132; Hubert 115; Barnicoat 99
Next round: Le Mans (26-27 September)

ADAC F4 ? Round 7/8 ? Oschersleben, Germany

Joel Eriksson keeps the heat on Marvin Dienst by winning the two main races, but Dienst still takes a 30-point advantage to the final round by finishing second on both occasions, then fourth in race three. Joey Mawson wins the final race to keep his hopes alive, while there’s podium appearances for Robert Shwartzman, Mick Schumacher, Tim Zimmermann and Marek Bockmann.

Race 1: 1 Eriksson; 2 Dienst; 3 Shwartzman; 4 Schumacher; 5 Waldherr; 6 Zimmermann
Race 2: 1 Eriksson; 2 Dienst; 3 Schumacher; 4 Zimmermann; 5 Beckmann; 6 Ortmann
Race 3: 1 Mawson; 2 Zimmermann; 3 Bockmann; 4 Dienst; 5 Shwartzman; 6 Esmeijer
Standings: Dienst, 310; Eriksson, 280; Mawson, 256; Shwartzman 167; Zimmermann, 134; Esmeijer, 124
Next round: Hockenheim (3-4 October)

BRDC F4 ? Round 7/8 ? Donington Park, United Kingdom

Will Palmer secures the title with his ninth and 10th wins of the season, after finishing second in race one to team-mate Harrison Newey, who scores his maiden car racing win from pole position and ends the weekend by taking second in the standings from Tom Jackson, who struggles.

Race 1: 1 Newey; 2 Palmer; 3 Vaidyanathan; 4 Haggerty; 5 Ismail; 6 Bartholomew
Race 2: 1 Palmer; 2 Bartholomew; 3 Vaidyanathan; 4 Haggerty; 5 Ismail; 6 Jackson
Race 3: 1 Palmer; 2 Fonseca; 3 Newey; 4 Fallas; 5 Haggerty; 6 Ismail
Standings: Palmer 507; Newey 388; Jackson 379; Haggerty 356; Fonseca 344; Albert 307
Next round: Brands Hatch (26-27 September)

Photo: BRDC F4

Indy Lights ? Round 10/10 ? Laguna Seca, United States

Spencer Pigot wins both races at the final round to snatch the title away from Jack Harvey, who can only manage fifth and ninth as his team lacks pace throughout. Kyle Kaiser and Ed Jones make the podium in race one, with Sean Rayhall and double polesitter Max Chilton there in race two.

Race 1: 1 Pigot; 2 Kaiser; 3 Jones; 4 Rayhall; 5 Harvey; 6 Enerson
Race 2: 1 Pigot; 2 Rayhall; 3 Chilton; 4 Jones; 5 Blackstock; 6 Enerson
Standings: Pigot 357; Harvey 330; Jones 324; Enerson 295; Chilton 256; Serralles 237
Season complete

Pro Mazda ? Round 9/9 ? Laguna Seca, United States

Santiago Urrutia takes the title by finishing second in race one, a result he repeats in race two.?Garett Grist is the winner on both occasions. Urrutia’s rival Neil Alberico spins off two laps from the end of race one, ending his title hopes, but recovers with third in race two.

Race 1: 1 Grist; 2 Urrutia; 3 Owen; 4 Gutierrez; 5 Tan; 6 Kellett
Race 2: 1 Grist; 2 Urrutia; 3 Alberico; 4 Owen; 5 Kellett; 6 O’Ward
Standings: Urrutia 354; Alberico 302; Grist 294; Tan 282; Buret 281; O’Ward 250
Season complete

USF2000 ? Round 8/8 ? Laguna Seca, United States

Nico Jamin ends the season with his fifth and sixth consecutive wins, taking the title in style. Anthony Martin finishes second in race one ahead of Jake Eidson and Aaron Telitz, with Telitz heading Eidson and Martin in race two.

Race 1: 1 Jamin; 2 Martin; 3 Eidson; 4 Telitz; 5 Thompson; 6 Soori
Race 2: 1 Jamin; 2 Telitz; 3 Eidson; 4 Martin; 5 Lastochkin; 6 Portante
Standings: Jamin 457; Eidson 385; Telitz 348; Martin 300; Thompson 221; Gabin 194
Season complete

Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Australian F4 ? Round 4/7 ? Sandown, Australia

Jordan Lloyd records the first ever hat-trick in the series, boosting his points lead. Rival Tom Randle is second in the first two races but fourth in the third. Three other drivers make the podium; Jimmy Vernon (twice), Jordan Love and Luis Leeds.

Race 1: 1 Lloyd; 2 Randle; 3 Vernon; 4 Love; 5 Maiolo; 6 Wood
Race 2: 1 Lloyd; 2 Randle; 3 Love; 4 Grech; 5 Hayek; 6 Leeds
Race 3: 1 Lloyd; 2 Leeds; 3 Vernon; 4 Randle; 5 Brown; 6 Hayek
Standings: Lloyd 264; Randle 194; Rowe 114; Leeds 114; Hayek 113; Brown 106
Next round: Surfers Paradise (24-25 October)

Brazilian F3 ? Round 6/8 ? Campo Grande, Brazil

Pedro Piquet continues his winning streak to wrap up the defence of his title. As usual, it involves coming from sixth on the reverse grid to win race two. Carlos Cunha and Christian Hahn finish on the race one podium, with Rodrigo Baptista and Nicolas Dapero there in race two.

Race 1: 1 Piquet; 2 Cunha; 3 Hahn; 4 Fortunato; 5 Iorio; 6 Fraga
Race 2: 1 Piquet; 2 Baptista; 3 Dapero; 4 Cunha; 5 Iorio; 6 Fortunato
Standings: Piquet, 153; Iorio, 87; Cunha, 81; Baptista, 72; Fortunato, 70; Dapero, 54
Next round: Curitiba (17-18 October)

F4 Sudamericana ? Round 5/8 ? Resistencia, Argentina

Ex-Ginetta Junior racer?Pedro Cardoso continues to lead the standings after winning race one, but his advantage over Juan Manuel Casella is reduced by a race two non-finish after contact with Federico?Iribarne, who was second in race one. Rodrigo Pflucker follows up third to beat Casella to the win in race two.

Race 1: 1 Cardoso; 2 Iribarne; 3 Pflucker; 4 Casella; 5 Caland; 6 Guedes
Race 2: 1 Pflucker; 2 Casella; 3 Caland; 4 Tomaselli; 5 Leguizamon; 6 Mauriziano
Standings: Cardoso, 163; Casella, 156; Pflucker, 132; Caland 97; Guedes, 92; Iribarne, 61
Next round: Rio Hondo (4 October)

Formula Ford Denmark ? Round 7/8 ? Padborg Park, Denmark

Mathias Weinreich Smith secures the title in his third season with one round to spare. Second place in race one behind?Daniel Lundgaard was enough to do it, before Smith won race two. Lundgaard won again in race three.

Race 1: 1 Lundgaard; 2 Smith; 3 Larsen; 4 S. Mortensen; 5 Schandorff; 6 Rytter
Race 2: 1 Smith; 2 Lundgaard; 3 Larsen; 4 Schandorff; 5 Rytter; 6 Jensen
Race 3: 1 Lundgaard; 2 Larsen; 3 Schandorff; 4 Christiansen; 5 Hoe; 6 Jensen
Standings: Smith, 403; Larsen, 310; Schandorff, 274; Lundgaard, 185; Rytter, 148; Christiansen, 141
Next round: Jyllandsringen (26-27 September)

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