Jules Bianchi (22,
France)
Bianchi kicked off his car racing career in style by
dominating the 2007 French Formula Renault 2.0 championship, a performance that
caught the eye of the crack Formula 3 and GP2 squad ART Grand Prix. After
finishing third in the Formula 3 Euroseries in 2008, Bianchi was unstoppable as
he won nine of twenty races the following year, earning himself a seat with ART
in the GP2 series for 2010. He again managed to finish in third position,
behind title challengers Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez, and bagged himself
a place on Ferrari’s Driver Academy at an end-of-season test at Jerez. Though
Bianchi was justifiably tipped as a pre-season favourite for 2011 GP2 honours, the
inconsistency of the first half of his season ultimately left him again in third
position behind the vastly more experienced campaigners of Romain Grosjean and
Luca Filippi. With little left to prove at GP2 level, it seems unlikely that
Bianchi will contest another season of next year; if he cannot secure an F1
race drive (which seems likely now that Kimi Raikkonen has reportedly signed
for Williams), he will continue in his current test/reserve driver role for
Ferrari – with a major shuffle in the driver market on the cards in 2013,
expect Ferrari to slot him in at Sauber after perhaps promoting current Sauber
driver Perez to a race seat in place of the beleaguered Felipe Massa.
Charles Pic (21,
France)
Like his compatriot Bianchi, Pic first made a name for
himself in the Formula Renault category, placing third in the French Formula
Renault 1.6 and Eurocup Formula Renault series in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
Pic then made the step up to Formula Renault 3.5, where he again managed to
finish third place on the second time of asking for the Tech 1 team in 2009.
His GP2 career couldn’t have gotten off to a better start with a win at the
curtain-raiser at Barcelona, but inconsistent form throughout the remainder of
the year meant he finished in tenth place in the standings. This year, two wins and three
second places put him within one point of Bianchi in fourth place, and
he has since been linked with the Virgin Racing team for next year as a
potential replacement for Jerome D’Ambrosio. Failing that, opportunities at
other teams such as Lotus (soon to be re-branded as Caterham) or Force India
may make themselves apparent to the Frenchman in 2013.
Esteban Gutierrez
(20, Mexico)
It was Formula BMW where Gutierrez first marked himself out
as hot property with second place in the USA championship in 2007 and victory
in the European series the following season. Though he disappointed with only
ninth place in the Formula 3 Euroseries in 2009 for ART as teammate to the
title-winning Bianchi, he redeemed himself by becoming the inaugural GP3 Series
champion in 2010 with the French outfit. His success prompted ART to place
Gutierrez alongside Bianchi in the GP2 team this year, where after showing the
occasional flash of brilliance (including victory in the sprint race at
Valencia) he placed thirteenth, making him the second-highest placing rookie
behind Stefano Coletti. He remains with ART for 2012, where he could well be in
title contention. Beyond that, it seems probable that he will eventually graduate
to F1, most likely in 2013, for Sauber, for whom he is already the reserve
driver. He is of course helped in this department by his Telmex backing,
which makes him the logical replacement for Perez if he secures a promotion to
Ferrari. Thus, expect a Bianchi-Gutierrez line-up at the Swiss team in 2013,
with Kobayashi either moving up or down the team pecking order depending on his
performances next year.
Jean-Eric Vergne (21,
France)
Yet another fast Frenchman who seems on course to reach F1,
Vergne began his rise to prominence with a convincing title win in the 2007
French Formula Renault 1.6 series. He followed this up with a brace of second
places in a two-prong attack on both the West European and Eurocup Formula
Renault 2.0 series in 2009, before graduating to the British Formula 3
championship with the ultra-successful Carlin team. With Red Bull backing
behind him, Vergne swept all before him, winning thirteen races en route to
becoming the championship’s first ever French title winner. He remained with
Carlin for a move to this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 series, where he narrowly
lost the title to more experienced teammate Robert Wickens. His Red Bull
links have also seen him participate in the first free practice session for
Toro Rosso at Korea this season, a role that he will reprise at Abu Dhabi and
Brazil. Unfortunately for Vergne, Jaime Alguersauri’s impressive form during the latter half of the season will probably be enough to warrant his
retention by Toro Rosso next year, with Daniel Ricciardo tipped to replace
Sebastien Buemi in the other seat. This means that Vergne could find himself
racing for Hispania as Ricciardo is doing now, at least for the first part of
the season, or alternatively returning to the Formula Renault 3.5 championship
alongside free practice duties for Toro Rosso. Either way, a promotion to the
Faenza-based team is likely in 2013 as either Alguersauri or Ricciardo is
promoted to replace Webber at the senior Red Bull team.
Alexander Rossi (20,
United States)
Could Rossi be the man whose future performances raise
the profile of F1 stateside at a stroke? Thus far, the signs seem good. After
success in the Skip Barber National series, Rossi progressed to the Formula BMW
Americas series, where he took honours in 2008. Rossi went on to take fourth
place finishes in the International Formula Master and GP3 championships over
the course of the next two years, before impressing onlookers this year with
third place behind Wickens and Vergne in the Formula Renault 3.5 series with
the Fortec team. Among those onlookers was Team Lotus, who have signed Rossi
to represent them in the end-of-season Abu Dhabi young drivers test. While
Rossi seems set to either re-contest Formula Renault 3.5 or move to GP2 next
year, by 2013 he could well have put himself in pole position to replace Jarno
Trulli at Lotus should the veteran Italian decide to hang up his helmet. Only
then will we know whether Rossi truly has what it takes to open the eyes of the
hitherto largely dormant US market to the world of F1.
Felipe Nasr (19,
Brazil)
After claiming a podium finish in only his second ever car
race at the Interlagos round of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas series, Nasr
stamped his authority on the European championship in 2009, where he finished
in the top two positions on every occasion bar two on the way to an emphatic
title success. He was subsequently signed by the Raikkonen-Robertson team for
British Formula 3 in 2010, where he embarrassed his more experienced teammates
by winning a race and coming home a creditable fifth place in the championship.
This performance laid the foundation for a peerless 2011 campaign, where the
crown came his way on virtue of finishing on the podium on no fewer than
seventeen of a possible thirty occasions. The Brazilian’s plans for next year
are unclear as of the time of writing, but Formula Renault 3.5 or GP2 have to
be the most likely options. If he can show the same speed and consistency in
either of those championships as he has done this year, there’s no reason why
an F1 seat shouldn’t beckon in 2014 or beyond.
Kevin Magnussen (19,
Denmark)
Seventeen years ago, Kevin’s father Jan Magnussen was tipped
for stardom after breaking the great Ayrton Senna’s record of wins in one
season in British Formula 3. Whilst it is generally acknowledged that the
Dane’s underwhelming performances at the wheel of a Stewart F1 car in 1997-8
were not indicative of his potential, Magnussen Jr. on the other hand looks to
have the talent to succeed where his dad failed. Admittedly, his British Formula 3 campaign
this year hasn’t quite been as remarkable as that of his father back in 1994,
but that fact belies Kevin’s undoubted natural ability. After something of a
shaky start, Magnussen equalled Carlin teammate Nasr’s tally of seven wins this
season with a year’s less experience under his belt, and has since been
confirmed as a Carlin driver in the Formula Renault 3.5 series next year. If all goes well there, it could be that Magnussen Jr. goes on to become Denmark's first F1 race-winner in years to come.
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