Ones to Watch 2012

In this post, allow me to introduce you to another group of young drivers who could be making their way to Formula One in the next few years.

Robin Frijns (21, Netherlands)

With ambitions of being the first Dutch driver in F1 since Christijan Albers in 2007, Frijns enjoyed early success in Formula BMW Europe and the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup before graduating to the Formula Renault 3.5 (aka World Series by Renault) championship for this year with the Fortec team. In spite of his relative inexperience, Frijns has made himself a surprise title favourite at the half-way mark of the championship following wins at Aragon and Moscow. Should he hang on to win the title, which would involve holding off stiff opposition from the likes of Sam Bird, Jules Bianchi and others, a third driver role with a midfield F1 team would appear the next logical option with a potential graduation to a race seat in 2014. If he doesn’t, then another season of racing either in World Series or GP2 will probably beckon before an F1 race seat comes his direction.

Antonio Felix da Costa (20, Portugal)

Da Costa is another driver to have made his name in Formula Renault 2.0, and following a solid season in the Formula Three Euroseries secured a full-time GP3 seat for 2011. He may only have come thirteenth in the championship that year with a sole win to his name, but he jumped ship to Carlin for this season and has proved one of the men to beat – da Costa would have likely won the first race of the season if not for a jump start, but made up for this mishap by winning at Silverstone in the damp and then twice in changing conditions at Hungary in spite of a reverse grid second race. It’s this kind of form that has led him to sign with the Red Bull Junior Team this year, and a full assault on Formula Renault 3.5 next year could potentially lead to some seat time with the Toro Rosso F1 team if he keeps up his current form.

Mitch Evans (18, New Zealand)

Perhaps the most promising Antipodean F1 prospect since his mentor Mark Webber, Evans gained recognition in his native New Zealand by taking titles in both Formula Ford and the Toyota Racing Series before moving to Europe. Joining the well-established Arden team, he made an immediate impact in the GP3 Series in 2011, winning the feature race at Barcelona early in the year and finding himself atop the standings after three rounds. Although he was unable to maintain this level of performance for the remainder of the season, Evans began 2012 as title favourite in GP3, and has lived up to such a reputation - with three more wins to his name so far this year, he leads the title chase with just two rounds to go. A graduation to either GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 seems likely for next year, and Webber will no doubt be lobbying numerous F1 teams for some seat time for his protégé this winter and next year.

Carlos Sainz Jr. (17, Spain)

Son of the legendary two-time World Rally champion, Carlos Sainz Jr. not only bears an uncanny likeness to his father in the looks department but on the track as well. He got himself noticed last season by finishing runner-up to Frijns in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, and with the help of his Red Bull backing has embarked on a twin assault of both the British and Euroseries Formula Three championships for this year with the renowned Carlin squad. The Spaniard has established himself as something of a wet-weather ace in the British category, having taken all four of his wins so far in rainy conditions. Although a spate of non-scores in the middle of the season has ruled him out of championship contention, Sainz Jr. has shown enough promise to warrant Red Bull placing him in a higher category for next year, with some outings in Toro Rosso machinery far from out of the question.

Felix Serralles (20, Puerto Rico)

With a real chance of becoming F1’s first representative from Puerto Rico, Serralles first cut his teeth in the US-based Skip Barber National series before moving to Europe to compete in Formula Renault 2.0 last season for the Fortec team. Despite finishing only placing 12^th in the Eurocup championship, the team were sufficiently impressed with Serralles to offer him a seat in British Formula Three for 2012. Against all expectations, with two rounds to go the Puerto Rican is firmly in the title hunt with three wins to his name, and will vie for glory with the more experienced Carlin drivers Jack Harvey and Jazeman Jaafar. Like Frijns, Serralles is not currently affiliated with a F1 team, but his F3 performances cannot have gone unnoticed. In the meantime, GP3, GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 are all viable options for the Fortec driver next year whether or not he wins the British F3 title.

Raffaele Marciello (17, Italy)

Snapped up by Ferrari after just a single season of car racing, Marciello could transpire to become Italy’s next big F1 star. Coming third in the Formula Abarth series at the age of just 15 was what brought him to the attention of Ferrari, who hastily signed the young Italo-Swiss for their Young Driver Academy. After placing third in Italian Formula Three with Prema Powerteam last year, Marciello graduated to the Euroseries, and has taken no fewer than five wins, not to mention an extra two at the non-scoring Pau event, in a mightily impressive maiden campaign. Being so young, Marciello has time on his side, and may benefit from an extra season at F3 level before he makes the inevitable step up to Formula Renault 3.5 or GP2. Should he continue his remarkable rate of development, some testing with Ferrari and an F1 race seat could all loom on the horizon two or three years from now.

CLASS OF 2011

Of the seven young talents I identified in last year’s ‘Ones to Watch’ post, two are now in F1 – Charles Pic and Jean-Eric Vergne. After two years of success in GP2, Jules Bianchi has switched his attention to Formula Renault 3.5, in which he currently lies third behind Frijns and fellow GP2 convert Sam Bird, in conjunction with some Friday running for Force India. Whether this will lead to a race seat with the Silverstone-based team for next year is unclear, although Sauber is another potential destination for the Frenchman. Alexander Rossi is also currently driving in the World Series, although he languishes in the points largely due to the inexperience of his Caterham team. Like Bianchi, the American has done Friday running with the team and has a chance of a promotion to a race drive if Heikki Kovalainen leaves. McLaren junior driver Kevin Magnussen is also running in the same series as Rossi and Bianchi, and has impressed with his speed even if some bad luck has left him out of the title running. The Dane however will need more experience in the category before an F1 seat becomes a possibility. The two remaining drivers – Felipe Nasr and Esteban Gutierrez – are currently running in GP2. The former drives for DAMS and is ninth in the standings, whilst the latter is in his second season in the series with the crack Lotus-backed ART and sits third in the championship behind veterans Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi. Nasr looks set to have to do another year in GP2 before any F1 teams come knocking, but Gutierrez could be in with a shout of a Sauber seat next year if countryman Sergio Perez departs for Ferrari.