If you are wondering where the next Formula 1 world champion may be coming from, they very well may be racing right now in the GP2 Series. Billed as “Formula One’s Strongest Feeder Series,” GP2 replaced Formula 3000 in 2005 and has grown in status to become a genuine feeder series to the big show. As of this month a full 12 drivers and maybe more (Hamilton, Rosberg, Hulkenberg, Petrov, Buemi, Kovalainan, Di Grassi, Glock, Nakajima, Koboyashi, Senna and Lopez) could be on the grid in Bahrain that have come from GP2 and the series is growing from strength to strength.
GP2 is a spec formula where everybody races the same chassis and engine so that driver skill is the determining factor in who wins on race weekend. Racing spec Dallara chassis powered by 580 bhp Renault V8 engines, GP2 cars can easily reach F1 backmarker speeds and it is interesting to note that when Michael Schumacher emerged from his retirement he chose to test a GP2 car before stepping up to F1 machinery. In its short five year existence it has already produced a world champion in Lewis Hamilton and more will probably emerge from its ranks so following the GP2 series is a must for any serious Formula 1 fan.
For 2010 the GP2 series will be supporting F1 at ten Grands Prix (Spain, Monaco, Turkey, Europe, British, German, Hungary, Belgium, Italy and Abu Dahbi) which gives it a very high visibility factor in F1 circles. Renault even has a junior team in the championship where the former Dams team is now known as the Renault F1 Junior Team. Testing gets underway at Le Castellet, France on March 23-25, followed by Barcelona from April 7-9.
Getting a handle on who will be racing this year has been a bit tough as it seems all the junior racing series are being hit hard by drivers with diminished budgets but here is a taste of what is happening at the time of writing. The all powerful ART Grand Prix team will be running recent Ferrari Driving Academy signing Jules Bianchi as well as Brit Sam Bird. Bianchi is ranked 58th in the Castrol World Driver Rankings and Bird is ranked 153. Addax is running Giedo Van der Garde from the Netherlands (ranked 93rd) as well as Checo Perez who is unranked. Super Nova Racing will be running Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson who is ranked 135th in the Castrol Rankings in addition to Czech driver Josef Kral (ranked 275th).
The newly formed Renault F1 Junior Team (formerly Dams) will be running their F1 reserve drivers Belgian Jérôme d’Ambrosio (ranked 89th) as well as the Chinese racer Ho-Pin Tung (184th) which will be fascinating to watch as no Chinese driver has ever raced at this level of the sport before. iSport will be fielding GP2 Asia winners Brit Oliver Turvey (116th) and Italian Davide Valsecchi (ranked 65th).
Arden International will be running Frenchman Charles Pic (132) as well as Spaniard Javier Villa (99) while the Italian Rapax Team (which essentially replaces the Piquet GP Team) is betting on some long shots in fielding Bulgarian Vladimir Arabadzhiev (363 but steadily rising) and Italian Daniele Zampieri (301). New team Ocean Racing Technology are entering the series with young British driver Max Chilton (167) and Swiss driver Fabio Leimer (212) while Scuderia Coloni (you F1 veterans should remember that name!) are fielding British driver Will Bratt (202) with the second seat remaining open.
As with all junior series, the driver line-ups may change as the season gets closer and budgets expand or contract and a number of teams have yet to finalize anything. I will update this post as things become clearer in the weeks ahead but make no mistake about it, the GP2 Series involves fast and furious racing as all the drivers know that this is their chance to both impress some Formula 1 bosses, get their name in front of the world’s racing press and make a name for themselves in the hearts of fans and the wallets of sponsors. It truly is spectacular racing.
F1 Prospects will be bringing you news, results and commentary on the GP2 series as the season progresses and if you happen to be at a Grand Prix where the GP2 Series is running we will have a spotters guide for you so you can key in on who is hot and who is not in the continuing quest for GP2 success and Formula 1 glory.
If you are a serious fan of Formula 1 you definitely want to follow what is happening in GP2 as one of these drivers might be in the cockpit of your favourite F1 team.
Here is the full list of entries for 2010:
The full GP2 Series schedule can be found on our 2010 Calendar page.
Related posts:
- F1 Prospects Watchlist: Jules Bianchi – France – 2010 GP2 Series
- F1 Prospects Watchlist: Davide Valsecchi – Italy – 2010 GP2 Series
- The Future Stars of Formula 1 Descend on Spain – Who You Should Watch in GP2 This Year
- Formula Fun: What would it feel like to be a Formula 1 driver for a day?
- A Day at the Races: Supporting the Monaco Grand Prix
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[...] stone to Formula 1 (check out our “What a Formula 1 Fan Needs to Know About the GP2 Series” here). Of the five new drivers that have started in Formula 1 this season, all have raced in GP2 and if [...]