Over the winter last year, I wrote a “Stars of Tomorrow” countdown. It featured the top ten drivers that I feel will be making up a Formula One grid in years to come. I gave my self a few rules regarding which drivers could and could not be entered. Basically the only drivers that were exempt were GP2 drivers and regular Formula One testers.
Now the season is over I will revisit the ten drivers and based on their 2008 performances reassess my opinion and predictions for their future.
10. Charles Pic
I admitted that by including Charles I have taking a risk, he was a driver that I was unfamiliar with and only knew from some World Series by Renault tests, but I have not been disappointed.
He took victory at Monaco, a true test of driver ability at any level and was a steady points scorer throughout the season, taking two wins on his way to sixth in the championship
I predicted that he would be one of the next big stars from France, he still has some work to do before that happens but a second year in World Series and he could be a contender for the title and that all important Renault Formula One test drive, that has propelled Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica into the sights of the top Formula One teams.
He had a test for GP2 team iSport on October 29 finishing ninth and eleventh in the days two sessions, he returned on October 30 this time for ART where in finished fourth in both the morning and the afternoon sessions.
Piquet Sports was his destination for a test on November 11, he was twenty-third in the morning and fifth in the afternoon and on November 12 he was at Super Nova where he was eighteenth and fourteenth respectively.
He returned to World Series by Renault on November 28 still driving for the Tech1 team that powered him in 2008, he ended the day in fifth place.
9. Jules Bianchi
I expected a lot from Jules in his first year of Euroseries Formula Three, but he has managed to exceed all of them. He is driving what is effectively the third ART car behind Nico Hulkenberg and James Jakes, and he has regularly beaten Jakes and been Hulkenberg’s closest rival. He took two wins and finished the season tied for second with Championship contender, Eduardo Mortara, taking more points that team mates Jakes and Jon Lancaster combined.
We saw that in the Master of Formula Three at Zolder, when Hulkenberg was beaten off the line by Bianchi and then could do nothing about his French team-mate. His most impressive drive was at Barcelona where he went from twenty-seventh on the grid to finish third.
At the start of the season I predicted that he would have a great year and take over the lead drive for ART in 2009 when Hulkenberg inevitably goes to GP2. After his performances this season I think he has the talent to make the jump to GP2 himself in 2009 but he will be best suited to another year for ART in the Formula Three Euroseries, news that was confirmed in January.
8. Eduardo Mortara
Mortara himself a target for 2008: to win the Formula Three Euroseries Championship. I thought this was well out of his reach, but he has proved me wrong. OK, so he did not win the title but he still finished tied in second and lead the championship for a long time.
I predicted that he would win a few races and attract the attention of some GP2 teams for 2009, if he has the budget.
His GP2 chance came on October 29 where he tested for Trident finishing nineteenth in both sessions, on October 30 he moved to Arden to again finish nineteenth in the morning before improving to seventh in the afternoon.
7. Sam Bird
Every year I have a driver that I spend all winter hyping up and then he lets me down. This year that dubious honour goes to Sam Bird. I predicted that he could do well in the Formula Three Euroseries after a good year in British Formula Three in 2007, and establish himself as the next big British star.
In contrast, he has only stood on the Formula Three Euroseries podium twice and ended the season languishing down in eleventh place in the championship. It could have been even worse, if it was not for a couple of strong drives in the last few events
Despite his disappointing, in my view, 2008 season he still did enough to impress several GP2 teams. He made his GP2 debut on September 25 and was fifth and twelfth fastest driving for DAMS. He returned on September 26 and was forth fastest in the morning.
On December 11 it was announced that Bird would be staying in the Formula Three Euroseries in 2009, moving from Manor Motorsport to the front running Mucke Motorsport, where he hopes to become the champion.
6. Atte Mustonen
Atte is another driver that disappointed me this year, he has been a regular points scorer in British Formula Three the only problem is he has been down at the lower end of the points.
I expected Riakkonen-Robertson Racing to be the main challenger to Carlin this year, but despite that Atte has only taken one win and four other podiums and ended the season sixth in points.
Preseason I felt that GP2 in 2009 would be too much too soon, and I stand by that. Atte’s best hope will be to stay with Riakkonen-Robertson Racing or move to a competitive Euroseries Formula Three team, where he can improve his skills and earn himself so recognition form the GP2 paddock.
In January it was reported that he would move to the Formula Three Euroseries and race with new team Motopark Academy
5. Brendon Hartley
Preseason I said that it will be interesting to see if Brendon has the talent to put in top class performances week in and week out, and he has certainly shown that he does have the talent.
He took five wins and a total of eleven podiums in his first full season in British Formula Three on his way to third in the championship. Towards the end of the season he put in some guest drivers for his Carlin Motorsport team in the Euroseries Formula Three championship, and showed that he has what it takes to mix it with those guys despite not scoring any points.
I was disappointed that despite he Red Bull sponsorship he was not offered a test with the Red Bull backed Arden GP2 team in September, but he needs another season to fully be ready for GP2, more than likely doing a full Euroseries Formula Three season in 2009.
When Mark Webber broke his leg in November, Brendon was called-up as a replacement to the Red Bull Formula One team. He tested at Jerez on 15 December and after completing ninety-five laps he ended up third out of five drivers.
In January it was announced that Brendon would move to the Formula Three Euroseries, staying with Carlin Motorsport.
4. Christian Vietoris
I expected Christian to be fighting Nico Hulkenberg for the Euroseries Formula Three championship this season, but it has not happened.
Christian has still been near the front taking one win on his way to eighth in the championship but in the early rounds of the season he was outperformed by rookie team mate Mika Maki before eventually beating him.
He also took a win in January driving for A1GP Team Germany at Taupo, therefore becoming the youngest person to ever win an A1GP race.
His ranking of eighth place could have improved. In the final event of the season he was excluded after qualifying for being underweight, but took the start under appeal and finished second. Had his appeal been successful he would have gained an extra eight points and move up to sixth place in the final standings, however it was rejected.
3. Josef Kral
I took a gamble including Josef originally, especially as high as number three and thought that I had made a huge mistake when no Formula Three teams in Britain and Europe taking on Josef for 2008, but he has found a drive in International Formula Master and therefore got a foot onto the less traditional ladder.
He had a slow start to the season after missing out on preseason, but towards the end he took a win, and completed the season in sixth place. If he keeps performing as well as his has in the second half of this season he could be a contender for the International Formula Master championship next year, which comes with the promise of a Honda Formula One test drive for the champion.
2. Robert Wickens
I had hoped Robert could be a contender in World Series by Renault this year, but again it was not to be. He made a slow start to the season and alter spent the rest of the season splitting his time between World Series by Renault, where he took one win on his way to twelfth from and Euroseries Formula Three where he raced in fifteen of the twenty races taking a win and fifteenth in the championship.
He has shown some great potential in 2008 and if he has a good run in A1GP and chooses one championship for 2009 he could again be a front runner and at the age of nineteen he still has time to move up the ladder.
Robert has chosen just one championship for 2009, and it will be the first of the new era of the Formula Two Championship. In December he was one of the first drivers to be announced, continuing his Red Bull association, and with most of his rivals being relatively unknowns he has a good opportunity to win the championship and earn the Williams Formula One test drive.
1. Marcus Ericsson
Marcus has had a respectable rookie season in British Formula Three, he may not have won any races, but he has come close on a few occasions and taken five podiums. In a series where the Carlin cars have been far better than anything else he finished and impressive sixth in the championship and was the second non-Carlin driver in his rookie season.
He made his GP2 debut on September 26, driving for iSport, he was twenty-third in the morning, improving to twelfth in the afternoon.
I do not think that Marcus would be ready for a GP2 drive in 2009, his testing times show that even in the best car he will be nothing better than a mid-field runner, at least in the early season and I would far prefer him to have another shot at winning in British Formula Three before he makes the jump, or preferably accepts a ART drive in the Formula Three Euroseries, that he reportedly turned down at the start of 2008.
In December it was announced that Marcus would be heading to Japanese Formula Three in 2009, to drive for the multi-title winning Toyota Team TOMS’s, as he aims to win the championship plus the Macau Grand Prix.
Written by Paul Crossling on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:05:17
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