Day two of Stars of Tomorrow 2009 gives you number eight and seven, possibly the next Kimi Raikkonen and the next Mario Andretti
8. VALTTERI BOTTAS
Where is he from?
Valtteri Bottas is yet another great Motorsport talent coming from Finland hoping to follow in the footsteps of Kimi Riakkonen, Mika Hakkinen and countless rally drivers. He is nineteen years old and was born on August 28 1989 in Helsinki.
What Has He Done?
Valtteri started in racing career in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Series where from four races he took four podiums, including three wins however he was not eligible to score championship points due to the fact that he was not a MSA licence holder.
In 2007 he raced in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC two wins gave him third in the championship, on a return to the series in 2008 he dominated it taking twelve wins out of fourteen races. If that was not enough he also raced in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup taking that championship as well after five wins from fourteen starts.
After his Formula Renault success he was offered a place in the Renault Young Driver Development Programme that have helped drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean and Lucas Di Grassi move up the Motorsport ladder, however he turned it down.
What is He Doing Now?
On January 1st he quoted in Autosport Magazine as saying that he was “99 per cent certain” of a drive for the multi championship winning ART Grand Prix in the Formula Three Euroseries, his drive for ART was confirmed just a few days later on January 6th.
His career statistics: 48 race starts, 22 wins, 32 podiums and 22 poles.
My Prediction for the Future
Finland have a strangely great record of proving top level motor racing and rally talent, Valtteri Bottas could be the next one, turning down the Renault Young Driver Development Programme could hold him back in the short term, but long term in could be a good decision.
Renault already have two of their drivers in their Formula One seats in Alonso and Nelson Piquet and with Grosjean and Di Grassi stuck in GP2 with little change of getting a seat, staying away from this will give him a better opportunity to Formula One with a different team rather than joining a long queue for a Renault seat.
For 2009, his ART Grand Prix seat will give him the chance to win once his is acclimatized to Formula Three racing as Jules Bianchi proved during 2008.
7. ALEXANDER ROSSI
Where is he from?
Alexander Rossi is a seventeen year old American, born on September 25 1991 in Auburn, California.
What Has He Done?
In 2006 Alexander started his career at the world famous Skip Barber School of Racing, winning the Skip Barber Western Regional Series after taking eight wins in twelve races and then wining three races on his way to third place in the Skip Barber National Championship.
His performances earned him a place in the Skip Barber Southern Regional Run-Offs where he finished seventh after starting on pole position.
2007 saw him move up to Formula BMW USA another strong season saw him finish third in the championship again after taking three wins, however he failed to finish at his first attempt in the Formula BMW World Final.
He became the Formula BMW Americas Champion after taking ten wins from fifteen starts, before going on the win the Formula BMW World Final at the second attempt.
His career statistics: 71 race starts, 29 wins, 37 podiums and 30 poles.
What is He Doing Now?
He says that it is still too early to tell which series he will be racing in, in 2009 but he has taken the time to deny rumours stating he has agreed to drive for Euro International in European Formula BMW Series
My Prediction for the Future
When Red Bull wanted a young American driver in Formula One they gave us Scott Speed, the difference between Red Bull and BMW is that BMW have found one with great talent and potential.
His prize for winning the Formula BMW World Final is a test in a BMW Formula One car, likely to take place at the end of the 2009 season, but if he is going to keep his momentum going he needs to move to Europe and race in one of the top Formula Thee Championships during 2009
Written by Paul Crossling on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:04:14
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