We are now getting very close to the end, the top two will be announced tomorrow but first it is time for numbers four and three.
4. JULES BIANCHI
Where is he from?
Jules Bianchi is nineteen years old, born August 3 1989 in Nice, France. He is the is the grandson of Mauro Bianchi who is a 3 times World Champion in the GT category, and the nephew of Lucien Bianchi who won the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed in nineteen Grands Prix in Formula One, and scored a podium finish in the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix.
What Has He Done?
He has only had one year as a car driver and his debut came in the 2007 Formula Renault 2.0 France championship where he took the championship after five wins out of thirteen starts.
His second season in cars made his a house-hold name among Junior Motorsport experts. It all started in August when he beat his more experienced ART Grand Prix team leader, Nico Hulkenberg, in a straight fight to win the Masters of Formula Three at Zolder.
This win helped him towards a total of two wins and seven podiums for the season that saw him finish third in the championship.
His career statistics: 41 race starts, eight wins, 19 podiums and eight poles.
What is He Doing Now?
For 2009 Jules is remaining in the Formula Three Euroseries with ART Grand Prix taking over the mantle of team leader now Nico Hulkenberg has moved on, where he aims to follow his team-mate in becoming champion.
My Prediction for the Future
Last year I said Charles Pic would be the next big French star after Romain Grosjean, I was wrong, as you can tell from my follow up of the Stars of Tomorrow from 2008 I still think that Charles has a huge future but Jules will be the new big hope for the nation (despite also qualifying for Italian citizenship).
With Nico Hulkenberg heading to the GP2 series, Jules will be the ART Grand Prix hope for the Formula Three Euroseries title, but following Nico and Lewis Hamilton who have both dominated for ART/ASM he has some very big shoes to fill, 2009 will be a big year for him to see if he can handle the pressure.
3. JAMIE ALGUERSUARI
Where is he from?
Jamie Alguersuari was born on March 23 1990 in Barcelona, Spain, and just eighteen years old has been likened to Renault Formula One driver Fernando Alonso as the next big hope for Spanish Motorsport.
What Has He Done?
Despite his young age, Jamie has a long career history. It all started in 2005 when he raced in Formula Junior 1600 Italy taking third in the championship after two wins.
He improved on this during the winter when he won Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Winter series taking four wins and four poles out of four races. He spilt his time in 2006 with poor results as a result. He was tenth in Formula Renault 2.0 Italy and twelve in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup.
In 2007 he stayed in the same to championships and did slightly better. He was second in Formula Renault 2.0 Italy after taking three wins, while he was fifth in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup.
2008 was his best year, he moved to Britain to race in Formula Three, and walked away with the title, becoming the youngest British Formula Three champion in history, after a long fight with Carlin team mates and fellow Stars of Tomorrow, Brendon Hartley and Oliver Turvey.
Through out the season completed in the two big Formula Three races, he was eighth in the Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder and tenth in the Macau Grand Prix.
After his championship glory he was given another huge honour in December when he was invited to participate in the Race of Champions. He was part of an All-Star team with Moto GP rider Troy Bayliss, replacing the injured Mark Webber.
His Race of Champions adventure did not go according to plan. He was beaten by David Coulthard in his heat of the Nations Cup before losing to NASCAR racer Carl Edwards in the first round of the Champion of Champions event.
His career statistics: 107 race starts, 17 wins, 35 podiums and 17 poles.
What is He Doing Now?
He has yet to confirm plans for 2009, however a reunion with Carlin Motorsport who he won the British Formula Three Championship with in 2008 in World Series by Renault seams all but announced.
My Prediction for the Future
As stated above Jamie is expected to be the next big hope for Spanish Motorsport following Fernando Alonso, turning down the GP2 seat for 2009 could be the best thing he has ever done.
A lot of drivers with great potential since 2005 have seen their careers stall or subside due to spending a year in GP2 in uncompetitive cars; a prime example would be another Spaniard by the name of Andy Soucek. Jamie was offered a seat at Arden International, Trident and Ocean Racing Technology but turned them down.
For a young driver it is important to win and win big every year, Jamie is realistic to know that neither of the three GP2 teams that wanted him would give him a shot at the title, so going to World Series by Renault and staying with the Carlin Motorsport team he is very familiar with gives him chances to win and compete for the title, GP2 can wait until 2010, a good year in World Series by Renault could lead to him getting a drive in a top team.
Written by Paul Crossling on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:00:04
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