The countdown continues

Moving down our list to numbers five and six and we find Paul has selected a German and - wait for it - a Swede!

Mr Crossling has an obvious liking for the Scandinavians, with three Swedes out of six so far, but I really can't fault his judgement so far as this one is a very promising youngster.

Germany, of course, has a long history of great F1 drivers - Taffy von Trips, Manfred Winkelhock and Stefan Bellof spring instantly to the fore - and the trend looks to continue with plenty talent on offer from the land of dodgy cabbage dishes.

Oh, and apologies to Loris Kessel whom I wrongly branded as Swedish yesterday - he is in fact Swiss. I hereby replace him with Torsten Palm.

So, here goes, let's see what Paul has to say today:




6. Mario Engel

Where is he from?
Mario Engel is a twenty-one year old German. He was born on August 27 1985 in Munich but now lives in Monte Carlo.

What Has He Done?
Mario has made steady progress up the career ladder so far. His debut came in Formula BMW Junior in 2001 where he won three of twenty starts to secure third in the championship. In 2002 he was eighth in the Formula BMW ADAC series with one win from eighteen races.

2003 was a year to forget for Mario and it seriously dented his chances of making it to the top. He made eight starts in the Formula Three Euroseries and failed to score a single point. 2004 was just as bad. He attempted a comeback in the German Formula Three championship. He only took part in two races and was eventually classified as fifteenth in the championship.

He made a return to his previous form in 2005 as part of the Italian Formula 3000 championship. He finished seventh in the championship after starting five races.

2006 was his best year. He competed in British Formula Three taking one win from twenty-two races putting him fifth in the championship. He also finished ninth in the Formula Three Macau Grand Prix and fifteenth in the Masters of Formula Three.

What is He Doing Now?
Mario is competing in the British Formula Three Championship and is currently in a battle with Sam Bird over second place in the championship. He is situated third in the championship with 99 points, just six behind Bird and a huge 57 behind championship leader Marco Asmer. He has taken two wins from ten starts this season.

In his junior career he has made 87 starts with 21 podiums of which just nine have been wins.

My Prediction for the Future
Mario has he work cut out if he is going to become Germanys next big star. If not he could become the next Ralf Schumacher and not the next Michael Schumacher. If he can surpass Bird in the championship standings and get himself into a competitive GP2 car for 2008 Formula One could beckon in the future.


5. Marcus Ericsson

Where is he from?
Marcus Ericsson is a sixteen year old from Sweden. He was born on September 2 1990 in Kumla. At the age of sixteen he is the youngest driver on the “Stars of the Future” list.

What Has He Done?
As Marcus is only sixteen years old he has done very little in his racing career. In fact he is so young 2007 is his first season as a car racer. However he does have a wealth of karting experience which includes many championships.

His championships include MKR series champion in the Formula Mini class in 2003, Swedish champion class ICA Junior in 2005 and Nordic champion ICA Junior class also in 2005.

What is He Doing Now?
He is currently racing in British Formula BMW and it the only man on this list racing below Formula Three level. So far this season he has led the championship since the first round and currently has 354 points and two wins from his first ten car races. However he will have a tough fight on his hands to maintain it as he is only eight points clear of two drivers who are in equal second place.

My Prediction for the Future
The best Swedish driver since Ronnie Peterson, Kenny Brack, has said that Marcus will become the best Swedish driver since Ronnie Peterson. You can’t beat praise like that, but I’ll try. Sebastien is the only driver on the list who I have seen race live with my own eyes, and I was impressed.

He made a mistake in that race at Croft and that’s why he is at number five when originally I was going to put him at number three. As he is still in Formula BMW he has a long way to go, but a good year this year will see him in British Formula Three like his countryman, and last years British Formula BMW champion, Sebastien Hohenthal.


Written by Paul Crossling (Edited Steve Turnbull) on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:53:57