Renault are still to announce a teammate for Robert Kubica for 2010. Chances are it won’t be Frenchman Romain Grosjean, the team protégé and GP2 frontrunner that stepped in to replace Nelson Piquet following his dismissal following the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Before that race, a lot of fuss was made over Jaime Alguersuari, the 19-year old Red Bull Junior who had only ever driven an F1 car in a straight line, but would make his debut for Toro Rosso at the Hungaroring. OK, Grosjean was older and more experienced than Alguersuari, and had done a bit more F1 testing mileage, but it seems that he was not given the same allowances as the Spaniard. Expecting Grosjean to be faster than his predecessor Piquet was unfair, as Piquet had raced for the team in F1 for a year-and-a-half previously, and had done considerably more testing before-hand when he was the main Renault reserve for 2007, when the testing regulations were far more relaxed. Also, Piquet had driven the 09-spec Renault for 10 race weekends previously, in addition to pre-season testing, whereas Grosjean had done little more than some roadshow demonstration runs. As proven by Giancarlo Fisichella when he moved from Force India to Ferrari to deputise for Felipe Massa, it is very difficult to race a car that you don’t know against the majority that have raced theirs for half a year. It seems Grosjean was not given the time, mainly by the media but also by the fans, to adjust and learn the car. Besides, he was pretty much matching Piquet’s pace, impressive given the facts I previously highlighted. Yes, both were in the lower reaches of the midfield, but maybe this was down to the car. Fernando Alonso was far quicker than his two Renault teammates, but still only managed eight points-scoring finishes. Yes, that’s eight more than Piquet and Grosjean, but this is the 2005/06 World Champion I’m talking about here. The same Alonso that is rated by many as the most complete driver in the field. The same Alonso that Ferrari courted for so long and then paid Kimi Raikkonen so much to leave the team and make way for the Spaniard at the Scuderia. I’m not suggesting that Renault were wrong to get rid of Piquet, for he was clearly not going to become a race-winner anytime soon.I’m not suggesting that Renault should have Grosjean driving rather than the currently-unemployed for 2010 Nick Heidfeld. What I am saying is that a driver that showed a fair amount of promise in the junior categories should not be forgotten by the Formula One field, and should be allowed to show his capabilities on a level-playing field. Unfortunately most of the top GP2 drives for 2010 have gone now, and he does not have the finance nor the experience required for the vacancies at Campos Meta, Sauber and USF1. It therefore seems that F1 has already seen the last of Romain Grosjean.
The whole case raises the issue of the testing ban on young and reserve drivers, which BBC commentator Martin Brundle raised at Autosport International last week.
What do you think? Does Romain deserve a second chance or not? Leave a comment below.
He is our Top 50 drivers of 2009. Tell us what you think - have we missed someone out? Leave a comment.
50. James Thompson
49. Tony Stewart
48. Daniel Ricciardo
47. Adrian Valles
46. Bertrand Baguette
45. Helio Castroneves
44. Petter Solberg
43. Allan McNish
42. Kamui Kobayashi
41. Dani Sordo
40. Will Power
39. Jamie Whincup
38. Colin Turkington
37. Nick Heidfeld
36. Stephane Sarrazin
35. Vitaly Petrov
34. Andy Priaulx
33. Paul di Resta
32. Juan Pablo Montoya
31. Timo Scheider
30. Adam Carroll
29. Andy Soucek
28. Mark Martin
27. Augusto Farfus
26. David Brabham
25. Kris Meeke
24. Gary Paffett
23. Yvan Muller
22. Rob Huff
21. Fernando Alonso
20. Gabriele Tarquini
19. Jules Bianchi
18. Jarno Trulli
17. Felipe Massa
16. Timo Glock
15. Kimi Raikkonen
14. Robert Kubica
13. Rubens Barrichello
12. Jimmie Johnson
11. Nico Hulkenberg
10. Ryan Briscoe
09. Nico Rosberg
08. Lewis Hamilton
07. Scott Dixon
06. Dario Franchitti
05. Sebastien Loeb
04. Mikko Hirvonen
03. Mark Webber
02. Sebastien Vettel
01. Jenson Button
Here is our list of the 71 drivers who raced in Formula One between the Australian Grand Prix of the 2000 season and last weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which closed the 2009 season. Deciding the order was a tough business, as amount of races, car performance and the change in points system had to be considered.
71) Luca Badoer – Ferrari
70) Yuji Ide – Super Aguri
69) Tarso Marques – Minardi
68) Alex Yoong – Minardi
67) Gianmaria Bruni – Minardi
66) Patrick Friesacher – Minardi
65) Franck Montagny – Super Aguri
64) Enrique Bernoldi – Arrows
63) Jaime Alguersuari – Toro Rosso
62) Christijan Albers – Minardi/Midland/Spyker
61) Tomas Enge – Prost
60) Gaston Mazzacane – Minardi/Prost
59) Markus Winkelhock – Spyker
58) Sakon Yamamoto – Super Aguri/Spyker
57) Romain Grosjean – Renault
56) Nelson Piquet Jr. – Renault
55) Nicolas Kiesa – Minardi
54) Robert Doornbos – Minardi/Red Bull
53) Giorgio Pantano – Jordan
52) Johnny Herbert – Jaguar
51) Scott Speed – Toro Rosso
50) Narain Karthikeyan – Jordan
49) Pedro Diniz - Sauber
48) Luciano Burti – Jaguar/Prost
47) Ralph Firman – Jordan
46) Justin Wilson – Minardi/Jaguar
45) Tiago Monteiro – Jordan
44) Marc Gene – Minardi/Williams
43) Zsolt Baumgartner – Jordan/Minardi
42) Alan McNish – Toyota
41) Kazuki Nakajima – Williams
40) Antonio Pizzonia – Jaguar/Williams
39) Sebastien Bourdais – Toro Rosso
38) Anthony Davidson – Minardi/BAR/Super Aguri
37) Vitantonio Liuzzi – Red Bull/Toro Rosso/Force India
36) Jean Alesi – Prost/Jordan
35) Sebastien Buemi – Toro Rosso
34) Kamui Kobayasi – Toyota
33) Ricardo Zonta – BAR/Toyota
32) Jos Verstappen – Arrows/Minardi
31) Mika Salo – Sauber/Toyota
30) Eddie Irvine – Jaguar
29) Adrian Sutil – Midland/Spyker/Force India
28) Christian da Matta – Toyota
27) Alexander Wurz – Benetton/McLaren/Williams
26) Christian Klien – Red Bull
25) Olivier Panis – BAR/Toyota
24) Pedro de la Rosa – Arrows/Jaguar/McLaren
23) Timo Glock – Jordan/Toyota
22) Takuma Sato – Jordan/BAR/Super Aguari
21) Heinz-Harald Frentzen – Jordan/Prost/Arrows/Sauber
20) Jacques Villeneuve – BAR/Renault/Sauber/BMW Sauber
19) Nico Rosberg - Williams
18) Heikki Kovalainen – Renault/McLaren
17) Robert Kubica – BMW Sauber
16) Mark Webber – Minardi/Jaguar/Williams/Red Bull
15) Mika Hakkinen – McLaren
14) Juan Pablo Montoya – Williams/McLaren
13) Jarno Trulli – Jordan/Renault/Toyota
12) Giancarlo Fisichella – Benetton/Jordan/Sauber/Renault/Force India/Ferrari
11) Nick Heidfeld – Prost/Sauber/Williams/BMW Sauber
10) Ralf Schumacher – Williams/Toyota
9) Sebastian Vettel – BMW Sauber/Toro Rosso/Red Bull
8) David Coulthard – McLaren/Red Bull
7) Rubens Barrichello – Ferrari/Honda/Brawn
6) Felipe Massa – Sauber/Ferrari
5) Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
4) Jenson Button – Williams/Benetton/Renault/BAR/Honda/Brawn
3) Kimi Raikkonen – Sauber/McLaren/Ferrari
2) Fernando Alonso – Minardi/Renault/McLaren
1) Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
Tell us your opinions on our ranking by leaving a comment below.
The 2010 F1 grid is starting to take shape. Only Ferrari and Red Bull are sorted with their two drivers though. We evaluate the rest of the grid, including the four new teams.
An announcement regarding Williams’ line-up is expected on Monday, with Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg expected to be announced. Nico Rosberg will then take Ruben’s seat at Brawn.
Kimi Raikkonen said in Thursday’s press-conference that McLaren was his only option, along with rallying (where joining Petter Solberg’s team has been speculated) and a sabbatical. He does not consider Toyota to be an option.
Toyota does not appear to be keen on holding onto Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli. German media reports say that Glock has signed for Renault, while Trulli appears to be looking elsewhere. This leaves Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi for Toyota. Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld and Kazuki Nakajima are also possibilities.
Force India will likely hold on to Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi. Indian Karun Chandhok could race for the team, although boss Vijay Mallya has said that none of his countrymen are good enough for F1. Toro Rosso will probably hang on to Red Bull hotshots Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari. No other Red Bull drivers are really good enough.
Campos look likely to sign McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa, while Brazilian media says that Bruno Senna has signed for the team. Other candidates include former Campos GP2 drivers Vitaly Petrov, Romain Grosjean and Giorgio Pantano.
Lotus are believed to be interested in Trulli, while Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy could be his teammate. He finished second in World Series Formula Renault 3.5, while Alguersuari finished sixth.
USF1 are struggling to find American drivers with enough experience. Jonathan Summerton is widely rumoured with the team, but I would sign Graham Rahal, who nearly finished fifth in IndyCar this year.
Manor appear to be keeping quiet about their lineup, although Renault tester Lucas di Grassi has said he is close to a deal but waiting for Renault to decide their lineup. Anthony Davidson and Nick Heidfeld are good candidates for the other seat.
Have we missed something? Know of any other drivers close to deals? Leave a comment below.
The 2009-10 GP2 Asis Series season gets underway on Saturday at the stunning new Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, in support of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. We look ahead to the new season.
Calendar
This season's calendar has a strange look about it. After getting underway this weekend at Yas Marina, there is a break in the schedule until next February, when the teams return to the new circuit. Shortly after that there will be two weekends in Bahrain. There are no visits to China or Malaysia this season.
October 31/November 1 - Yas Marina (UAE)
February 5/6 - Yas Marinia (UAE)
February 26/27 - Bahrain
March 13/14 - Bahrain
Teams and drivers
Durango are missing from the Asia series after their absence from the final rounds of the main 2009 season.
DAMS
1. Christian Vietoris - The 20 year-old German arrives in the Middle East off the back of two seasons in F3 Euroseries with Mucke Motorsport, finishing runner-up this year. He will hope to follow in the footsteps of fellow German Nico Hulkenberg who won the main series in 2009.
2. Edoardo Piscopo - Italian driver Piscopo needs a good campaign in GP2 Asia. He will miss the final round of the Formula 2 season this weekend, where he currently stands 11th. He finished as runner-up in the Italian F3 Championship in 2008.
Piquet GP
3. Vladimir Arabadzhiev - The Bulgarian has shown promise in Formula Master over the last two years and impressed the Chevrolet WTCC team with a test earlier in the month. At 25, one of the older drivers in the field.
4. Daniel Zampieri - The new Italian F3 champion, 19, is unlikely to be at the front this season but will be looking to gain experience ahead of a European campaign in 2010.
Barwa Addax Team
5. Max Chilton - After making his F3 debut at 15 with no prior single-seater experience, it took Chilton until the end of his third season to finally get a win after 6 pole positions. Another one looking for experience.
6. Luiz Razia - Took a main series GP2 win for Coloni at Monza, and won a race for Arden in Asia last year. The Brazilian should fight for wins with a race-winning car, and could fight for the title, as one of only ten with GP2 experience.
ART Grand Prix
7. Marcus Ericsson - Japanese F3 champion will share car with Euroseries champion Jules Bianchi. Looking to impress the other teams for a main series drive in 2010.
8. Sam Bird - The Brit gets his chance after three years at Formula 3 level, and gets it with a top team in ART. Really needs to impress after dissapointing Euroseries campaign.
Arden International
11. Charles Pic -Finished third in World Series by Renault and still just 19 years of age. Could fight for race wins straight away, but will just be looking for preparation ahead of 2010.
12. Rodolfo Gonzalez - After a poor F3 Euroseries campaign with Carlin, having shown promise in British F3, he raced in Euroseries 3000 in 2009, although finished down in fifth, well off the less experienced lead pack.
Super Nova Racing
14. James Jakes - Did not race at all during the main 2009 season, but returns to Super Nova after their partnership in 2008-09. Could fight for regular podiums this year after scoring one in Malaysia last term, but lacking match practice.
15. Josef Kral - 19 year-old Czech finished third in second season of Formula Master in 2009. He will be looking to repeat the promise he showed in Formula BMW UK in 2007.
iSport International
16. Oliver Turvey - Beat teammate and F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari in World Series by Renault standings, so will be looking to fight for victories in Asia. He will remain with the team for 2010.
17. Davide Valsecchi - The Italian's third GP2 Asia season, he only scored points in three races in the main series in 2009. He has only been confirmed by the team for Abu Dhabi.
Trident Racing
18. Johnny Cecotto Jr - Has GP2 experience after 3 races for DPR at the end of 2009. Failed to score points in F3 Euroseries in 2009, despite coming third in the German series in 2008.
19. Plamen Kralev - 36 year-old Bulgarian only has experience in GT racing.
MalaysiaQi-Meritus.com
20. Luca Filippi - Appears to have struggled in four years of GP2, except his 2007 and 2009 seasons with Super Nova. Raced for Meritus in Asia 2008. He was fastest in both of last weeks tests at Yas Marina.
21. Diego Nunes - Finished eighth in Asia for Piquet last season, with two victories. Should fight for wins again if Meritus can provide him with the car to do so.
Ocean Racing Technology
22. Alexander Rossi - Young American arrives from Formula Master after finishing as top rookie in his first season in Europe. Another just be looking for experience in high powered cars. A possible USF1 driver for the future?
23. Fabio Leimer - Destroyed Formula Master opposition in 2009. It will be interesting to see how well the Suiss can make the transition to GP2. Fomer Formula Master champion Jerome d'Ambrosio was runner-up last year.
Scuderia Coloni
24. Roldan Rodriguez - Spainiard finished third for Piquet in Asia last season, so should fight for the title this year. He is yet to win in the main series after three years of average performances.
25. Will Bratt - Oxford graduate Bratt won his drive with the team for winning the Euroseries 3000 organised by Coloni. An impressive performance could land him a main series drive with the team.
DPR
26. Michael Herck - Father Andre is now the team owner. The Belgian-Romainian is yet to score a point in 2 full seasons of GP2 main and Asia series racing. Finished fifth in a WSR race earlier in 2009.
27. Giacomo Ricci - 2006 Euroseries 3000 champion returns to DPR. He started the 2008 main season with the team, and then joined them during the 2008-09 Asia season, and started the 2009 main season with them before being dropped again. Also yet to score a point, but should beat Kralev.
Kamui Kobayashi will follow in the footsteps of a previous Japanese Toyota Development/Test Driver driving for the DAMS team in GP2, Kazuki Nakajima, in making his F1 debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Two years ago, Nakajima impressed Williams with his speed, despite making a hash of his first pit-stop and running down his pit crew. Kobayashi will be looking to make a similarly positive impact this weekend as he fills in for the injured Timo Glock, but you may be asking who he is. Here is the lowdown.
Having been signed by Toyota back in 2004, Kobayashi, currently 23, spent two years in Formula Renault in Europe, winning the Italian and Eurocup titles in 2005. After this he spent two years in the Formula Three Euroseries with leading team ASM, finishing 8th and 4th in the standings.
He replaced Williams-bound Nakajima at GP2 squad DAMS for 2008 and also took Nakajima's Toyota test driver role. Despite finishing 6th in the 2008 GP2 Asia Series, he only managed 16th in the main series. He won the Asia series last winter, but has struggled again in the main series in 2009, finishing 16th again.
When Timo Glock missed Friday practice at the Japanese Grand Prix, Kobayashi was given the chance to prove his skills in front of his home crowd at Suzuka, outpacing veteran teammate Jarno Trulli in the wet sessions. Kobayashi was the automatic choice to replace Glock for the Brazilian Grand Prix following his heavy qualifying accident at Suzuka.
A good performance will give him a good chance of racing for the team in 2010. Toyota are aiming for leading names in their cars, but have already missed out on Robert Kubica and look set to miss out on Kimi Raikkonen to McLaren. Heikki Kovalainen and Nick Heidfeld are candidates but the Japanese board would like to have a Japanese driver to stir interest back home for the Cologne-based team. That would give Kobayashi the chance, along with Nakajima, who looks set to leave Williams following their cancellation of the Toyota engine contract.
Jules Bianchi has made the move up to the GP2 Series with the team with whom he won the F3 Euroseries title, ART Grand Prix. The Frenchman follows in the footsteps of the most recent ART F3 champions Romain Grosjean and Nico Hulkenberg. Grosjean is already in F1, while Hulkenberg looks set after winning GP2 this season.
He will probably start next season as the favourite as a result of his domination in F3 this year. Unlike Grosjean and Hulkenberg before him, he has no formal ties with any current F1 teams. His ART squad is run by Nicolas Todt, son of former Ferrari team principal and FIA presidential candidiate Jean Todt. Nicolas is also the manager of injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, and Todt Jr and Bianchi were spotted in the Ferrari garage at the Belgian Grand Prix. He is yet to test an F1 car, although the oppurtunity may come in the upcoming end-of-season rookie tests.
Chevrolet are working on running five cars in the 2010 World Touring Car Championship. The team have fielded three cars for Rob Huff, Alain Menu and Nicola Larini each year since 2005, but are looking to expand next year to improve their chances in the manufacturers' championship. Whether RML, who run the cars, would be able to run all five cars alongside a possible BTCC programme ( as we revealed last week) is a major doubt. Rival team SEAT currently get ORECA to run two of their five cars, although recently announced they will split at the end of the season, sparking speculation that SEAT will drop to three cars for 2010. BMW could also drop to three cars, likely to be run by Schnitzer and driven by Andy Priaulx (whose car is currently run by RBM), Jorg Muller and Augusto Farfus. If RML do not run all five cars, then there are several options Chevrolet could use for running the extra two cars. Perfection Racing, who successfully run Chevrolet's in Denmark under the Chevrolet Motorsport Denmark banner, are the favourites. They will leave the Danish series at the end of the year due to a lack of harmony with the rules, and are evaluating a move to the WTCC, which would be ironic given the fact that SEAT and BMW are unhappy with the regulations in the WTCC. Perfection would bring with them double European and Danish champion Michel Nykjaer. Huff and Menu are likely to stay on, while Yvan Muller could leave SEAT to join Chevrolet, while Fabrizio Giovanardi is without a drive following the BTCC withdrawl of Chevrolet's fellow GM-marque Vauxhall, and could be brought in, in favour of fellow Italian Nicola Larini. Another possibility for the supprt deal could be Indie squad Wiechers-Sport, who have just announced a partnership with Chevrolet and ADAC to build cars for a German one-make series based on the Cruze model. It is predicted that SEAT will hold onto the services of Tarquini, Gene and Monteiro, but a Chevrolet move for Rydell would be unlikely after he stole a victory from his teammates on a special guest appearance for the team at Anderstorp in 2007. LADA are showing speed in the hands of James Thompson, and while Kirill Ladygin will be kept on to appeal to the Russian market, a quicker driver than Jaap van Lagen could well be found.
What do you think will happen in the WTCC for 2010? Leave your comments belw
Robert Kubica has been announced as a Renault driver for 2010, replacing Ferrari-bound Fernando Alonso.
Kubica, who made his F1 testing debut for the team after winning the World Series by Renault in 2005, will join from BMW Sauber, whose future is in doubt despite a buy-out by the Qadbak group, as they are currently without a confirmed entry for next season.
Romain Grosjean, currently Alonso's teammate at Renault, has yet to be confirmed for 2010, and could yet be replaced. Potential replacements include Heikki Kovalainen, likely to be replaced at McLaren by Kimi Raikkonen, and Timo Glock, who may not be retained by Toyota. Glock's current teammate, Jarno Trulli, is even less likely to remain with the team as they chase bigger names.
Trulli will therefore probably end up at one of the new teams, most likely with US F1, who have just admitted that they may end up running no American drivers due to a lack of talent Stateside.
Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello look set for a swap, while Nico Hulkenberg, GP2 champion, is expected to replace Kazuki Nakajima at Williams. Force India and Toro Rosso are unlikely to make any changes to their line-ups, although Force India are thought to be evaluating Karun Chandhok for the seat alongside Adrian Sutil. Nick Heidfeld may well end up with one of the new teams because of an abundance of German drivers amongst the current teams.
We will keep you posted over the coming weeks with more information, including who we think will drive for the four new teams.
Ours fears that the RML team may not enter in the BTCC next season have been ended for now after the RML Group posted on its Twitter page that it is already working on plans for a 2010 campaign. The squad, which runs the Racing Silverline BTCC team alongside the works Chevrolet project in the WTCC, set up a last minute deal for Jason Plato before the season-opener at Brands Hatch back in April. It secured title sponsorship from tools supplier Silverline which allowed them to complete the season with two Chevrolet Lacettis for Plato and Mat Jackson, in addition to running an extra car for touring car newcomer James Nash. Plato finished second in the standings, with Jackson finishing fifth, despite missing the opening round. Nash missed the season finale to concentrate on securing extra funds for 2010. They could well replace the Lacetti with the stunning-looking Chevrolet Cruze in 2010, particularly if they secure extra backing from Chevrolet, which will help to ensure there is some manufacturer presence after Vauxhall's departure. As we reported yesterday, Honda could also give extra backing to Team Dynamics.
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