Ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 season opener, we analyse the careers-to-date of each of the category’s five new drivers…
While Lewis Hamilton’s move to Mercedes has generated many of the headlines during the Formula 1 off-season, another hot topic has been the group of rookies securing race seats for the first time. While Valtteri Bottas has been lauded for his potential, others have been written off as ‘pay drivers’ before even arriving in Melbourne.
Having watched the five drivers’ progress through the junior categories in recent seasons, here’s our take on their respective credentials.
Photo: Williams F1 Team
Valtteri Bottas
Photo: Williams F1 Team
Team
Williams
Number
17
Age
23
Nationality
Finnish
Titles
2011 GP3 Series
2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup
2008 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC
Last year
Williams third driver
Bottas undoubtedly comes in as the most highly-rated of the rookies within the F1 paddock. And when Sir Frank Williams thinks you’re one of the best he’s ever seen, you must be special, right? What’s he shown us so far?
Like any potential F1 star, Bottas racked up numerous titles in karting, finishing up in 2006 with two Finnish championships and the WSK International Series crown. After rounding out his debut season in cars in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC with a double victory at Hockenheim and adding three wins from four races in the British Winter Series, he embarked on a double title assault in 2008. He was absolutely dominant in the NEC with 12 wins from the 14 races he started to finish well clear of rookie teammate Antonio Felix da Costa, while in the Eurocup he edged out Red Bull-backed Daniel Ricciardo to take the crown by three points.
He joined top team ART Grand Prix for the F3 Euro Series in 2009 and finished an impressive third overall as top rookie. He didn’t win a race in the championship, but did take victory at the prestigious Masters of F3 event at Zandvoort. The pressure was on to win the Euro Series crown a year later, but couldn’t challenge ex-GP2 racer Edoardo Mortara and was third again. Becoming the first ever double Masters winner was scant consolation.
Unable to get himself a competitive GP2 seat, he was forced to take the somewhat sideways step to GP3. Once again the title favourite, his career chances now seemed to rest upon him delivering the goods. But in a highly competitive grid, things didn’t start well, and he was sitting on only a handful of points at the halfway stage. Fortunately, he and ART then got things together as others lost their way, and a very impressive four wins from the last seven races gave him the title in quite convincing fashion.
In short, Bottas’ junior career was one that showed great potential early on, before he later struggled to deliver upon expectations. Is he worth the hype then? Quite possibly, yes. Williams’ belief in his abilities comes more from the work he has done with them than his junior results, so that’s a positive sign. There’s also that assured feeling he gives off, and the reputation of fast Finns that he will be looking to uphold.
There are question marks however stemming from his skipping of the GP2/FR3.5 level of racing. While being an F1 rookie in these days of limited testing is difficult enough, Bottas will have the handicap of not having raced anything since the weekend of his GP3 title in September 2011, though on the other hand has probably done more F1 mileage in the 12 months prior to his debut than any other rookie in recent times. And then there’s the matter of having never raced high-powered single-seaters before, when other highly-rated youngsters have failed to live up to expectations (see two examples in this article).
Ultimately though, Williams would not be throwing him in at the deep end if they didn’t think he could swim. A first-season spectacular should not be expected (see Nico Hulkenburg’s quiet debut year with the same team), but at the same time it should not be ruled out. He’s definitely going to be the most exciting of the quintet to watch, in 2013 at least.
Photo: Sauber F1 Team
Esteban Gutierrez
Photo: Sauber F1 Team
Team
Sauber
Number
12
Age
21
Nationality
Mexican
Titles
2010 GP3 Series
2008 Formula BMW Europe
Last year
Third in GP2 Series, three wins
Gutierrez preceded Bottas as GP3 champion but comes with a lot less hype around him and perceived by many to only be stepping into the Sauber to maintain the presence of Mexican funding.
His first contact with the Hinwil squad had nothing to do with his sponsors, however. After karting in the Rotax Max category back home, Gutierrez made his car racing debut in Formula BMW USA in 2008 and finished the year second in the standings and top rookie, with four wins. He moved to the new F1-supporting European series the following year and dominated, winning seven of the 16 races. 12 months later he would get a test with Sauber as a reward for outgoing owners BMW, and the Swiss team gave him a contract as a development driver.
Gutierrez signed with ART for the F3 Euro Series in 2010, but didn’t do as well as fellow rookie and teammate Bottas and could only manage ninth in the final standings. ART transferred him to their operation in the new GP3 Series and Gutierrez returned to form on the F1 package, taking five wins on his way to a second single-seater title. He was now the next big thing beneath F1, and had beaten Bottas to a coveted GP2 seat with ART.
He made a very quiet start in GP2 though, and while he did score a reverse grid win in Valencia, that was one of just four points finishes during the entire season, leaving him languishing down in 13th in the final standings. The new chassis and Pirelli tyres were said to be difficult for rookies though, so when 2012 came along he began as a title favourite. Some podiums came early on, but a dry spell during the first European races saw him lose touch with the leaders. A fortunate pair of feature race wins boosted his campaign mid-season, and he took a further sprint race win on his way to third in the final standings.
Third in GP2 should never be sniffed at, particularly in just two years under the current formula, but he was largely outclassed by rookie teammate James Calado even if greater luck meant a bigger points haul come the end. After that performance, it’s doubtful he would be in an F1 race seat this year were it not for the Mexican pesos.
That doesn’t mean he should be written off, however. Sauber still talk about his potential, and yes, of course they would, but they’re not wrong. The ability he showed earlier in his career cannot have disappeared overnight. Ideally he could do with another year of racing somewhere else to hone his skills, but it is what it is. If he didn’t nail GP2 in two seasons he won’t get the hang of F1 in one, and it’s hard to see him provide any sort of challenge to teammate Nico Hulkenberg this year.
But the potential Sauber talk about is not all PR speak – give him until the end of next year and see where he stands then. In the meantime, despite putting in more pre-season mileage than anyone else, 2013 could be tough for him. How well he deals with that challenge will define how great a talent he is seen to be.
Photo: Marussia F1 Team
Jules Bianchi
Photo: Marussia F1 Team
Team
Marussia
Number
22
Age
23
Nationality
French
Titles
2009 Formula 3 Euro Series
2007 Formula Renault 2.0 France
Last year
Second in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, three wins
For a moment it seemed Bianchi wouldn’t be making his Formula 1 debut in Australia after Force India made the conservative call of re-signing Adrian Sutil over the Frenchman, but just a day later he had snapped up a seat with Marussia. And it’s a well-deserved opportunity.
In karting, Bianchi was a multiple champion, finishing up with the WSK International ICC title in 2006. He was an immediate hit upon debuting in cars in 2007, claiming the French Formula Renault 2.0 crown in convincing style at the first attempt. Manager Nicolas Todt took him straight to his ART F3 Euro Series team for 2008 but Bianchi was undaunted by making the step up so soon, finishing third as top rookie. He also saw off his considerably more experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg to win the F3 Masters title. In 2009 he took an unsurprisingly dominant championship, winning nine of the 20 races.
At the end of that year he made his testing debut for Ferrari and was promptly signed up to the Scuderia’s new Driver Academy. For 2010 he stepped up to GP2 with ART, and was expected to follow Hulkenberg as a rookie champion. While he showed good speed with three pole positions, he failed to win a race and took only four podium finishes on his way to third in the standings.
The pressure was on Bianchi to win the title in his second season in 2011, but he had a miserable start to the European campaign with only two points finishes and three retirements from the first eight races. He did well to turn things around for the second half, winning from pole at Silverstone and finishing in the points in every remaining race, though the lack of further wins did suggest he was driving within himself a little. His consistency was too little too late, finishing the year with only one more point than in 2010, once again third in the standings.
Unable to convince anyone to give him an F1 race seat, he took up a reserve role with Force India for 2012 alongside racing in Formula Renault 3.5. His season started with bad luck at Motorland Aragon, but he finished on the podium in seven of the next ten races, including two victories. A third win on home soil at Paul Ricard put him into the points lead ahead of the season finale at Barcelona. He fluffed his start from pole on Saturday however and spun late on. He was recovering his position on Sunday when rookie rival Robin Frijns rammed him off the road, controversially settling the title in the Dutchman’s favour.
While he has failed to quite deliver on his considerable promise in recent seasons, there can be no denying his talent. There’s barely anyone on the F1 grid who can claim to have such impressive first three seasons in cars (even if a couple of them were somehow already in F1 by that stage), and whatever influence Todt Jr may have, Ferrari must also be impressed to have pushed quite so hard to find him an F1 race seat. With three seasons in high-powered single-seaters, Bianchi is absolutely ready for F1.
There certainly does remain to be one chink in his armour, and that is his ability to deal with pressure. It’s something that may well stifle his eventual ability to be world champion, but it’s not something that yet another season in the junior categories was going to solve. As has been pointed out by others, starting his F1 career with Marussia is actually a perfect opportunity for him to learn and prove himself outside of the limelight.
Even though everything’s been a little last minute, promising signs on-track from his new team over the winter could mean he finishes as the star driver in the Marussia vs Caterham fight this year.
Photo: Caterham F1 Team
Giedo van der Garde
Photo: Caterham F1 Team
Team
Caterham
Number
21
Age
27
Nationality
Dutch
Titles
2008 Formula Renault 3.5 Series
Last year
Sixth in GP2 Series, two wins
Having taken ten years of graft in the junior categories and some millions from his father-in-law to make it to F1, van der Garde is not the most highly rated of this year’s rookies. He is however a more than competent driver who deserves his shot at F1, and will not look out of place.
Van der Garde claimed the World Karting Championship title in 2002, making his debut in Formula Renault 2.0 the following year with sixth place in the Eurocup, despite missing the first of four weekends. He made an early move up to F3 for 2004 and performed reasonably well, finishing the season ninth overall and within touching distance of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica. But while that trio won titles in GP2, F3 and FR3.5 respectively in 2005, van der Garde failed to progress, finishing ninth once again. He stayed in the category for a third year in 2006, and did slightly better, coming sixth overall with a race win, but some way behind teammates Paul Di Resta and Sebastian Vettel who fought for the title. He did finish second in the Masters on home soil at Zandvoort behind Di Resta after starting on pole.
He moved up to FR3.5 for 2007 alongside a test role with the Spyker F1 team, finishing the Renault series in sixth in the standings with a remarkable ten top six finishes without a podium. He had a much better strike rate in 2008 however with five wins on his way to a comfortable title. He moved on to GP2 for 2009 and claimed three race wins with the iSport team late in the year to take seventh in the standings.
He switched to the Addax team for 2010 but was again seventh in the points, losing out to Benelux rival Jerome D’Ambrosio for a Virgin F1 drive for the following season. Returning to GP2 with Addax, victories once again eluded him and while he was Grosjean’s nearest rival for much of the year, a torrid last couple of rounds saw him finish the year down in fifth – once again not enough to tempt any F1 teams into handing him a race seat. He did get a reserve role with Caterham though, and raced for their fledgling GP2 squad to stay race-sharp. The team’s inexperience prevented a title challenge, but he did manage two poles and two wins and sixth in the final points.
Van der Garde showed early promise but lost ground on his?contemporaries by getting bogged down in F3, something that happened again in GP2. He was consistently at the sharp end – unlike those drivers who take four seasons to become competitive – but tended to lack that last tenth of a second to blow his rivals away. Had a couple of things in 2011 like a pitstop race against teammate Charles Pic in Barcelona and a yellow flag infringement in Valencia gone his way he would have finished up second to Grosjean and should have been an easy sell to F1 teams for 2012. Sixth last year may look poor but didn’t have equal machinery and has been a consistently frontrunning driver over the years unlike Davide Valsecchi or Luiz Razia.
As a result of his lengthy career so-far he’s a very mature driver and getting used to F1 should not take much time at all. He’s probably already close to his full potential and is unlikely to be scoring podiums in F1, but he could become a very handy driver indeed towards the rear of the grid.
Photo: Marussia F1 Team
Max Chilton
Photo: Marussia F1 Team
Team
Marussia
Number
23
Age
21
Nationality
British
Titles
None
Last year
Fourth in GP2 Series, two wins
Of this year’s rookie crop, Chilton is the one most maligned as a ‘pay driver’, and perhaps fairly given he’s the only one without a championship title. But while he’s not good enough to be in F1 in the long term on driving ability alone, his last year in GP2 suggests he’s not going to look out of place or out of his depth, either.
After plying his trade in karting in the UK, Chilton made his debut in car racing in the T-Cars championship at the age of 14, following in the footsteps of older brother, touring car driver Tom. After finishing second in 2006 he made his single-seater debut in British F3 but failed to score any points in a learning year. The following year was a considerable improvement from the word go, finishing second in the first race of the season. He scored two poles later that year but failed to win a race, finishing down in tenth. A switch to top team Carlin for 2009 left him with no excuses but despite three early poles he was outclassed by rookie teammate Daniel Ricciardo, only taking his first win in the last race of the season as he ended the year fourth in the points.
Chilton made a big step into GP2 for 2010 and it showed as he only scored three points with the backmarking Ocean team. With Carlin now owned by his multimillionaire father Grahame, Max joined the team as it came into GP2 for 2011. While his pace was much improved, the series newcomers struggled for results and Chilton only managed one more point than in the year before.
2012 saw a vast improvement for Chilton and Carlin, starting with a podium finish in Malaysia than began an impressive run of 12 points finishes in 13 races. Soon afterwards came a breakthrough pole position and victory in Hungary. He added a second pole at Monza but could only finish fourth, but made amends in Singapore with a second win of the campaign as he took fourth in the final standings.
Chilton’s junior record doesn’t stand out as much as the other rookies, and was in fact quite uninspiring until last year, but two poles, two wins and fourth in the standings is better than many have managed in three seasons in GP2, and his struggles in his first two years could quite easily be put down to struggling teams. If there’s any doubt about his speed, he was the top qualifier in GP2 last year, something that can’t be achieved without some degree of ability.
There are negatives, though. Most prominent is his inability to perform as well in races as he can in qualifying, evident by his difficulty converting poles into wins back in F3 and also by some visible tameness in racing situations at the front in GP2 last year. Ideally he would have been made to properly prove himself on race days in GP2 before getting his F1 break. Up against poor qualifier Razia or even Timo Glock, Chilton could have at least looked good on Saturdays this year, but in Bianchi he’s got a teammate who should be rapid on Saturdays too. He shouldn’t look out of his depth, but he’s unlikely to catch the eye either.