Louis Deletraz
After a successful local karting career, Louis Deletraz, son of former F1 driver Jean-Denis, signed up for the 2012 Formula BMW Talent Cup and had a good end to the year, taking pole for all three races of the finale and finishing fourth in the points with a win.
Moving on to Formula Renault 2.0 NEC with Josef Kaufmann Racing the next year, he had a year of mixed fortuners, outshone by fellow rookie teammate Dennis Olsen and only finishing 19th. However, there was clearly some promise and he was given another chance by the German outfit. It was a decision they would not regret.
He had a decisive start to his second campaign, taking pole and victory in the first race at Monza, followed by a close second in race two. However, he lost his established title lead after a tough round at Silverstone, but rebounded quickly with a good Hockenheim showing and a fantastic two podiums at Spa.
He was back into first in the standings at Assen after another podium, but two top-ten finishes at Most weren’t enough to keep Ben Barnicoat at bay. The Briton would go on to narrowly clinch the title in the Nurburgring finale, as the last race was cancelled by fog.
Still, even with the championship escaping his grasp, Deletraz showed massive improvement compared to last year. Impressively consistent, he finished every race outside Silverstone – a huge in a series as crowded as FR2.0 NEC.
His 2015 plans are still to be seen – a natural progression would see him join the Eurocup, where he already finished in the top ten once as a guest. Hopefully, Deletraz can make that happen – he’d be a solid asset to the series.
David Gruz