Alex Palou
Palou, one of Spain?s biggest karting prospects of the recent years, finally made the switch to single-seater racing in 2014. He first appeared in Euroformula Open Winter Series in Barcelona and provided his competitors with a sign of things to come, taking second in the first test session.
At Paul Ricard, which held the only race of the Winter Series, he qualified an impressive second, although only going on to finish the race in sixth. Still, he more than left an impression and was signed by Campos Racing to take part in the regular season.
The Spaniard had a storming start to the main campaign, beating 2013 runner-up Sandy Stuvik in the first qualifying session and going on to win his third race ever. He started sixth in the second race, but was already second in just two laps, only to retire due to mechanical issues.
After two third places at Algarve and a fourth at Jerez Palou, he started an impressive run of six top-two finishes, including a second win at the Hungaroring. This kept him in the title fight mathematically, but Stuvik’s seven consecutive wins made it a formality, leaving Palou to fight for second against Janosz.
A disastrous weekend at Monza saw him out of the top ten both times and, as a result, he had to settle for third in the standings, despite a second place and a win on home turf in the Catalunya finale.
Although he entered a less competitive championship than Verstappen, Palou?s ability to adapt to the powerful F3 cars was just as impressive. Having to learn new tracks weekend after weekend didn?t seem to cause him many issues as he stood on the podium in all but one round.
He also showed superb racecraft throughout the year, highlighted by him clearing EF Open’s top brass Stuvik and Janosz in two laps at the Hungaroring – a track where it’s notoriously tough to overtake.
David Gruz