McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne dominates GP2; Britain's Oliver Rowland wins FR3.5; Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon wins GP3
Friday 11 December 2015 15:49, UK
With 2015's racing at an end, we look at the standout performers in the junior categories - the names you could be seeing on an F1 grid in the future.
Stoffel Vandoorne
GP2 Champion
Age: 23
Nationality: Belgian
Where else to start than with the man who romped to the GP2 title in record-breaking style? Vandoorne took the title by a mammoth margin of 160 points and it could have been more had the final race of the season taken place! The Belgian's tally of 11 career GP2 victories is the most in the series' history and he also broke the record for most pole positions and the most consecutive poles, with a run that stretched from Belgium 2014 to Spain 2015.
Vandoorne's title was ART's first since Nico Hulkenberg took the crown in 2008. Take note: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are the only other drivers to win the GP2 Drivers' Championship with the French squad. And just to round off a remarkably impressive year, Vandoorne topped the end-of-year F1 test in Abu Dhabi - the one and only time McLaren finished top of the pile in 2015. He now replaces Kevin Magnussen as the F1 team's reserve driver for 2016.
What people are saying:
"He is one of the best drivers we have ever seen in GP2. Statistically he is the best there has ever been in GP2, better than Lewis Hamilton, better than Nico Rosberg, better than Nico Hulkenberg. In the era of the Pirelli tyres there has never been a driver to understand, get on top of them and dominate in the way that Stoffel has. He drives with beautiful, seemingly effortless style. It is not flashy, it is just ruthless and brilliant. He is such a mega talent" - Former GP2 commentator Will Buxton.
Oliver Rowland
Formula Renault 3.5 Champion
Age: 23
Nationality: British
In F1's other feeder category, it was Rowland who stole the headlines in Formula Renault 3.5. The Brit took eight victories on his way to the title, firmly putting Fortec team-mate Jazeman Jaafar - who has tested for Mercedes - in the shadows.
The 23-year-old finished 73 points clear of Lotus' Matthieu Vaxiviere in the drivers' championship, finishing on the podium 13 times in all.
Sporadic GP2 outings may not have worked out for the Sheffield-racer, but they did further his experience ahead of a potential switch to the series in 2016. At the post-season GP2 test in Abu Dhabi, Rowland was a regular fixture near the top of the times for DAMS and ART.
What next for Oliver?
After four outings during the 2015 and several tests post-season, GP2 appears to be the next step in Rowland's career.
Esteban Ocon
GP3 Champion
Age: 19
Nationality: French
Aged 18 at the time, Ocon headed into 2015 unsure if he would even be racing after losing the backing of Lotus despite winning the European F3 title the previous year.
But despite his tender age, a defiant Ocon didn't let his head drop and was picked up by Mercedes a matter of days before the opening race of the GP3 season. The Frenchman repaid their faith by winning on his debut in Barcelona and went on to take the title. An incredible fun of consistency saw Ocon finish second nine times in a row, despite GP3's reverse grid system, which set up his march to the title.
Did you know?
After an impressive GP3 campaign, Mercedes took up their option to retain Ocon and made him part of their F1 team. Toto Wolff has suggested he could become reserve driver and share testing duties with Pascal Wehrlein.
Nyck de Vries
3rd in Formula Renault 3.5
Age: 20
Nationality: Dutch
In his rookie campaign, McLaren junior De Vries was an impressive third in Formula Renault 3.5. His inexperience told on the opening weekend when he made a mistake on the final corner of the final lap to lose the lead and a win at Motorland Aragon.
That first win then proved elusive until the final race of the season at Jerez, taking his total podium visits to six in 2015.
Expect to see a title challenge during his second season in the series. However, the championship has lost its manufacturer backing from Renault and where McLaren will place de Vries remains to be seen.
Where next for Nyck?
De Vries drove at the GP3 post-season test in Abu Dhabi for ART - the French team which have links to both McLaren and Honda and with whom Vandoorne won the GP2 title. However, GP3 would arguably be a step down from FR3.5.
Felix Rosenqvist
European Formula 3 Champion
Age: 24
Nationality: Swedish
After four years in the series, Mercedes-backed Rosenqvist made his experience show with 13 wins on his way to the European Formula 3 title.
The 24-year-old scored a further 11 podiums as he took the drivers' championship by a commanding 105.5 points.
Rosenqvist's most impressive performance of the season came at the Nurburgring where he won all three of the weekend's races to wrap up the title with one weekend to spare. He then rounded the season off in style by winning both the qualifying race and the main race at the prestigious Macau GP.
Did you know?
Rosenqvist is the only driver to win the Macau GP, Masters of Formula 3 (at Zandvoort), the Pau Grand Prix and the European Formula 3 title. These are the most prestigious titles in the category.
