View the Post on the BlogWith Formula 1 widely regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport, there is naturally a lot of competition for just 22 race seats. Drivers come from all over the world, across many different categories of racing from World Series by Renault to DTM.
One series that is perhaps closer to schooling drivers in F1 than any other is the GP2 Series. It is no coincidence that of the five rookies on the grid this season, four of those came from GP2 (Valtteri Bottas is the only one that didn’t). Below are six reasons why GP2 is the perfect stepping stone to F1:
- They use Pirelli tyres. It is no secret that the understanding of Pirelli’s tyres is the hardest challenge for teams and hardest for drivers to make work. The fact that GP2 also uses these compounds helps expose the drivers to understanding tyre wear, and setting up the car to help reduce excessive graining.
- All the F1 teams watch the GP2 races. It may be a separate category, but by racing on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends you can be sure team bosses and engineers are scouting out their next potential driver. Regular mistakes can cost drivers a seat but displays of dominance may just secure a driver their future career.
- Drivers are exposed to the F1 paddock. It may seem like a simple thing but knowing where everything is in the paddock, and being exposed to the constant media surrounding early on will no doubt help the drivers get used to this by the time they move up, and can therefore concentrate freely on the racing.
- It helps drivers become familiar with circuits used in F1. Simulator work is also key in this but a few seasons racing in a lower formula on the same circuit will help familiarity no end.
- The stewarding process is very similar, often by the same stewarding panel as that weekend’s F1 race. This will inevitably help drivers understand the limits of what they can and can’t do, and what stewards often look for in on-track incidents.
- Contacts. What better place to gather contacts for an F1 career than at a Grand Prix weekend itself? This could be the difference between getting picked up by an F1 team or having to consistently negotiate across the whole paddock.
Of course, it isn’t purely about getting into a GP2 car and waiting for an F1 team to just hand a driver their race seat, and GP2 is by no means the only category that makes great drivers worthy of a top flight racing seat. But the reasons outlined above are all added benefits of racing in GP2 outside of just developing actual race craft itself, which few other series offer. You only have to look at some of the graduates from GP2 to know that it is a series packed full of competitive individuals and talented racers: Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Pastor Maldonado, Nico Hulkenberg, Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen to name a few.
So if you are looking out for the next F1 world champion of tomorrow, then look no further than the GP2 Series and place your bets as the next generation of rookies are waiting to deliver.
Last edited by a moderator: