The 2012 GP2 Series grid guide

This weekend marks a new dawn for GP2 as, with the Asia Series scrapped, the main championship will be a trans-continental one for the first time for the up and comers aiming for a career in Formula 1 in the future.

Last year's champion Romain Grosjean has moved on; taking just such an opportunity in F1 with Lotus and joining former title winners Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Timo Glock, Nico Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado in the big league.

One of the drivers entered for the Sepang season-opener is virtually certain to become champion this year and stake their claim for a grand prix race seat, but who will it be?

Addax Team

#1. Johnny Cecotto Jr (YV)
GP2 debut: Monza, 2009
Starts: 38
Best finish: 4th
Best qualifying: 8th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 24th in GP2

#2. Josef Kral (CZ)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2010
Starts: 28
Best finish: 2nd
Best qualifying: 5th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 15th in GP2

The Spanish squad is defending the teams' title this year, but it's hard to see its 2012 line-up living up to last year's pairing of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde. Addax often had the best car last season, so there are no excuses for Cecotto or Kral if they fail to deliver good results. The recruitment of two so-far-unspectacular, but well-funded drivers is a sign not only of the troublesome situation many drivers have had in finding the budgets required to compete in GP2, but also that Addax is one of the best-run teams on the grid behind the scenes. Sensing that there wasn't a way to put two top-liners in the team, Alejandro Agag's squad has decided against risking its future (financially) as so many others have done before.

DAMS

#3. Davide Valsecchi (I)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2008
Starts: 72
Wins: 3
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 2
2011: 8th in GP2

#4. Felipe Nasr (BR)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: British Formula 3 champion

Davide Valsecchi is a veteran at this level, having raced in Formula Renault 3.5 as long ago as 2006! The entertaining Italian steps into the seat vacated by 2011 champion Romain Grosjean, and he couldn't resist the urge in testing to show his hand and often lead the way. Nasr makes the step up with a growing reputation, and a British Formula 3 championship in his back pocket. But the suggestion from testing is that he hasn't immediately settled in GP2, and DAMS has gone to work to make sure he's up to speed in time for the season opener this weekend.

Racing Engineering

#5. Fabio Leimer (CH)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2010
Starts: 37
Wins: 2
Best qualifying: 3rd
Fastest laps: 1
2011: 14th in GP2

#6. Nathanael Berthon (F)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 13th in Formula Renault 3.5

Leimer has been incredibly honest about his GP2 career so far: after a promising rookie campaign in 2010, his target was to win the title in year two. That's why he moved to Rapax, the team that took Pastor Maldonado the previous year. But the Italian squad struggled with the new-for-2011 car and Pirelli tyres, so Leimer was left floundering for much of the season. A switch to Racing Engineering for the end-of-year non-points round at Yas Marina yielded a win, pole position and a fastest lap, and Leimer has described his feeling with the car in testing as 'perfect'. Given his honesty over his problems last year, that's an ominous sign. Berthon has GP2 Asia experience to his name and a win in Formula Renault 3.5, but he'll have to get up to speed quickly to be in the mix with his team-mate.

iSport International

#7. Marcus Ericsson (S)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2010
Starts: 38
Wins: 1
Best qualifying: 3rd
Fastest laps: 1
2011: 8th in GP2

#8. Jolyon Palmer (GB)
GP2 debut: Istanbul Park, 2011
Starts: 18
Best finish: 9th
Best qualifying: 11th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 28th in GP2

iSport went to great lengths to get inside the mind of Marcus Ericsson last year, and the results as the season went on suggested it made some serious progress. By the end of the year the Swede was giving lead driver Sam Bird plenty of headaches. He seemed to thrive in the lead-driver role at the non-championship Yas Marina round, where he was the second-highest scorer over the two races. If he builds on that he should be in the title mix. Palmer's switch to iSport will give a better indication of his abilities, which were hard to read as he struggled with a poor car from Arden in his rookie campaign.

Lotus GP (ART Grand Prix)

#9. James Calado (GB)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 2nd in GP3

#10. Esteban Gutierrez (MEX)
GP2 debut: Istanbul Park, 2011
Starts: 17
Wins: 1
Best qualifying: 5th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 13th in GP2

For a team that has fielded three of the seven GP2 title winners to date, ART had a relatively low-key season in 2011. The level of experience in the field last year masked the quality of Gutierrez, who still managed a race win on his way to being the top rookie but didn't shine as much as some first-year drivers have managed in the past. Calado hasn't started a championship round yet, but he made his race debut in a GP2 car at the Yas Marina non-points round and took a measured victory that belied his inexperience in the reversed-grid race. Given his rate of improvement with ART in GP3 last year, he could be a real threat to some of the veterans hoping to fill the void left by the stars of 2011.

Caterham Racing

#11. Rodolfo Gonzalez (YV)
GP2 debut: Nurburgring, 2009
Starts: 59
Best finish: 4th
Best qualifying: 12th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 26th in GP2

#12. Giedo van der Garde (NL)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2009
Starts: 58
Wins: 3
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 2
2011: 5th in GP2

Known as Team AirAsia last year, the Tony Fernandes junior squad burst onto the GP2 scene with some very impressive performances. The highlight was a victory for Davide Valsecchi in Monaco, but the season trailed off in disappointing style. If the team has managed to reverse that trend over the winter, then van der Garde has to be the championship favourite. Were it not for some poor luck he could have pushed Romain Grosjean much harder for the 2011 title with Addax, and he's not come back for a fourth season to make up the numbers. Gonzalez is similarly experienced at this level, but it's unlikely that Caterham is pinning its title hopes on the Venezuelan, who has just four points to his name from 39 starts.

Scuderia Coloni

#14. Stefano Coletti (MC)
GP2 debut: Valencia, 2009
Starts: 18
Wins: 2
Best qualifying: 4th
Fastest laps: 2
2011: 11th in GP2

#15. Fabio Onidi (I)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 5th in Auto GP

Coloni appeared to be heading nowhere in the early part of 2011. Lead driver Davide Rigon was ruled out for the season when he broke his leg at the season opener and Michael Herck was all at sea as he battled on after taking a nasty bang on the head in a huge crash on the same weekend. But in stepped Luca Filippi, fresh from being moved aside at Super Nova, to save the day. The Italian joined just in time for his 100th GP2 start, which he went on to win. From there, he charged to second in the championship. It was proof that Coloni had a seriously quick car, which must fill Coletti with excitement ahead of a crucial year. He showed flashes of brilliance at Trident last year, notably winning from 21st on the grid in changeable conditions in Hungary. But he has to turn that potential into a consistent challenge now that he has the equipment. Onidi has settled into the Italian team well, but will have to learn quickly about how to get the most out of complex GP2 races.

Trident Racing

#16. Stephane Richelmi (MC)
GP2 debut: Monza, 2011
Starts: 2
Best finish: 14th
Best qualifying: 24th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 26th in Formula Renault 3.5

#17. Julian Leal (COL)
GP2 debut: Istanbul Park, 2011
Starts: 18
Best finish: 9th
Best qualifying: 15th
Fastest laps: 1
2011: 17th in GP2

Trident is unlikely to experience the thrill of victory as it did last year with Stefano Coletti. If Richelmi or Leal get anywhere near the points they'll be doing well. Leal looked lost for much of his rookie season at Rapax, and a switch to Trident for the non-championship Abu Dhabi round yielded little in the way of a change in fortunes. Richelmi is a former runner-up in Italian F3, but aside from that he has rarely shone in other categories.

GP Lazarus

#18. Fabrizio Crestani (I)
GP2 debut: Spa, 2010
Starts: 6
Best finish: 10th
Best qualifying: 10th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 6th in Auto GP

#19. Giancarlo Senerelli (YV)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: x
2011: Formula Latam champion

GP2 welcomes a new team onto the grid for 2012, as Lazarus GP joins from Auto GP, filling the void left by F3000/GP2 mainstay Super Nova, which hit financial difficulties at the end of last year. Crestani moves across with the team, but the partnership has its work cut out to remain a frontrunner now it has moved up the ladder. His team-mate Senerelli, a 30-year-old Venezulean who was only announced 24 hours before the start of practice in Malaysia. He's spent the last three years winning the Formula Renault-style 'Latam Campeonato' in Central America, but his only warm-up for racing at this level was the Auto GP opener at Monza two weeks ago.

Rapax

#20. Ricardo Teixeira (AO)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2009
Starts: 18
Best finish: 14th
Best qualifying: 22nd
Fastest laps: 0
2011: Team Lotus F1 reserve driver

#21. Tom Dillmann (F)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 14th in GP3

The fall from grace since winning the 2010 championship with Pastor Maldonado has been shocking for Italian squad Rapax. The team stated over the winter that it was hoping to field an experienced line-up this year, as the complex nature of the new car and Pirelli tyres made things difficult for rookies and even second-year drivers last season. So the fact that it has ended up with a rookie and a returning tail-ender suggests that the sort of drivers it was targeting either didn't have the budget or have gone elsewhere. Dillmann was promising in the non-championship Yas Marina round with iSport, but he rarely strings together a full season of consistent top performances, and is even less likely to come with a full budget for the season.

Arden International

#22. Simon Trummer (CH)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 18th in GP3

#23. Luiz Razia (BR)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2009
Starts: 56
Wins: 1
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 11th in GP2

Arden had a difficult first year with the new-for-2011 Dallara, and it struggled to get on top of managing the fragile Pirelli tyres over long stints. Razia moves across from Team AirAsia/Caterham, and he will need to make the most of his vast experience at this level to lead Arden back towards the sharp end. He'll also need to find some consistency, rather than putting in top-line performances once or twice a season. Trummer was largely anonymous in Arden's GP3 line-up as Lewis Williamson and Mitch Evans stole the limelight, but he signed off with three points finishes in a row before making his GP2 bow in the non-championship Abu Dhabi round.

Ocean Racing Technology

#24. Jon Lancaster (GB)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 11th in Auto GP

#25. Nigel Melker (NL)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 3rd in GP3, 4th in F3 Euro Series

Lancaster's signing at Tiago Monteiro's team was one of the surprise moves of the winter. He'll be looking to recover the career momentum he had at the end of 2007, when he finished runner-up in the Formula Renault Eurocup before having a season to forget in the F3 Euro Series with ART. It will be interesting to see how spells in Formula Renault 3.5, F2 and Auto GP have prepared him for this season, and in Melker he'll have a solid, if unspectacular, fellow rookie as a yardstick. Melker achieved more than he should have with RSC Mucke in GP3 last year, and was a solid midfield runner in the non-championship Abu Dhabi GP2 races last November.

Carlin

#26. Max Chilton (GB)
GP2 debut: Barcelona, 2010
Starts: 38
Best finish: 5th
Best qualifying: 5th
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 20th in GP2

#27. Rio Haryanto (RI)
GP2 debut: Sepang, 2012
Starts: 0
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0
2011: 7th in GP3, 7th in Auto GP

Carlin's GP2 bow didn't go to plan in 2011, but that had more to do with misfortune rather than any particular failings of the British single-seater powerhouse. Chilton will have to turn flashes of promise into a proper season-long challenge this year, as it will be up to him to lead the team in his third year of GP2. Haryanto steps up after two inconsistent years in GP3, but the Indonesian was a deserving race winner in a very competitive field last year so he is worthy of the opportunity.

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