Carlin's greatest F1 graduates ranked

When Yuki Tsunoda lines up on a Formula 1 grid for AlphaTauri in 2021, the Japanese will become the 27th alumnus from single-seater powerhouse Carlin to start a grand prix.

PLUS: The meteoric rise of F1's first 21st century-born racer

That's a remarkable stat from a team that first entered the fray in 1997, so Autosport thought it was time to rank the 26 Carlin alumni to race in F1 so far. The ranking is based on a combination of their significance in the team's history, and the driver's subsequent F1 career.

We're including only those who raced with Carlin - Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen, for example, both tested F3 cars with the squad. And we're also ruling out those who raced with Carlin after their F1 careers, such as Karun Chandhok in Formula E and Nelson Piquet Jr in Indy Lights.

26. Rio Haryanto

2012: 14th in GP2

A protege of the Marussia Formula 1 team, the Indonesian had won races with the squad's GP3 'junior' operation, Marussia Manor Racing. He therefore stepped up to GP2 alongside Max Chilton in what was termed as Carlin's "new technical partnership with the Marussia F1 team".

Haryanto started the season reasonably, with points in the two early Bahrain rounds, and his peak came with pole position in wet conditions at Spa. He then led the feature race in the dry until Marcus Ericsson passed him. He jumped the Swede at the pitstops, and then promptly spun off at Les Combes on cold tyres.

25. Will Stevens

2012: 12th in Formula Renault 3.5

The diminutive Brit was a race winner in Formula Renault 2.0, and made the logical step up to FR3.5 at a time when this series had a higher-quality driver line-up than its GP2 rival. His team-mate at Carlin was a good example of that: none other than the squad's 2011 British F3 runner-up Kevin Magnussen.

Stevens scored points on his debut at Motorland Aragon, but had to wait until the second half of the season for his headline results: a strong third at the Hungaroring, and fourth at the Barcelona finale. There was one that got away though: he'd been changed onto wet-weather tyres during a red-flag stoppage when a flood hit Silverstone, but then dropped it at Stowe after storming into the lead.

24. Marcus Ericsson

2008: DNF at Macau GP

Ericsson makes it above Haryanto and Stevens in this list owing to a much superior F1 career several years after his scarcely remembered Carlin cameo.

The Swede had enjoyed a promising rookie season in British F3 with Fortec Motorsport, but that team didn't go to Macau in 2008, so Ericsson joined Jaime Alguersuari, Brendon Hartley and Oliver Turvey in a juicy Carlin line-up. He put himself in the frame with a climb from mid-grid to eighth in the qualification race, then jumped to fifth at the start of the final when a daft move from Roberto Streit put Sam Bird into the barriers at the Mandarin kink.

Then Ericsson went too hot into Lisboa, sideswiped the barriers and was out. But at least he encountered the TOM's team, which snapped him up for 2009, when he launched his career with victory in the Japanese F3 Championship.

23. Bruno Senna

2004: Formula BMW UK (not registered for points)

A decade after his karting career was understandably halted in the wake of Ayrton's death, Senna was guided to Carlin by his uncle's old friend Gerhard Berger.

After a 10-day testing programme, he was entered for the final three rounds. In the first two, at Brands Hatch and Rockingham, he did a very respectable job to qualify mid-grid, but his racecraft was rusty (for which you could excuse him), and his results were poor.

It all came good for the finale at Donington, where he'd tested. He qualified on the front row for both races, behind the underrated Matt Howson, and he finished one race without incident, although had slid to sixth by the flag. Senna then made the bold jump for 2005 to British F3 with the new Raikkonen Robertson team of fellow Carlin defector Anthony 'Boyo' Hieatt.

22. Nicholas Latifi

2013: 5th in British F3; 15th in European F3; 7th in Masters of F3; 9th in Macau GP

The Canadian had the scantest of racing experience in North America, and just one year in the not very competitive Italian F3 series, when he rocked up at Carlin - just at the point when British F3 imploded and was reduced to a four-round series.

Latifi was therefore pitched into European F3 competition. Although results were mediocre, he qualified superbly at Silverstone's second round, and in the wet at the Red Bull Ring.

He couldn't win in British F3, but beat rated team-mates Jordan King and Jann Mardenborough to a double pole at Spa, his finesse through the flat-out Eau Rouge gaining him time. But it went wrong in the races when the rain came down, and a massive shunt with Mardenborough damaged the car heavily.

21. Jolyon Palmer

2013: 7th in GP2

In his third season in GP2, Palmer began to look like a serious prospect during his season alongside Felipe Nasr at Carlin.

He wasn't the greatest qualifier, although he did take top spot on the grid for the penultimate round at Singapore's Marina Bay, but he won fans for his fine racecraft and overtaking skills. Although he finished three spots behind Nasr in the championship, he took two wins to add to his pole, while his Brazilian team-mate scored zero on both counts.

A superb feature-race win at the Hungaroring, after a great battle with Marcus Ericsson, was followed by a Singapore success. In between, he was punted down the field by Nasr at Spa in an incident that perhaps set the template for their 2014 niggles, when Palmer launched a successful title tilt with DAMS.

20. Sebastien Buemi

2006: 4th in Macau GP

Like Ericsson, he had only one event with Carlin, but is lifted in this table by his F1 career.

Buemi had driven for Mucke Motorsport in the F3 Euro Series, but the Berlin squad didn't go to Macau, so the Swiss jumped to Carlin, where he would form one quarter of a potent line-up alongside Sebastian Vettel, Oliver Jarvis and Maro Engel. A shunt at the narrow Police bend in second free practice set him back, and he qualified down in 17th.

Buemi rose to 12th in the qualification race, before picking his way through to fourth in the final. He was by far the best-placed of the Carlin quartet, with consensus being that the squad's Mugen Honda engines were beginning to look a touch breathless compared to the Mercedes and Toyota opposition.

19. Nico Rosberg

2003: DNF in Macau GP; 11th in Korean Super Prix

The small, family Team Rosberg squad didn't head East for the 2003 end-of-season events following his rookie F3 Euro Series campaign. With Carlin's 2003 British F3 champion Alan van der Merwe deciding to stay in Europe to work on an F1 testing deal (well, the medical car duties may have provided compensation...), there was space for Rosberg to join Narain Karthikeyan and Alvaro Parente at the squad.

After a test at Oulton Park, he rocked up in Macau and qualified a strong seventh. But when Pierre Kaffer crashed at San Francisco Bend on the opening lap of heat one, Rosberg rolled in the ensuing pile-up. He got a bit further before retiring from heat two, and then continued with the team the following weekend at Changwon, without great success. But you can't argue with an F1 world title, which vaults him up this table.

18. Brendon Hartley

2007: 12th in Macau GP
2008: 3rd in British F3; 3rd in Macau GP; 5th in Masters of F3
2009: 11th in F3 Euro Series; DNF in Macau GP

Red Bull promoted two juniors to British F3 with Carlin in 2008. And, as the reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion, Hartley was expected to be the main man against Jaime Alguersuari, who'd finished fifth in the same series.

It didn't turn out that way. In a season-long battle with team-mates Alguersuari and Oliver Turvey, plus T-Sport's Sergio Perez, the Kiwi's peaks were higher (qualifying on pole by a stunning 0.859s on the Bucharest street circuit), but his troughs lower (spinning away a big lead at Snetterton). He began to settle down, with wins on slipstream tracks such as Thruxton and Spa by stealth, but he was always playing catch-up.

Hartley stayed with Carlin for its expansion into the Euro Series for 2009, with Milton Keynes housemate Daniel Ricciardo taking on British F3. As if that wasn't enough, Hartley had a parallel programme in Formula Renault 3.5 (with Tech 1 Racing) and was Red Bull's F1 reserve, until Alguersuari replaced him in July. A win in the reversed-grid race at Brands Hatch was the year's only highlight, as Trevor Carlin admitted the team "couldn't get a grip on the Kumho tyres quickly enough".

17. Max Chilton

2009: 4th in British F3; DNF in Macau GP
2011: 20th in GP2
2012: 4th in GP2

His F1 career wasn't the greatest, but Chilton's importance in Carlin's history should not be underestimated. First, as a driver he joined the team for his third season in British F3, and proved to be something of a qualifying king even against team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. But his racecraft was poor, including a muffed gearshift on the penultimate lap that cost him victory at Silverstone, and he didn't win until the final race of the year, at Brands Hatch.

Chilton's father Grahame's Capsicum company then saved the team from financial dire straits - hence the 'chili' logos that have since adorned Carlin's cars. The team set up a GP2 operation for 2011 and, with intended team-mate Mikhail Aleshin hit by budget and injury problems, it was a struggle, but he did qualify (and finish) an impressive seventh in Monaco, and was fifth fastest in Silverstone qualifying.

It was in 2012 that Chilton looked a serious prospect, making the most of bold tyre-strategy calls that sometimes compromised his sprint races to maximise chances in the features. He bagged Carlin's first GP2 podium at the Sepang opener, qualified fastest in his group in Monaco, and then held off Davide Valsecchi for his maiden win at the Hungaroring. And he finished the season off with another win, under pressure from Esteban Gutierrez, in Singapore.

16. George Russell

2015: 6th in European F3; 2nd in Masters of F3

Considering his current career trajectory, it's ironic that the then reigning BRDC F4 champion turned down an offer from Mucke Motorsport for European F3 in 2015 that would have given him support from engine supplier Mercedes. Instead, he plumped for Volkswagen-powered Carlin, only to smash up his car in a pre-season test at Pembrey.

PLUS: How Russell staked his claim for Hamilton's crown

Nevertheless, Russell won first time out at Silverstone in the ex-Daniil Kvyat warhorse but, with his original car repaired, he couldn't add to that. He lost out in a thrilling battle with Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon at the Norisring, and could have won at the Nurburgring had it not been for the lamentable engine-change grid penalties in operation at the time. Overall, his qualifying let him down, but he showed beautiful judgement in his racecraft.

15. Robert Kubica

2005: 2nd in Macau GP

The Pole had just won the Formula Renault 3.5 title, so it was a bold call to return to F3 for Macau, especially as he'd finished runner-up there in 2004. Kubica was quickest in the opening qualifying session, despite his seat moving around in the cockpit, and lined up second for the qualification race behind Loic Duval, who had taken over the ASM seat of Lewis Hamilton (advised by McLaren to skip the event).

Kubica followed Duval home in that preliminary race to claim a front-row position for the GP. He lost second when Lucas di Grassi boldly passed him on the outside into Lisboa on lap two, and along with the Brazilian was promoted when Duval took a drive-through penalty for a jumped start. Kubica then repassed di Grassi on lap 10 and, with his Carlin car set up to be relatively stronger than di Grassi's Manor machine as the race wore on, he looked set fair...

Then came a safety car, and a two-lap sprint to the flag. Di Grassi used that aggressive set-up to retake the lead, and Kubica was destined never to be a Macau winner.

14. Anthony Davidson

2001: 2nd in British F3; 1st in Pau GP; 3rd in Masters of F3

As the previous year's British Formula Ford runner-up, Davidson had a BAR F1 testing deal but was expected to play second fiddle to Takuma Sato at Carlin. That is pretty much what transpired, only 'second fiddle' meant far superior to a class field that included Andre Lotterer, James Courtney, Gianmaria Bruni and Andy Priaulx as Carlin became the dominant team.

Davidson's first win came courtesy of a Sato/Derek Hayes tangle at Croft, but he then absolutely blitzed the field on an excursion to Pau, where the locals dubbed him l'acrobat britannique for his stunning flair on the streets. Once back in England, he did the double over Sato at Castle Combe - albeit the Japanese was suffering from a mystery loss of revs in race one. There were niggles over what might be termed a 'misunderstanding' of team orders that cost Davidson a win at Thruxton, but it was a mightily impressive season for the rookie, even if Sato was still extending his series lead all the way through the second half.

Sadly, it ended in disaster when a massive shunt in the opening day of qualifying for the Macau GP fractured a vertebra, tore his neck ligaments and left Davidson concussed.

13. Tiago Monteiro

2004: 2nd in World Series by Nissan

The 2005 US GP podium notwithstanding, Monteiro didn't have a stellar F1 career, but he remains a hugely popular figure in Carlin's history.

The Portuguese had returned from a season in Champ Car when he joined the team for World Series by Nissan, dovetailing this with duties as Minardi's F1 test driver. He got off to a disastrous start when he spun while forming up on the grid for the Jarama opener, broke procedures while recovering his front-row grid position, and had to take a drive-through penalty after hunting down Enrique Bernoldi to take the lead.

Monteiro then established Carlin as a force in the series with a dominant double at Zolder, and won further races at Estoril, Valencia and Jerez, but Heikki Kovalainen remained out of reach in the title battle. Even so, when Trevor Carlin joined forces with Colin Kolles for his own short-lived spell in F1 with the Jordan/Midland team for 2005, Monteiro went with him.

12. Jaime Alguersuari

2008: 1st in British F3; 8th in Masters of F3; 10th in Macau GP
2009: 6th in Formula Renault 3.5

He turned the tables on fellow Red Bull Junior and team-mate Brendon Hartley with a superb British F3 campaign in 2008. Alguersuari claimed pole for the opener at Oulton Park, but it ended in disaster when he was taken out by Hartley at the Shell hairpin while lying in second place. Undeterred, he won the second race.

Alguersuari didn't add to his win tally until the second half of the season, but was always in there pitching. With three races to go he was 17 points behind series-leading team-mate Oliver Turvey, but he won them all and grabbed the crown after a campaign that married speed with consistency.

Turvey and Alguersuari graduated together with Carlin to FR3.5 in 2009, and the Spaniard had just taken his first podium at Le Mans when he was given a surprise call-up to the Toro Rosso F1 team to replace the dropped Sebastien Bourdais. Immediately after his F1 debut, he scored his first FR3.5 pole and win at the Algarve Circuit, and was only nine points off the championship runner-up position heading to the final round at Motorland Aragon. It wasn't a great weekend, and ended with him trying to drive off from his pitstop with a wheelgun still attached.

11. Antonio Giovinazzi

2014: 6th in European F3
2015: 2nd in European F3; 1st in Masters of F3; 4th in Macau GP

Thanks to the support of Sean Gelael's father Ricardo, Giovinazzi and Tom Blomqvist took slots alongside the Indonesian in Carlin's 2014 Euro F3 line-up. The Italian was still only in his third season of car racing, and was guilty of overdriving, but got a new tub in time for the summer Red Bull Ring round and took his first win.

Giovinazzi then gave champion Felix Rosenqvist a good run for his money for much of the 2015 season. He had a slump as the season wore on - a late call-up from Audi for a one-off DTM debut left him with just 24 hours to get from Moscow Raceway to the pre-race F3 test at the Algarve Circuit, and tired him out. But he ended the season back on winning form.

Furthermore, Giovinazzi was undeservedly robbed of the chance of Macau GP victory by a hugely debatable time penalty. He had beaten Rosenqvist to win the qualification race, yet was unfairly given the blame for a first-lap collision. This dropped him to 10th, and he could only recover to fourth in the GP itself.

10. Felipe Nasr

2011: 1st in British F3; 2nd in Macau GP
2012: 5th in Macau GP
2013: 4th in GP2
2014: 3rd in GP2

The Brazilian was a key performer with Carlin for almost half a decade, starting with a tough British F3 season during which he faced a massive intra-team threat from Kevin Magnussen. Nasr was calm and level-headed, while Magnussen endured some early mechanical problems, and this enabled him to build the buffer that he retained to win the title. The elegance of Nasr's performances was nicely illustrated at Monza, where he had a poor qualifying but picked them off to take a pair of wins.

Following a maiden GP2 campaign with DAMS, a cameo return to Carlin's F3 ranks for the 2012 Macau GP heralded two further seasons at the British team in GP2. In 2013, he was super-consistent early on and was way ahead of eventual champion Fabio Leimer in the points, only for a run of non-finishes - including a silly incident with team-mate Jolyon Palmer at Spa for which he was at fault - to derail his bid.

At last he broke through in 2014 with four wins and one pole, but he was noticeably timid in battle against champion Palmer, who had moved to DAMS. It blew up with a spat at the Hungaroring, and Nasr didn't quite have enough to keep his title bid alive.

9. Narain Karthikeyan

1998: 12th in British F3; 11th in Macau GP
1999: 6th in British F3
2000: 1st in Korean Super Prix
2001: 9th in Korean Super Prix
2002: DNF in Macau GP
2003: 4th in World Series by Nissan; DNS in Macau GP

His F1 career wasn't any great shakes, but the Indian is a pivotal figure in the early history of Carlin Motorsport and formed part of its F1 driver roster during the 2005 tie-up with Jordan/Midland.

After its initial season in British F3 in 1997, the team sat out most of 1998, before Karthikeyan arrived - and scored end-of-year podiums at Spa and Silverstone. Karthikeyan then scored Carlin's first race wins in the 1999 Madras Grand Prix, and added a further couple at Brands Hatch back in the British championship.

He went off to Stewart Racing for 2000, but hated the environment in the team, and was welcomed back as the prodigal Carlin son alongside Takuma Sato for the Macau Grand Prix and Korean Super Prix. The duo infuriated Trevor Carlin by both crashing in Macau, where either could have won, before Karthikeyan triumphed in Changwon from future Carlin alumnus Tiago Monteiro.

PLUS: The Macau GP's greatest moments

After an indifferent Formula Nippon season in 2001, Karthikeyan returned to the team in Korea, but damaged his tub on Friday and was left to play catch-up thereafter. He was back with Carlin for the 2002 Macau GP after a season in World Series by Nissan, but crashed out of third place.

He then led the team's maiden attack on the World Series in 2003. Form was a little wild and there were no wins, although unluckily he lost a victory at Valencia when he was pinged for speeding in the pits. His Carlin F3 swansong came with another Macau outing, but he crashed in second qualifying and then withdrew with glandular fever.

8. Daniil Kvyat

2013: European F3 (not registered for points)

It's often forgotten that Kvyat contested the majority of the 2013 F3 European Championship with Carlin alongside his title-winning GP3 campaign with Arden. It shouldn't be though, because his F3 form was arguably what swayed Helmut Marko in his leapfrogging Antonio Felix da Costa in the Red Bull Junior queue to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso for 2014.

In a late deal, the Bashkortostani joined Carlin in an unregistered entry (hence he was never eligible to score points) for the second round at Hockenheim, and topped one qualifying session. Not long after that, he scored a triple pole position in the wet at the Red Bull Ring. For the late-season Zandvoort round, Kvyat was again on pole-winning form and took his first - and only - F3 victory.

Kvyat missed the final round at Hockenheim owing to a 'prior Red Bull commitment' - which turned out to be signing for Toro Rosso. He therefore also skipped the Macau GP, and da Costa's call-up as replacement did little to sweeten the bitter pill.

7. Kevin Magnussen

2011: 2nd in British F3; 3rd in Masters of F3; 14th in Macau GP
2012: 7th in Formula Renault 3.5

He was new to the UK, but Magnussen already had a season of F3 experience under his belt from the German championship when he rocked up in 2011 for what would become an internecine fight with Felipe Nasr.

The Dane was the more aggressive and dynamic of the two, and twice passed Nasr around the outside of Snetterton's ultra-fast Riches bend to win races, but some errors cost him ground to the Brazilian that he couldn't make up. There was bad luck too, with a win at the Nurburgring lost to a misfire, and another at Paul Ricard when he got taken out by Antonio Felix da Costa at the last corner of the final lap. His season then ended with an enormous and scary shunt in the Macau Grand Prix, which caused a red flag and concussed him.

PLUS: Why Magnussen is relishing a fresh start in sportscars

Magnussen stayed with Carlin for the step up to FR3.5 in 2012. Again there were inspirational flashes and incidents, including shunts at Monaco and Silverstone, which led to self-criticism that would serve him well. He won in the wet at Spa, and played his part in a season that included a fierce title battle between Robin Frijns and Jules Bianchi.

6. Carlos Sainz Jr

2012: 5th in FIA European F3; 6th in British F3; 9th in F3 Euro Series; 4th in Masters of F3; 7th in Macau GP
2013: 7th in Macau GP

With Red Bull support and a title-winning Formula Renault season under his belt, Sainz was given a dual programme in both British and European F3 in 2012. With that amount of racing, surely he couldn't go wrong...

It didn't work out that way. While he was clearly very fast, the Spaniard was clearly leaning too heavily on his car control in qualifying, to the detriment of consistency of lap times. And in this reversed-grid era he was also one of the poorest at making up positions.

But whenever it rained, Sainz was incredible. All four of his wins came in the wet, including a joint British/European round at Spa. Most memorably, there was a race at Snetterton that took place amid a deluge, and Sainz was lifting off for the first bend at Riches a clear 100 metres after his rivals.

There was a rough diamond here that most definitely needed polishing, and was. With those characteristics, GP3 and its fragile Pirellis was most definitely the wrong choice for Sainz for a difficult 2013 at Arden, before he returned to Carlin for the Macau GP and put in a solid performance.

5. Jean-Eric Vergne

2010: 1st in British F3; 4th in Masters of F3; 7th in Macau GP
2011: 2nd in Formula Renault 3.5

His Red Bull Junior predecessors Jaime Alguersuari and Daniel Ricciardo had won the British F3 title with Carlin, so the job for top Formula Renault graduate Vergne was clear...

Sure enough, the Frenchman burst out of the blocks with two poles and two wins at Oulton Park, but a mini-slump at Silverstone and Magny-Cours (where he wasted his poles with bad starts) led to an ultimatum from Helmut Marko. Vergne responded by dominating at Hockenheim and rarely looked back, including a history-making weekend at Spa where he won all three races, including the reversed-grid one. It was one of the most crushing British F3 campaigns in history, with James Calado and Oliver Webb as his main opposition.

Vergne was placed alongside Robert Wickens in Carlin's FR3.5 team for 2011, and his commitments on the Red Bull simulator didn't help - for example, he had to miss free practice for the opening round at Motorland Aragon. The season turned into a fierce duel between the Carlin duo. Vergne's first win came after a fruity cut across the bows of Wickens at Spa to take the lead, and there was another close call at Paul Ricard.

It blew up in the finale at Barcelona. Vergne instigated contact at the first corner, but a brusque retort from Wickens at the following left-hander broke the Canadian's suspension. Vergne needed a top-five finish to claim the title, but was powerless to prevent his damaged car dropping down the order until he was eliminated in a clash with Fairuz Fauzy.

4. Takuma Sato

2000: 3rd in British F3
2001: 1st in British F3; 1st in Masters of F3; 1st in Macau GP

The Japanese remains a legend at Carlin, where his 2001 title-winning Dallara still resides, and a helmet bearing his motto 'no attack, no chance' takes pride of place in Trevor Carlin's office. That's no surprise, as he was the first driver to deliver a championship for the team.

Manager Andrew Gilbert-Scott had watched the Honda protege flower during his joint Opel Lotus Euroseries/British F3 Class B campaign in 1999 and, after testing with Fortec, the decision was taken to go to Carlin for 2000. At this point, Sato still had only one full season of car racing under his belt, but he was immediately quick. Unsurprisingly, there were also a few shunts, but in the second half of the season he was clearly quicker than champion Antonio Pizzonia and runner-up Tomas Scheckter.

PLUS: Sato turns teacher to find Japan's next F1 heroes

It all came together in 2001, where Sato combined with Anthony Davidson to provide a line-up as long on trophy-winning potential as it was short on stature. As well as 12 wins in 26 championship races, he also won the non-points British GP support race and the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort.

But what he really wanted was Macau Grand Prix victory. This had all gone wrong in 2000, when he threw away his chances at the start with a special Japanese Mugen Honda engine. For 2001, he stuck with the Neil Brown-tuned British F3-spec Mugen, and beat Bjorn Wirdheim in the first heat and Benoit Treluyer in the second to sign off his F3 career in style.

3. Lando Norris

2015: 1st in British F4
2016: 8th in British F3; 11th in Macau GP
2017: 1st in European F3; 2nd in Macau GP
2018: 2nd in FIA F2

Norris is as talismanic to Carlin the late 2010s as Sato in the early 2000s, albeit over a longer period. When the UK introduced FIA F4 in 2015, the team entered the series, its effort spearheaded by a pair of 15-year-olds in the forms of Norris and Colton Herta. Norris did the double first time out at Brands Hatch and, after a dramatic season that also featured title challenges from Ricky Collard and Dan Ticktum, plus a late run from Herta, he claimed the inaugural crown.

The main focus in 2016 was Formula Renault - something Carlin has rarely contested - but Norris scored four wins in a handful of British F3 outings with the team, and made his first steps in FIA F3 in the European finale at Hockenheim and then the Macau GP.

Carlin and the Norris family poured everything into the 2017 European F3 campaign. Against quality opposition - primarily Joel Eriksson, Callum Ilott and Maxi Gunther - Norris became the only driver ever to win a Euro F3 crown with Carlin. He was runner-up to Ticktum in a thrilling Macau GP, where he had arrived late from Interlagos following an abortive McLaren F1 test.

Logically, his management team tried to tie up a deal with Prema Racing for F2. But this was vetoed by Prema majority owner Lawrence Stroll, and Norris ventured to Carlin for its return to the series. He won the opening round in Bahrain, but puzzlingly never triumphed again and was comfortably beaten to the title by George Russell.

2. Daniel Ricciardo

2009: 1st in British F3

The Australian didn't have the same amount of success with Carlin as some of those below him on this list, but his subsequent career of seven grand prix wins lifts him right to the top echelons.

Carlin switched from Mercedes power to the new-to-Britain Volkswagen engine for the 2009 British F3 Championship, and Red Bull Junior Ricciardo stepped up following a title-winning Formula Renault campaign. He and the team hit the ground running, but there were a couple of sticking points.

First, he took a while to get qualifying sussed; second, rival team Hitech drafted in talented Renger van der Zande as a ringer to help the title challenge of Walter Grubmuller, whose family had bought into the team, and there were collisions with Ricciardo at Rockingham and Donington. At the latter venue, van der Zande was penalised for the tactics, as Carlin's winless streak stretched to eight races.

PLUS: The F1 racing statement that Ricciardo should make again

With qualifying sorted, Ricciardo went on a march and clinched the title at the Algarve Circuit with a round to spare. Then he went out and absolutely destroyed the opposition to win at the Brands Hatch GP circuit finale by over 15 seconds. That could have put him at number 1 in our list, but in hindsight the quality of the field in 2009 British F3 wasn't particularly strong, so he loses out to...

1. Sebastian Vettel

2006: 15th in Formula Renault 3.5; 23rd in Macau GP
2007: 5th in Formula Renault 3.5

On his way to becoming a four-time world champion, Vettel was leading the 2007 FR3.5 standings with Carlin Motorsport by a comfortable 23 points when Toro Rosso F1 driver Scott Speed had a physical altercation with team boss Franz Tost, got sacked, and was replaced by the brightest talent from Red Bull's junior stable.

PLUS: Why Vettel's next move can define his F1 legacy

Funnily enough, Vettel had only been drafted into Carlin's FR3.5 line-up in 2006 when another American, Colin Fleming, was dropped from the Red Bull roster. "Finishing eighth or ninth is not good enough," huffed Helmut Marko.

Vettel was at the time in the midst of an F3 Euro Series title battle with ASM team-mate Paul di Resta, but was hoisted into the more powerful machine at Misano. He was third in his first race, but elevated to victory when 'winner' Pastor Maldonado was excluded for missing camber adjustment shims, and 'runner-up' Ben Hanley was penalised for weaving. The following day, the young German slayed his qualifying group opposition by 0.455s, and won the race after holding off Hanley.

Next time out, at Spa, Vettel was on the front row for the opening race. He was chasing Maldonado in the rain when he slammed into the barrier at Raidillon, and nearly severed the forefinger that would become so famous in his F1 pointing days. "Some debris came into the cockpit and has sliced my finger off..." he related. "OK, it's still attached but the bone is completely sliced."

When BMW Sauber promoted him to take part in late-season F1 FP1 sessions, something had to give, so Vettel focused on this and F3. And his F1 commitments for 2007 meant he was steered towards racing in FR3.5 with Carlin, rather than running on the same bill as F1 in GP2. In the meantime, he had an unsuccessful one-off F3 outing with Carlin in the Macau GP, where a brake problem - he was carrying damage from early in the race - caused him to crash on the penultimate lap of the qualification race.

Vettel's duties at the Australian GP meant he had to miss the pre-season FR3.5 test at Barcelona, but he was a contender from the start of the season. A spin in the opening race at Monza prompted a charge from 22nd to fifth, and he was third in the sequel following a last-lap clash with Mikhail Aleshin. Next time out, at the Nurburgring, he was on pole and dominated the opening race.

In Monaco, Vettel started from the front row and chased Alvaro Parente all the way to the flag, before his unexpected call-up to replace the injured Robert Kubica at BMW Sauber for the US GP. The next FR3.5 outing was at the Hungaroring, and he shrugged off a hand injury from a collision with Hanley in free practice to finish fourth in the opener, and third in the reversed-grid follow-up.

And then came the Toro Rosso drive. "We are very proud of our history of breeding future F1 stars within the Carlin team," mused Trevor Carlin at the time. "Unfortunately, this one came a little earlier than expected!"