Future F1 stars to watch in 2014

Twelve months ago Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat were starting out on what turned out to be career-changing seasons on the Formula 1 ladder, now both are already well-established on the grand prix grid.

Despite the testing limitations and F1's reputation for money making the difference in the driver market, its teams are still keeping a watchful eye on feeder categories such as GP2, Formula Renault 3.5, GP3 and European Formula 3, all of which feature a host of grand prix proteges on their grids this season.

As GP2 becomes the first of the training series to kick off for 2014 in Bahrain this weekend, AUTOSPORT picks out the drivers most likely to make a noise on the F1 nursery slopes this season.

FR3.5

Pierre Gasly (F)
Age: 18
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 with Arden Motorsport
CV highlights: 2013 Formula Renault Eurocup champion, third in French F4 in 2011

Given that the past two Formula Renault Eurocup champions to graduate to FR3.5 (Robin Frijns and Stoffel Vandoorne) have fought for the title as rookies (with Frijns winning it), the bar has been set pretty high for Gasly.

And just in case there wasn't enough spotlight on him already, he's also entering his first season as a fully-fledged Red Bull junior, meaning he'll be racing in the famous colours of the multiple Formula 1 world championship-winning team.

Arden has tried to play down his chances this year, pointing out that he makes the step up to this level at a younger age than his predecessors, but pre-season testing suggests that isn't going to hold him back. He won't go beyond aiming for the "top three and race wins" this year, which certainly seems achievable.

Oliver Rowland (GB)
Age: 21
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 with Fortec Motorsports
CV highlights: Formula Renault Eurocup runner-up 2013, third in Formula Renault Eurocup 2012, Formula Renault UK runner-up 2011

When Rowland finished a distant third in the 2012 Formula Renault Eurocup, it was considered a slightly underwhelming campaign. Yes, he was best of the rest behind a dominant top two, but the gap was bigger than it should have been. However, given that the two drivers in question were Stoffel Vandoorne and Daniil Kvyat, in hindsight that season doesn't look so bad now.

The Briton came close to winning the Eurocup last year, colliding with eventual champion Gasly in the final race, and his performances in 2013 reinvigorated his career. That momentum has carried on through winter testing in FR3.5, and in Fortec he has the team that got so much out of Frijns and Vandoorne when they stepped up from the Eurocup.

He's been a little more forthright with his goals than Gasly, stating that he believes he can fight for the title in his rookie year.

Sergey Sirotkin (RUS)
Age: 18
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 with Fortec Motorsports
CV highlights: Two podium finishes in FR3.5 2013, 3rd European Formula Abarth championship

When the Sauber Formula 1 team announced a deal with Russian investors last year, it was supposed to lead to teenager Sirotkin being catapulted into an F1 race seat for 2014. That hasn't happened, which can only be a good thing for the development of a youngster who has more than enough time on his side.

Driver coaches and team personnel who have worked with him believe that Sirotkin has a lot of potential, and dropping him in at the F1 deep end would have been a case of way too much, way too soon. The on-form days during his rookie campaign hinted at that potential, and he was a deserving podium visitor on the couple of occasions he made the top three.

He claims to have got a lot out of the development programme Sauber has placed him on, and with Fortec he should have a car capable of regularly challenging at the front, as he has managed during winter testing.

Carlos Sainz Jr (E)
Age: 19
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 with DAMS
CV highlights: Podium finisher in GP3 2013, race winner in British Formula 3 2012, Formula Renault NEC champion and FR Eurocup runner-up 2011

While he was being outshone by team-mate Daniil Kvyat in GP3, there were flashes of brilliance from Sainz during his part-season in FR3.5 last year, none more so than a sixth place on his debut around the streets of Monte Carlo. But more than that was always going to be difficult to achieve with the cash-strapped Zeta Corse outfit, so the majority of last year was about building a foundation for 2014.

Red Bull has retained the Spaniard for what has to be a push for the title, and in taking over 2013 champion Kevin Magnussen's DAMS car for this year there really are no excuses. Sainz, his world rally legend father Carlos Sr, and Red Bull, should get all the answers they need about what he's capable of as this season rumbles on.

Will Stevens (GB)
Age: 22
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 with Strakka Racing
CV highlights: race winner in Formula Renault UK and FR Eurocup 2010-11, fourth in FR3.5 2013

As the highest-placed returnee from 2013, Stevens enters his third season in FR3.5 with a target on his back. That's not a bad situation to be in, but if he wants to retain that status he'll need to chalk up a maiden victory in the category early in the season.

Stevens improved his consistency during 2013, but he was never quite able to get beyond the fringes of the title fight. Some of that was down to luck and reliability, and the fact that he was the only person in the same league as Kevin Magnussen in the race where the Dane secured the title last year was a good omen for this season.

Caterham is continuing to support the Briton this season, and the fact that it agreed with his wish to stay in FR3.5 with Strakka rather than move across to GP2 suggests that it expects that stability to yield significant results in 2014.

Marco Sorensen (DK)
Age: 23
2014: Formula Renault 3.5 with Tech 1 Racing
CV highlights: German Formula 3 runner-up 2011, three wins in Formula Renault 3.5 2012-13

A quick glance at the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 standings shows that Kevin Magnussen wasn't the top Danish newcomer that season. The now-McLaren F1 racer was outshone in his rookie season by Sorensen, despite the latter losing a couple of victories to late-race failures that were outside of his control.

However, while Magnussen switched from Carlin to DAMS and launched himself towards F1 in 2013, Sorensen's second year was plagued by early-season technical problems and his Lotus/Charouz team not being quite the force it had been the previous season. The one weekend it all came together - in Austria - he won both races from pole, hinting at what might have been.

A switch to Tech 1 for a third crack at the title only came together in February, and it gives Sorensen a chance to show that his rookie form in 2012 was no flash in the pan.

GP2

Stefano Coletti (MC)
Age: 24
2014: GP2 with Racing Engineering
CV highlights: 2013 fifth in GP2 (three wins), sixth in FR3.5 in 2010

This fourth-year GP2 racer has a lot to prove following his move to Racing Engineering after a Jekyll-and-Hyde season with Rapax. Three wins and seven podiums in the first half of 2013 dissolved into a pointless second period as he plunged from a dominant lead to fifth in the standings.

He has learned from that bruising experience, and pressed the reset button with his new team, blaming last year's fall from grace on tyre pressure and camber limitations that everyone else appeared to cope with much better.

"I've been working really well with the team and my engineer - it's a completely different car to drive [from the Rapax machine] and it took quite a while to get used to the driving style required," he says.

"The car is very quick when you drive it correctly, but if you don't drive it how it wants you to... it gets complicated!"

Mitch Evans (NZ)
Age: 19
2014: GP2 with Russian Time
CV highlights: 2012 GP3 champion (three wins), 2011 Toyota Racing Series champion

Expect him to be a far stronger proposition with an iSport-run Russian Time team than his oft-random rookie performances with Arden last year suggested. Mark Webber's protege is still a teenager, but with a GP3 title already under his belt and many lessons learned from last season, expect him to be a title contender.

"It's really exciting, I'm absolutely chuffed to be with Russian Time," says Evans. "iSport and Paul Jackson coming back to GP2 is also fantastic. I'm looking forward to getting it all under way, and we'll have a crack at the championship. We'll work as hard as we can to make that happen."

Whether it will take some time for iSport to get back up to speed in the category, after a year out, will be interesting following the Motopark team's enforced exit from the Russian Time set-up.

Raffaele Marciello (I)
Age: 19
2014: GP2 with Racing Engineering
CV highlights: 2013 Formula 3 European champion (13 wins), second in Euro F3 in 2012

This Ferrari junior is the reigning European Formula 3 champion and graduates to GP2 with Racing Engineering, which took Fabio Leimer to last year's title. Pre-season testing form has been impressive, the Italian regularly displaying top-10 pace with a team that's never been prone to chasing headline-stealing test times.

"Testing has gone really well," he says. "We've been really fast, but we know we have to improve on our qualy laps. From my side, it's quite difficult on these Pirellis because you only get one lap to get the time out of them - it means you have to find 2s in one lap over used tyres, which is a bit difficult."

Marciello is happy he's had enough pre-season seat time to be prepared for this weekend's Bahrain opener, and says his race simulations have been "really fast - for the races, I think I'm ready".

He's targeted a top-five finish in the points this season, and race wins are certainly on his radar.

Felipe Nasr (BR)
Age: 21
2014: GP2 with Carlin
CV highlights: 2013 fourth in GP2, 2011 British F3 champion

The hot favourite for GP2 honours this year. He remains at Carlin for a full-on title assault (his third in the category) but the Williams F1 test and reserve driver has the stigma of not yet having won a GP2 race (albeit missing out by 0.08s in Bahrain last year). It's a statistic that he's keen to address.

"I'm always fighting to win, maybe four or five times last year I was leading races," he says. "But there was always something, whether it was a strategy decision like those who took fresh prime tyres in the feature race [compromising their sprint-race hopes], I was always going for the championship, so I wasn't willing to do that.

"This year, I'm really keen to win races and take the title. It's why I came back to Carlin, I'm out there to win."

Jolyon Palmer (GB)
Age: 22
2014: GP2 with DAMS
CV highlights: 2013 seventh in GP2 (two wins), second in Formula 2 in 2010

Britain's main hope for GP2 title glory is Jolyon Palmer, who moves to reigning champion team DAMS on the back of two feature-race wins with Carlin last year. Going into his fourth year in the category, he knows that the title is a must-win if he's to emulate his father Jonathan by making it to F1.

"I've got all the experience I need, and coupled with DAMS' expertise, it's a case of us putting it all together," says the three-time GP2 race winner.

"I'm pleased to see the new rookies coming in - Vandoorne and Marciello - I think it's great to see the best talent from the other categories coming into GP2, backed by F1 teams. It gives me a chance to beat them and show everyone what I can do."

Stoffel Vandoorne (B)
Age: 22
2014: GP2 with ART Grand Prix
CV highlights: 2013 second in Formula Renault 3.5 (four wins), 2012 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup champion

McLaren's junior driver arrives in GP2 as runner-up to Kevin Magnussen in last year's Formula Renault 3.5 championship. Already a champion at Formula 4 and FRenault 2.0 Eurocup level, he lands at an ART team that is no stranger to success with Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg.

However, its recent fortunes have waned slightly and James Calado struggled to maintain a title campaign last season.

The 22-year-old Belgian is McLaren's reserve F1 driver this year, so his first season on the grand prix support card should prove mutually beneficial to both parties.

"I really want to win this championship," he says. "It's going to be a massive challenge, but I'm working very hard with my team to get the best out of it."

GP3

Alex Lynn
Nationality: British
Age: 20
2014: GP3 with Carlin
CV highlights: 2013 3rd in European F3 and 1st in Macau Grand Prix; 2012 4th in British F3; 2011 FRenault UK champion; 2010 10th in FRenault UK and FRenault Winter Series champion

An interesting move for Lynn, whose fantastic win in the Macau Grand Prix gave him great career momentum but left him in a quandary: remain in F3 with Prema, be expected to win, and possibly sacrifice some of that momentum; or seek a new challenge? As it happens, Rosenqvist's return to F3 means we can only wonder what a fantastic battle we could have had if only Lynn had stayed on...

Still, he's now firmly a GP3 driver with Carlin - and a member of Red Bull's slimmed-down junior programme. The relationship has begun in style, with smooth-driving Lynn topping the Estoril test seemingly with ease on his first taste of a GP3 car. Ironically, that means he's exactly what he would have been had he stayed in F3: a title favourite!

Dean Stoneman
Nationality: British
Age: 23
2014: GP3 with Marussia Manor Racing
CV highlights: 2013 5th in Porsche Carrera Cup GB; 2010 FIA F2 champion; 2009 4th in FRenault UK; 2008 4th in FRenault UK; 2007 2nd in FRenault BARC

He spent two years out of the sport due to serious illness - albeit proving his adrenalin-junkie credentials by becoming a star of powerboat racing while recuperating - and returned last season in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB.

A switch to single-seaters in the GP3 finale, in which he scored a podium, suggested that the Stoneman talent hasn't gone away and there's every chance to suspect that he can be a strong contender this season. He's a 1960s-throwback seat-of-the-pants racer - with added aggression - which may count against him in the long haul of a title chase. But don't discount him from taking a couple of wins - or winding up a few of his fainter-of-heart rivals.

Formula 3

Lucas Auer
Nationality: Austrian
Age: 19
2014: European F3 with Mucke Motorsport
CV highlights: 2013 4th in European F3; 2012 2nd in German F3; 2011 JK Racing Asia Series champion

Very quick, this diminutive and likeable young fella is shooting for something no one in his family has done before - a European F3 title, which his uncle Gerhard Berger missed out on in 1983 and '84!

Auer's progress at the start of last season with Prema Powerteam was rapid, but apart from one inherited win at Brands Hatch (after team-mate Raffaele Marciello was excluded) he couldn't quite make the final step to race victor.

He's a good racer, but there were some incidents - including a Macau disaster - later in the season. Expect that to change with Berlin-based Mucke Motorsport, where he may just thrive in a more Teutonic atmosphere.

Felix Rosenqvist
Nationality: Swedish
Age 22
2014: European F3 with Mucke Motorsport
CV highlights: 2013 2nd in European F3 and 1st in Masters of F3; 2012 3rd in European F3; 2011 5th in F3 Euro Series and 1st in Masters of F3

It's ridiculous that Rosenqvist isn't being previewed as a leading contender for GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5, but such is the way in modern motor racing that talent alone isn't enough to climb the ladder. So... back for a fourth successive season with Mucke Motorsport in European F3.

With bags of experience, plus continuity, on his side, this hard racer with terrific car control will be the guy everyone is expecting to win the title, but he's a feet-on-ground kind of chap and he won't be taking anything for granted.

If anything, having a proven frontrunning team-mate such as Auer on his side - something he didn't have last year - should make Rosenqvist even stronger.

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