Top 10 drivers to watch in GP2

Top 10 drivers to watch

#11 Romain Grosjean

Age: 25
Nationality: French
Team: DAMS
2010: Auto GP champion, race winner in World GT1, eight starts in GP2

The former Renault F1 driver is preparing for only his second full-time GP2 campaign - his first since finishing fourth in the standings in 2008.

His brief foray into F1 in 2009 left his career pretty wounded, but he recovered well by branching out into a variety of cars and championships throughout 2010. He's already laid down a marker for the season by winning a second GP2 Asia title earlier this year.

Jules Bianchi © LAT

#5 Jules Bianchi

Age: 21
Nationality: French
Team: ART Grand Prix
2010: 3rd in GP2

Bianchi carried a lot of momentum into his rookie GP2 campaign after blitzing the F3 Euro Series in 2009. But he found the step to the brink of Formula 1 tougher than expected, and had to revise his flat-out-all-of-the-time F3 driving style to adapt to the longer GP2 races.

The pressure is on for year two, and he claims he has changed his style to better suit the category. The evidence of that was when he beat Grosjean in a straight fight in the Asia season-opener at Abu Dhabi.

Sam Bird © LAT

#9 Sam Bird

Age: 24
Nationality: British
Team: iSport International
2010: 5th in GP2

Bird starred on occasions in his rookie year, often racing his way through the pack after overcoming some sort of adversity. The pace is clearly there so he should be a factor if he can stay out of trouble and just race at the front as he should.

The switch from ART to iSport could pay off as well, as he has settled in quickly with the British team. Expect a measured approach as he targets the consistency required to fight for a championship.

Christian Vietoris © LAT

#8 Christian Vietoris

Age: 22
Nationality: German
Racing Engineering
2010: 9th in GP2

By the end of last year Vietoris was one of the stand out rookies in the field after a season of steady improvement. But his second season will not as straightforward as it should be for the rest of the second-year drivers.

Not only did he skip the Asia series and thus miss out on track time with the new car, but he will attempt to combine his GP2 title charge with a rookie campaign in the DTM with Mercedes. Overcoming all that and producing the goods would be a very impressive achievement.

Charles Pic © LAT

#3 Charles Pic

Age: 21
Nationality: French
Team: Addax
2010: 10th in GP2

He burst onto the GP2 scene by winning first time out for Arden one year ago, but he slipped away from the front as the year went on.

His qualifying pace suggested that he has what it takes to perform in this series, so he will be pinning his hopes on switching to a team with more recent success than Arden to mount a title challenge.

Giedo van der Garde © LAT

#4 Giedo van der Garde

Age: 26
Nationality: Dutch
Team: Addax
2010: 7th in GP2

The Dutchman looked good as his rookie season came to a close in 2009, but he was unable to make the most of the switch from iSport to Addax for 2010.

A driver's third season in a category like this is always a high-pressure situation, but van der Garde appeared to have a cool head in the Asia series where his solid finishes brought him to within striking distance of Bianchi in the standings by the end. Key for this year will be carrying that unflappable approach into the main series.

Dani Clos © LAT

#7 Dani Clos

Age: 22
Nationality: Spanish
Team: Racing Engineering
2010: 4th in GP2

The Spaniard started his second season of GP2 really well but trailed off a bit as the year went on. Bad luck played its part, but the improving form of rookie team-mate Vietoris could have been a cause for concern as well. He looked well settled with the new car in the Asia series, and this is a crunch year as he prepares to enter his third season at this level.

If Vietoris hasn't lost too much ground by missing Asia and racing in the DTM, Clos will still have his work cut out to lead the team.

Marcus Ericsson 2011 © LAT

#10 Marcus Ericsson

Age: 20
Nationality: Swedish
Team: iSport International
2010: 17th in GP2

The results didn't do Ericsson justice last year, as even his former team Super Nova would admit. Starting the year in an all-rookie line-up with Josef Kral made it tough to learn early on, and the team was then disrupted by the Czech driver getting injured mid-season.

Ericsson appeared to be a match for new team-mate Sam Bird in the Asia series earlier this year, so a more competitive campaign surely beckons.

Fabio Leimer © LAT

#1 Fabio Leimer

Age: 22
Nationality: Swiss
Team: Rapax
2010: 19th in GP2

Made the best of a tricky situation with Ocean, which didn't have the best of seasons last year. He won a reversed grid race in the first weekend of the season, and his struggles after that were more down to the car than driver.

Rapax hasn't set the world on fire with the 2011 car just yet, but it should offer Leimer a platform to show his true level this year.

Esteban Gutierrez © LAT

#6 Esteban Gutierrez

Age: 19
Nationality: Mexican
Team: ART Grand Prix
2010: GP3 champion

The Mexican slots in alongside Bianchi at ART, two years after they were part of the team's F3 Euro Series quartet. That year, Gutierrez managed just two podiums on his way to ninth in the standings. But his switch to GP3 for the inaugural season worked wonders for his reputation, as he took the first title under the noses of the GP2 and F1 paddocks.

Very few drivers walk into a top team for their first season here, and Gutierrez will have his work cut out to emulate the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg by winning the crown at the first attempt.