The Formula Renault 3.5 grid guide

With a revamped car, Formula Renault 3.5 is boasting arguably the strongest driver line-up in its history, as the faster machine and favourable budget compared to GP2 has attracted drivers from all over the junior single-seater spectrum.

Far from being a place for those who can't make the cut on the Formula 1 support bill, the headline act on the World Series by Renault package is brimming with race winners from serious junior championships. Frontrunning names from Formula 3, Formula Renault, GP3 and, remarkably, even GP2 make up the bulk of the grid, with a leading lights from last year's championship hoping to step out of the shadows now Robert Wickens and Jean-Eric Vergne have moved on.

Here, AUTOSPORT guides you through the line-up ahead of what promises to be a fiercely competitive season for the championship that has groomed the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica in the past.

CARLIN

#1. Kevin Magnussen (DK)
Age: 19
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 2nd in British F3

#2. Will Stevens (GB)
Age: 20
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 4th in Formula Renault Eurocup, 14th in Formula Renault UK (4 races)

Carlin has entrusted its hopes of landing a third consecutive drivers' crown with two rookies, which in a year where the quality in the field has gone up could prevent it from continuing its winning streak. Magnussen's rate of improvement with the same team in British Formula 3 last year suggests that plenty of his father Jan's junior career blistering speed has trickled down the family tree, so he doesn't need to fear the big names that he is locking horns with this year. Stevens is making a bigger step up coming from Formula Renault, but at least has experience of racing on the World Series by Renault package in the Eurocup.

FORTEC MOTORSPORTS

#3. Carlos Huertas (CO)
Age: 20
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 3rd in British F3, 8th in FIA International F3 Trophy

#4. Robin Frijns (NL)
Age: 20
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: Formula Renault Eurocup Champion, 4th in Formula Renault NEC

Fortec has dominated pre-season testing with reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion Frijns, who topped four of the six test days this winter. The key for the Dutchman will be his ability to deliver that speed when it counts on race weekends, and a lot of his fate could depend on how hard the more experienced campaigners were pushing during the off-season running. Huertas broke his British F3 duck with a win for Carlin last year on his way to a solid third place in the championship, but that was his third year in the same category so he'll need to get up to speed quicker here.

ISR

#5. Sam Bird (GB)
Age: 25
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 6th in GP2, 12th in GP2 Asia

#6. Jake Rosenzweig (USA)
Age: 23
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2010
2011: 15th in Formula Renault 3.5

Bird has little choice but to be one of the championship favourites this year, and anything but a serious tilt at the title will be considered a disappointment. But that won't be news to the Briton, who was in the thick of the GP2 mix for the first half of 2011 before his season went off the rails. ISR is a team with the ability to deliver a top car, as its victories with Esteban Guerrieri and Daniel Ricciardo over the past two years have proved. Rosenzweig has FR3.5 experience, but his previous results suggest that Bird will be leading the running.

TECH 1 RACING

#7. Kevin Korjus (EST)
Age: 19
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2011
2011: 6th in Formula Renault 3.5, 18th in Auto GP (2 races)

#8. Jules Bianchi (F)
Age: 22
F3 FR3.5 debut: Monaco, 2009
2011: 3rd in GP2, 2nd in GP2 Asia

Tech 1 knows how to produce in this series, and it has one of the strongest line-ups across its two cars. Bianchi needs no introduction as he moves across from two years of slight under-achievement in GP2 (not many drivers could consider back-to-back third places in the standings as failure), but his Ferrari junior driver role and Force India test seat mean that all eyes will continue to be on him this year. Korjus put together a strong rookie campaign last year and impressed the Renault (now Lotus) F1 team in the young driver test in November, so he is sure to prove a handful to his experienced team-mate.

P1 MOTORSPORT

#9. Walter Grubmuller Jr (A)
Age: 23
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2010
2011: 18th in Formula Renault 3.5

#10. Daniil Move (RU)
Age: 26
F3 FR3.5 debut: Monza, 2007
2011: 10th in Formula Renault 3.5

The days of Grubmuller fighting for the British F3 championship - with a hired team-mate backing his cause - seem a long time ago. Since that 2009 season he has made little impression in two years of FR3.5, so he has to deliver a marked improvement this time round. But if Grubmuller's career - which was affected by injury last year - has lost momentum, then what to say about his team-mate Move? This will be his sixth year in the same series, and in that time he has notched up four podiums. The influx of talent elsewhere on the grid means he will have to work very hard to add to that tally.

LOTUS

#11. Richie Stanaway (NZ)
Age: 20
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: German F3 champion, 20th in GP3 (4 races)

#12. Marco Sorensen (DK)
Age: 21
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 2nd in German F3, 3 races in F3 Euro Series

Stanaway proved a lot last year: in German F3 he showed he could deliver a championship-winning campaign, and in GP3 he turned up at the penultimate round of the season, scored a point on his debut and then won his second start in the category, showing he is also a fast learner. That should leave him in good shape at 'Lotus', which has rebranded the Gravity-Charouz squad. Sorensen moves from the role of rival to team-mate to the Kiwi, after finishing as runner-up to Stanaway last year in Germany.

BVM TARGET

#15. Giovanni Venturini (I)
Age: 20
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 9th in Auto GP

#16. Nikolay Martsenko (RU)
Age: 18
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 12th in German F3

The Italian team moves into its second year of FR3.5 competition with its hopes mainly pinned on Venturini, who has a couple of Auto GP wins to his name and a reasonable record prior to that in Formula Renault. This will be a big step for Martsenko, who has little experience beyond two and bit years in German F3 to fall back on as he enters a fiercely competitive category.

TEAM RFR

#17. Mikhail Aleshin (RU)
Age: 24
FR3.5 debut: Zolder, 2006
Titles: 1 (2010)
2011: Selected races in GP2, Superleague, Formula Renault 3.5, German F3

#18. Anton Nebylitskiy (RU)
Age: 22
F3 FR3.5 debut: Barcelona, 2009
2011: 19th in Formula Renault 3.5

Aleshin's return to the championship he conquered in 2010 was one of the most bizarre stories of the off-season. But after financial woes prevented him from a full season in GP2, the chance to lead a team from his homeland and work with the new-for-2011 car was enough of a draw to bring the Russian back to the Renault arena. Crucially, he will offer a good benchmark for both the team and second driver Nebylitskiy.

PONS RACING

#19. Zoel Amberg (CH)
Age: 19
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 8th in European F3 Open, unclassified in GP3

#20. Yann Cunha (BR)
Age: 21
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 9th in European F3 Open, unclassified in British F3

Pons is unlikely to make much of an impression at the front of the field this year, although in Amberg it has one of a handful of drivers who looked better in other series than they did trawling round towards the back of a 30-car GP3 field. Cunha's only performance of note in British F3 last year was his trip to Spa for the European F3 Open, which contravened British championship testing rules, giving him a points penalty that he was unable to recover from (hence a final points total of minus 36).

INTERNATIONAL DRACO RACING

#21. Nico Muller (CH)
Age: 20
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 4th in GP3

#22. Andre Negrao (BR)
Age: 19
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2011
2011: 20th in Formula Renault 3.5

Draco's fall from grace since lifting the 2009 championship with Bertrand Baguette has been steep (seventh in the 2010 teams' championship, 12th in 2011). But in Muller it might just have found a hidden gem that can surprise a few people. The Swiss driver laid the foundations for a 2011 GP3 title tilt with third place the year before, but his hopes were derailed by Jenzer Motorsport signing up two rookies alongside him for year two. Once he learned to deal with a lack of data from team-mates he led the team well, and recovered to an impressive fourth place in the standings. In Negrao he at least has a team-mate with experience, but expect Muller to lead the way on pace.

COMTEC RACING

#23. Vittorio Ghirelli (I)
Age: 17
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 9th in Formula Renault ALPS, 23rd in Formula Renault Eurocup, unclassified in GP3

#24. Nick Yelloly (GB)
Age: 21
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
Silverstone, 2011: 21st in GP3, 14th in Formula Renault 3.5 (6 races)

Comtec is another team trying to rediscover a glorious past, although its 2006 success with Alx Danielsson fades even further into the memory than Draco's last title. Ghirelli was another driver to make little impression in GP3 last year, while Yelloly made up for his own struggles in the same category with some impressive cameos in FR 3.5 (including a podium in the season finale), which should leave him in good shape for this year.

ARDEN CATERHAM

#25. Alexander Rossi (USA)
Age: 20
FR3.5 debut: Monaco, 2010
2011: 3rd in Formula Renault 3.5

#26. Lewis Williamson (GB)
Age: 22
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2011
2011: 8th in GP3, 4 races in Formula Renault 3.5

Arden's line-up is a contender with Tech 1's when it comes to judging a team across both cars, but it has had its work cut out during winter testing. While a new car package levels the playing field for new teams, a lack of reliability in testing has prevented Arden from gathering the amount of data it would like to have at its disposal for its debut season. That could be pivotal in a crucial campaign for both of its drivers: Rossi is the highest placed returnee from 2011, while Williamson is trying to follow in the footsteps of the previous two Red Bull drivers to race in this series (Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne) and graduate to F1.

DAMS

#27. Lucas Foresti (BR)
Age: 19
FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2012
2011: 7th in British F3

#28. Arthur Pic (F)
Age: 20
F3 FR3.5 debut: Aragon, 2011
2011: 23rd in Formula Renault 3.5

With Romain Grosjean's GP2 title under its belt, and Davide Valsecchi making a relentless start in the same arena this year, DAMS' entry into FR3.5 will probably slip under the radar this year. In Foresti and Pic it has two drivers that are yet to show world-beating form, so it could be hard to judge how Jean-Paul Driot's squad handles the addition of the Renault series to its workload this season.