GP2 Series: Runners and riders

Barwa Addax

#1 Vitaly Petrov (RUS)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Hockenheim 2006
Total GP2 starts: 49
GP2 wins: 2
Best championship position: 7th (2008)

The Russian returns for his third season with Campos/Barwa Addax. He's shown solid improvement with each year and will be keen to add to his tally of two wins if the opportunity presents itself.

#2 Romain Grosjean (F)
Age: 23
First GP2 start: Barcelona 2008
Total GP2 starts: 20
GP2 wins: 2
Best championship position: 4th (2008)

Very quick during his rookie season, but his speed was occasionally tempered by points being thrown away too cheaply. Even with the mistakes he was a contender; without them he will be difficult to stop.

iSport

#3 Giedo van der Garde (NL)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

World Series by Renault champion steps up a level this season. Managed some reasonable results in GP2 Asia Series outings, but early on will have his work cut out trying to repeat that against a stronger field.

#4 Diego Nunes (BR)
Age: 22
First GP2 start: Barcelona 2008
Total GP2 starts: 20
GP2 wins: 0
Best championship position: 22nd (2008)

Moves across to iSport after spending his rookie season with DPR. His GP2 Asia campaign with Piquet resulted in his first win at Sepang and he'll be keen to see what he can do with a frontrunning car.

Piquet

#5 Roldan Rodriguez (E)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Bahrain 2007
Total GP2 starts: 41
GP2 wins: 0
Best championship position: 13th (2008)

Returns to Piquet after a season with FMS. Finished the last season with a second place at Monza and picked up another three podiums in the GP2 Asia Series, including a win at Shanghai.

#6 Alberto Valerio (BR)
Age: 23
First GP2 start: Barcelona 2008
Total GP2 starts: 20
GP2 wins: 0
Best championship position: 26th (2008)

The Brazilian moves across to Piquet after spending his rookie season with Durango. He's managed a couple of points in the Asia Series but is still yet to get off the mark it the main series, so some progress on that front will be his main target.

Racing Engineering

#7 Lucas di Grassi (BR)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Valencia 2006
Total GP2 starts: 54
GP2 wins: 4
Best championship position: 2nd (2007)

Finished third last season despite only taking part from round four onwards. Vastly experienced at this level, the Brazilian's move from Campos to title-winning Racing Engineering makes him runaway favourite for the championship.

#8 Dani Clos (E)
Age: 20
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

The young Spaniard steps up to GP2 after two seasons in F3 Euro Series. With someone of di Grassi's standard on the other side of the garage, he faces a tough rookie season. But working with the team that won last year's championship should help ease the learning curve.

ART

#9 Pastor Maldonado (VEN)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Bahrain 2007
Total GP2 starts: 32
GP2 wins: 2
Best championship position: 5th (2008)

There's no doubting the Venezuelan's talent, particularly when it comes to street circuits. He can be hard on his tyres though, which will be a problem this season with Bridgestone having opted for a softer compound at some tracks.

#10 Nico Hulkenberg (D)
Age: 21
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Fresh from winning the F3 Euro Series and taking a win and two poles from the two GP2 Asia Series rounds that he contested over the winter, Hulkenberg arrives in GP2 as the top-rated rookie. His prospects depend on how quickly he acclimatises at the next level.

Arden

#11 Sergio Perez (MEX)
Age: 19
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Underlined his ability with four wins in British Formula 3 last season and then showed good pace in his GP2 Asia Series outings with Campos, picking up wins in the sprint races at Bahrain and Qatar. It's a big ask to challenge at the front straight away in the main series, but the basic talent is there.

#12 Edoardo Mortara (I)
Age: 22
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Second in last year's F3 Euro Series and managed a podium in the GP2 Asia Series at Bahrain. The Italian/French dual national managed a decent strike rate in scoring points three times from the four Asia Series races that he contested.

Super Nova

#14 Javier Villa (E)
Age: 21
First GP2 start: Valencia 2006
Total GP2 starts: 61
GP2 wins: 3
Best championship position: 6th (2007)

The Spaniard's youth belies the fact that this will be his fourth season in GP2, and his first racing for someone other than Racing Engineering. Finishing 17th in the same season that your team-mate wins the title is never the sort of thing a driver likes to see, and Villa will be looking for a fresh start with Super Nova.

#15 Luca Filippi (I)
Age: 23
First GP2 start: Valencia 2006
Total GP2 starts: 59
GP2 wins: 1
Best championship position: 4th (2007)

Filippi had his best-ever season with Super Nova in 2007, and after a frustrating year split between Arden and ART in 2008, he returns 'home' looking to pick up where he left off.

DAMS

#16 Kamui Kobayashi (J)
Age: 22
First GP2 start: Barcelona 2008
Total GP2 starts: 20
GP2 wins: 1
Best championship position: 16th (2008)

The Toyota F1 test driver picked up one win with DAMS during his rookie season, and then backed it up by taking the GP2 Asia title over the winter. Will be looking to make an impact this year.

#17 Jerome D'Ambrosio (B)
Age: 23
First GP2 start: Barcelona 2008
Total GP2 starts: 20
GP2 wins: 0
Best championship position: 11th (2008)

Finished last season fairly strongly, the highlights being a pair of second places in the sprints at Valencia and Spa. Was a podium regular in the GP2 Asia Series.

Trident

#18 Davide Rigon (I)
Age: 22
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Won the inaugural Superleague Formula season for Beijing Guoan and got a podium in the final race of the GP2 Asia Series at Bahrain. Making his debut in the main series this year.

#19 Ricardo Teixeira (ANG)
Age: 26
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Portuguese-born, Angolan-registered Teixeira moves into GP2 this season after four seasons of British F3. He got his first taste of GP2 in the final two rounds of the Asia Series and ended up with a best result of 17th.

Fisichella Motor Sport

#20 Andi Zuber (UAE)
Age: 25
First GP2 start: Valencia 2006
Total GP2 starts: 62
GP2 wins: 2
Best championship position: 9th (2007, 2008)

With 62 GP2 starts under his belt, Zuber is one of the series elder statesmen. After previously racing for Trident, iSport and Piquet he moves to FMS this year, and will be keen to get some early runs on the board after enduring the first winless season of his GP2 career.

#21 Luiz Razia (BR)
Age: 20
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: 0
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Raced with FMS in Euroseries 3000 and Italian Formula 3000 in 2007, and rejoins the team for his first tilt at GP2 this year. Scored his first GP2 win in with Arden in the last Asia Series race at Bahrain.

Durango

#22 Davide Valsecchi (I)
Age: 22
First GP2 start: Catalunya 2008
Total GP2 starts: 14
GP2 wins: 1
Best championship position: 15th (2008)

Missed a couple of races last year to recover from a huge accident during qualifying at Istanbul, but bounced back later in the season to take his first win at Monza.

#23 Nelson Panciatici (F)
Age: 20
First GP2 start: Rookie
Total GP2 starts: o
GP2 wins: N/A
Best championship position: N/A

Moves up from Spanish F3, where he finished second last year after previously impressing in the ultra-competitive European Formula Renault scene. This season will purely be about finding his feet.

Ocean Racing

#24 Karun Chandhok (IND)
Age: 25
First GP2 start: Bahrain 2007
Total GP2 starts: 40
GP2 wins: 2
Best championship position: 10th (2008)

Good pace and lots of experience, but his prospects will depend mostly upon how quickly the fledgling Ocean team can hit its stride.

#25 Alvaro Parente (POR)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Catalunya 2008
Total GP2 starts: 20
GP2 wins: 1
Best championship position: 8th (2008)

Moves to Ocean after spending his rookie season with Super Nova and getting one win under his belt last year. His intra-team battle with Chandhok will be one of the most interesting subplots of the season.

DPR

#26 Michael Herck (R)
Age: 20
First GP2 start: Magny Cours 2008
Total GP2 starts: 13
GP2 wins: 0
Best championship position: 30th (2008)

Remains with DPR for his second season. The big difference lies behind the scenes, where Herck's father Andre has taken ownership of the team.

#27 Giacomo Ricci (I)
Age: 24
First GP2 start: Barcelona 2008
Total GP2 starts: 4
GP2 wins: 0
Best championship position: 31st (2008)

Replaced Herck at DPR for the opening four races of last year while the Romanian recovered from a broken wrist. He spent the rest of the season in the International GT Open, but made cameos in the GP2 Asia Series with Trident and DPR. Needs to outshine Herck to prove that he still has the speed that took him to a Euroseries 3000 title in 2006.