Leading European single-seater drivers try out for A1GP-based FA1
Leading aces from European single-seater racing are eyeing drives in the new A1GP-inspired Formula Acceleration 1 series
GP2 race winner Tom Dillmann, European Formula 3 runner-up Felix Rosenqvist and Formula Renault 3.5 podium regular Nigel Melker were all among a group of drivers who tested FA1's ex-A1GP Lola-Zyteks at Valencia last week.
AUTOSPORT understands that Dillmann will race for Team France this season, starting from the opening round at the Algarve circuit at the end of April.
Dutchman Melker is chasing options to remain in FR3.5, but has told his local media that he is open to an FA1 drive.
Melker tested the Team Belgium car, while the Team Netherlands machine was driven by sometime Marussia Formula 1 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez, who could be a contender for Team Venezuela.
Rosenqvist, who tested the Team Sweden car, will prioritise the European F3 title this season, but it is believed to be not out of the question that he could add an FA1 programme.
Bobby Issazadhe, boss of the Performance Racing team that will run Team Sweden this season and who entered Rosenqvist in German F3 in 2010, said: "Felix was flying at Valencia - absolutely flying.
"It's a Swedish national team, which is good, because we have quite a bunch of young single-seater guys and it would be great for them to get experience of a big car with a lot of horsepower.
"We have Jimmy Eriksson in GP3, Gustav Malja [a Formula Renault 2.0 racer] is looking at FR3.5 in the future, so something like this could give drivers at their level a bit of a head start."
Ex-Marussia Formula 1 tester Rodolfo Gonzalez gets Murphy LMP2 seat
Paul Ricard ELMS test: GP2's Nathanael Berthon remains on top
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...