F3 Season Review: Living up to the hype

In a year when the category was flooded with front running rookie talent, it was an experienced hand that stole the show. Pre-season favourite Nico Hulkenberg lived up to his billing and - once a shaky start was out of the way - he delivered time and again, while nobody in either the European or British championships was able to sustain any such period of dominance.

It's easy to get carried away with achievements in Formula 3, and spend too much time on the minor details and the ins and outs of the competition, while neglecting the bigger picture. To simplify things, every driver on the grid is there because he or she wants to be a Formula One driver - or at the very least a paid driver in some form of top-line motorsport.

As unfair as it might seem, a champion could go no further while the guy that finished fourth ends up in F1. For the drivers, it's all about making an impression. Forget points and podiums, they need to do something to stand out from the crowd and attract support from the next level, whether it be an F1 team, a manufacturer or other driver scheme, or a well-funded sponsor.

It was exactly that notion that spurred Hulkenberg on, even once it was clear the title wasn't going anywhere else, he pressed harder. It's not good enough just to win any more - there are too many good drivers around these days - you need to be outstanding.

His dominance sent a message to anyone above looking down. Six pole positions from ten qualifying sessions and seven victories in ten Saturday races says it all. And it would have been at least eight had his engine not let go while he was leading the season opener at Hockenheim. (The other two that got away were crashes at Pau and stalling at the start at Le Mans.)

Nico Hulkenberg © LAT

Hulkenberg won more races than anyone else in F3 this year, and he's already off testing with ART Grand Prix's GP2 team ahead of an expected graduation with them. The rest had to make the best they could of what was left.

The British championship was far from dominated, with four drivers involved in the title chase almost until the last race of the season. With no second-year drivers troubling the front of the grid on a regular basis, it was left to National Class graduate Sergio Perez, Brendon Hartley and Oliver Turvey (who had a handful of F3 outings between them), and true rookie Jaime Alguersuari to inflate their reputations. They shared 18 victories between themselves and each had their time in the sun.

Perez put on a master class at Monza and alerted people to his potential early in the year. He was pushed down to 14th on the grid for both races after having his best laps in qualifying taken away for jumping chicanes (as did several others), but used the legendary Italian circuit's straights to his advantage. He charged through the field in both races, passing the rest inside and out, making everyone but him look rather average. The maturity of those drives as much as their sheer shock value left a lasting impression. He never once had his car out of his control, had to run wide at a chicane, or made contact with a rival, he just drove round them all.

Somewhere between Perez himself, the T-Sport team and the Mugen-Honda engine, the momentum to maintain the championship led fell away. But that shouldn't detract from the achievements of any of that trio. Each did a fantastic job to punch above what everyone expected their weight to be.

Hartley finished the season in third place, but truthfully he was never really in the championship race. He was always chasing to make up ground and each time he dragged himself within reach, something held him back again. Sometimes it was an off of his own doing, sometimes car trouble and sometimes just an off day.

The New Zealanders on days were the best. He was quicker on his good days than anyone else was on theirs, and he was also further ahead of his pursuers than his rivals were when it was their turn. At times, he pulled himself head and shoulders above the rest, whereas the others only pulled themselves shoulders above.

His problem wasn't even that those days didn't come often enough. To start with it was that he didn't make the most of them when they did. Too often he looked the fastest guy on the track, but was bottled up behind someone, getting frustrated. When determination turned to desperation there were moments of madness, and that unassailable lead that went spinning into the field at Riches.

Hartley is his own worst critic and doesn't easily forgive his own mistakes. Throw in the pressure of being a Red Bull Junior and a title fight with a teammate, who also happens to be in the energy drink stable and there was potential for meltdown. But the two wins at Thruxton in June helped him to turn the corner. It was the perfect weekend for him, exactly what he needed. In one race he had to patiently pick his way past his teammates to earn the win and in the other he cleared off from pole and won easily.

Brendon Hartley on the grid at Rockingham © LAT

Knowing after that that he had nothing to prove in terms of speed, he switched his focus to becoming a better driver, rather than a faster one. His drive in the second race at Spa was another brilliant climb from fifth to first and the rough edges were being filed away by the end of the year. The final race was a typical summary of his year. He was faster, but stuck behind Perez, had to pit to fix a lose wheel, and was fastest on the track once he rejoined but got no points.

Turvey couldn't have been more different to Hartley. His approach was at the other end of the spectrum. He won the first race of the year, but after that it was all about points and podiums for the next four months. The consistency was there, but it was clear that he was going to have to put Hartley and Alguersuari in the shade at some stage if he had serious title aspirations. He duly delivered at Spa and Silverstone and was the strong favourite going into the finale.

He was pipped at the post thanks to a poor second race at Donington and couldn't help but think of Spa, where he was denied a potential double win by an engine failure at the start. But, looking back, it was lost in the first half of the year with too many quiet races outside of the top six.

Alguersuari too surfaced late in the year following a single early victory, but even through his quiet patch he was a fixture at the sharp end. It needed a string of victories at the end for him to come back into play, but he, like Hartley, had shown the ability to romp into the distance earlier in the year. He responded to the pressure perfectly when it mattered and to pull out the performance he did in the last two races was a truly outstanding achievement.

The rookies in Europe might not have had the same success as those in Britain, but that was always unlikely with fewer races, reverse grid races and Hulkenberg around. But the likes of Jules Bianchi and Mika Maki had exceptional seasons.

Both had unexpected race-winning speed from the outset. Maki was first up to speed and was fighting Hulkenberg straight away. The Finn was in the thick of the battle for the championship in the Spring, but was stopped in his tracks when he was injured in a huge road accident at home. He played down the affect it had on his racing, but the sudden drop off in results was not a coincidence. He never really recovered his form, save for a couple of flashes to serve as a reminder of what he is capable of.

Bianchi took a little longer to get up to speed. But then you'd expect that, considering this was just his second season of car racing. It still wasn't long before he was contesting victories and his coming out party was the Masters event at Zolder in August. He hooked everything up and beat Hulkenberg in a straight fight - pretty much the only driver to do so all season.

There were ragged moments later in the year and several results that should have been got away, but that happens with rookies. He far exceeded expectations in his first year and several key people are keeping their collective eyes on him already.

Jules Bianchi on the grid at Brands Hatch © XPB

Edoardo Mortara was in that position at the end of last year, with much expected of him this time around. He led the Volkswagen charge admirably - and led the championship before Hulkenberg really got going - but faded for too much of the season to play a real part. He was fortunate in the end to hold onto the runner-up sport, scoring just ten points from the end of June to the end of the season.

There were impressive fringe performances in Britain as well. Another going into just his second year of racing cars was Marcus Ericsson. He collected a string of fastest laps and pole positions, as well as four second places, but somehow he just couldn't get that elusive maiden victory.

He came closest at Brands Hatch after being stripped of pole, but couldn't find a way around Perez and tried a little too hard on the last lap and went home with nothing. His front running pace subsided in the last couple of rounds of the year, though, and he'll have to work hard over the winter to come back in shape for a title next year.

Nick Tandy was the other standout rookie performer in Britain. He and his JTR team chipped away at the Mygale chassis and made it a regular front runner by the end of the year. Ultimate Motorsport might have got the chassis' first victories, but they couldn't sustain a challenge and it was the smaller Tandy operation that worked wonders with their car.

Tandy's hustle behind the wheel helped to drag the car as far as it would possibly go and a handful of podiums were a fair reward for an excellent season's work.