There are currently five drivers in the Grand Prix field that have used GP2 as a springboard into Formula One. Of those five men, two of them are race winners and the other three have each stood on the podium. That reflects well on the junior category and the calibre of talent that it has produced since 2005.

This year’s GP2 runners will also be gunning for a shot at the big time. The best that most of them can hope for is a paid test drive although there are a few that will be aiming substantially higher.

Below are the stories of today’s GP2 stars, and how they might end up in Formula One before too long.

Giorgio Pantano

Italian

Although Pantano is currently leading the GP2 series his chances of landing a drive in Formula One are slim at best. The 29 year old veteran raced for Jordan in 2004 and was unconvincing for the Irish team. His best result was thirteenth and he was totally outclassed by his teammate, Nick Heidfeld. This year marks the Italian’s seventh season of Formula 3000/GP2 racing, but he is yet to win the title, something which many people expect he should have done by now. He is a very good driver but only the best succeed in Formula One.

Bruno Senna

Brazilian

The driver most likely to advance into Formula One next year from the current GP2 field is Bruno Senna. His famous surname is enough to woo plenty of sponsors, and a GP2 championship looks very handy on a resume. Toro Rosso would be a logical fit since team boss, Gerhard Berger, is a close friend of the Senna family and has acted as an advisor throughout Bruno’s career. A portfolio of South American sponsors would help Berger sell the team, which means Senna may well end up replacing Sebastian Vettel, or even Sebastien Bourdais. Ayrton’s nephew only started racing in 2004 and has shot through the junior ranks at meteoric pace, although he is yet to win a championship. He is neck and neck with Pantano for this year’s title, and although he has taken half as many wins, he has also had half as many retirements.

Lucas Di Grassi

Brazilian

Di Grassi is possibly the strongest driver in GP2 this year but is a long way behind the championship leaders because he missed the first six races. Still, the fact that he is already up to third in the standings despite having to play catch-up is quite impressive. The 24 year old (who celebrates his birthday today) is one of Renault’s Formula One test drivers and would be favourite to replace Nelson Piquet if Flavio Briatore sacks his number two driver. At this stage he could even replace Fernando Alonso. Di Grassi has been racing in Formula Three and GP2 for seven years but is yet to win a title, having narrowly lost out to Timo Glock in 2007.

Romain Grosjean

Swiss

Grosjean won the winter GP2 Asia Championship in commanding style at the start of 2008, but has only taken one victory so far in the regular season. It will be a little disappointing for the man who drove brilliantly in the British and European Formula Three series before starting in GP2. Grosjean joins Lucas Di Grassi as a Renault Formula One test driver and this may be his ticket into big time because it seems unlikely that both of the F1 team’s race drivers will stay put in 2009.

Sebastien Buemi

Swiss

Buemi has enjoyed a solid but not great career to date, with the highlight being his second place in the German Formula BMW Championship. The Swiss driver also raced for his country in the A1 Grand Prix series, and moved into GP2 full time this year after a brilliant cameo at Monaco in 2007. He has taken two race victories, although one of them came when he started a wet race on dry tyres from 21st on the grid, and took advantage of the weather lottery that followed. He is currently Red Bull Racing’s third F1 driver, and has not been too shabby, so he can at least expect for another year of F1 testing if he does not replace Vettel (or Bourdais) at Toro Rosso.

Karun Chandhok

Indian

Chandhok is hotly tipped to become a Force India driver sometime in the near future thanks to his nationality, but will still need to do more to prove he is worthy of the seat. 2008 is Karun’s third year in GP2 and he has steadily improved each season. This year he has taken a handful of podiums and a win at Hockenheim, but Karun has been overshadowed by his teammate, Bruno Senna. He got to test for Red Bull Racing alongside David Coulthard during the winter break and was only a second adrift of the Scotsman. That wasn’t a bad effort considering it was his first test session in a Formula One car. His sponsorship deal with Red Bull gives him an outside shot at Toro Rosso in 2009, but Force India remains his best bet for a race seat. His father doubles as his manager, and has said that one of the larger F1 teams has expressed an interest in offering Chandhok a testing deal.

Alvaro Parente

Portugese

Parente was able to test a Renault Formula One car in January as his prize for winning the 2007 World Series by Renault. His times around Barcelona were not bad, but he is unlikely to find an open door into Grand Prix racing. He took victory in the first GP2 round of the season, but has managed just two podiums since. A second year with Super Nova Racing may be his best bet for 2009.

Vitaly Petrov

Russian

Petrov is currently the Soviet’s best racing driver but his hopes of landing a seat in F1 may depend on a Russian Grand Prix joining the calendar. He claims to have the sponsorship budget available to buy himself an F1 test drive, but notes that a season of testing for an F1 minnow is not the best thing for his career right now. He makes a good point, would probably need some better results in GP2 anyway.

Mike Conway

British

Conway made some headlines by winning the GP2 race at Monaco this year, although it has been the only real highlight from his season of racing. He is one of Honda F1’s three test drivers, but he won’t be joining the Grand Prix field for the Japanese manufacturer anytime soon. Ross Brawn is apparently hunting down Fernando Alonso with some vigour, but also seems happy to keep Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello if need be. Conway might have been a chance with Super Aguri had the junior team not folded, but will now be lucky to hold onto his testing role since Anthony Davidson is knocking on Honda’s door quite loudly. He is managed by Martin Brundle and has a British F3 Championship under his belt, so might be able to negotiate another testing deal elsewhere.

Kamui Kobayashi

Japanese

Toyota’s third Formula One driver has performed admirably in GP2 this year and took victory in the second race of the season at Barcelona. This was in addition to a pair of wins he scored in the winter GP2 Asian series. He is still inconsistent though and his second best result is seventh. Kobayashi was a real sensation in Formula Renault but only scored a single race win after two years in the Formula Three Euroseries. Another year of F1 testing and GP2 racing will probably be Konayashi’s only option in 2009 because Toyota will likely retain Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock. If they F1 team decided to take a risk and opt for a Japanese hopeful, they would surely arrange something with Williams and take Kazuki Nakajima instead. A few more wins in GP2 next year might see him in a position to replace Trulli when the Italian eventually calls it a day.

Ho Pin Tung

Chinese

Ho Pin Tung is China’s only F1 hope at the moment and has been able to cash in on that exclusivity. After winning the Formula BMW Asia Championship in 2003 he was rewarded with a Williams F1 test (powered by BMW at the time) but it was little more than a publicity stunt. BMW offered him another F1 test at the end of last year, although again this was to gain nothing more than newspaper coverage in China. Tung has an impressive record in junior Formula Three series but has not had the same success in GP2. He took second in the Monaco sprint race this year, but has only finished in the points on one other occasion. There is plenty of cash in China these days so he will be hoping that some of that can buy him an F1 testing role. A race drive seems hugely unlikely.

Luca Filippi

Italian

Filippi first got behind the wheel on an F1 car as a teenager in 2005 when he was given a test by Minardi. He is now listed as one of Honda’s F1 test drivers although he has not done any work for them so far in 2008. The Italian did some testing for both Honda and Super Aguri last year and was able to lap quicker than Takuma Sato, which is not a bad effort. Sadly, that promise has not translated into GP2 where he has struggled for the past two seasons. He was sacked by his team just a few months ago for underperforming, and although he has secured another drive further down the grid, his chances of making an impact are slipping away. He will need to do something pretty special for Honda to stay on their books in 2009.

Marko Asmer

Estonian

2008 has been disappointing for Marko Asmer whose career has otherwise been perfect. The Estonian was given a Formula One test with Williams in 2003 at the tender age of 19, and has since gone on to win the British Formula Three Championship. He was confirmed as an official BMW Sauber test driver this year but he has not been able to complete much running in the car. Along with minimal F1 mileage, his time in GP2 has been torrid and his best result is thirteenth place. Mario Theissen has a knack for spotting talent but maybe he got this one just a little bit wrong. Assuming Klein stays on as BMW’s third driver next year there seems little opportunity for Asmer to break into F1 in 2009.

 

It will be interesting to see if the GP2 class of 2008 produces another Grand Prix winner

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