2013 GP2 Silly Season

[W.A Trichlorostyrene]

First 2013 driver announced yesterday, with Rapax signing Stefano Coletti: http://www.gp2series.com/News-Room/N...Rapax-in-2013/

His pace wasn't so bad this year, but he seemed to have issues with the Pirelli tyres. At many races he cooked his tyres and lost a lot ground in the second half.

[p-matt]

Rapax you mean

[W.A Trichlorostyrene]

Originally Posted by p-matt

Rapax you mean

You're right... I'm too used seeing him in Coloni colours

[BackmarkerUK]

Felipe Nasr has said he will not be driving for DAMS in 2013, and it's rumoured that he will be switching to ART, with his Banco do Brasil sponsorship.

Marcus Ericsson claims that the top teams are interested in him. It's rumoured he will move to Addax for 2013.

Rio Haryanto supposedly has offers from Rapax and DAMS as well as Carlin.

Daniel Juncadella, who has been very impressive in F3 this season, will test for Rapax. As his uncle is Luis Pérez-Sala it is rumoured he might be considered at Addax.

Mitch Evans will be testing with Arden at Barcelona, and it's possible (probable, even?) that he will sign for the team, having won GP3 with MW Arden, and being managed by Mark Webber, who has obvious links to Christian Horner. The other seat he has been linked to is DAMS, given Boullier has links to Evans.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs will be testing for Arden and Addax. I suppose he's hoping that his success in Auto GP will attract sponsors.

Nigel Melker will be testing with DAMS and Racing Engineering.

Facundo Regalia will test for iSport and Racing Engineering. Despite being average so far in his junior career, but his dad's Varlion money might buy him a seat.

Jazeman Jaafar's sponsors (and himself) want him to drive in either GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 in 2013, with Petronas backing he could easily end up on the grid.

It is rumoured that as Aaro Vainio is managed by Nicolas Todt he will move into GP2 with ART.

Daniel Abt, runner up in GP3, is rumoured to be being considered as a Williams test driver, if Valtteri Bottas gets a race seat in F1 next season. If he does, then he won't compete in GP2. If he does end up in GP2, however, ART is the most likely destination.

Pål Varhaug aims to make his GP2 comeback after finishing as runner-up in Auto GP, but this is dependent on him attracting (American) investors. His dad/manager says that a number of teams are interested.

Sergio Canamasas is also trying to get a GP2 budget together.

For coming 2nd and 3rd in GP2 Mathéo Tuscher and Christopher Zanella will receive GP2 tests. I don't believe either have the budget to secure a drive there next season.

Stefan GP (yes, that Stefan GP) are rumoured to be interested in replacing Coloni on the grid. A more reasonable rumour, but with less evidence for it, is that Meritus, formerly of GP2 Asia, will bid to replace them. Given that any team getting a spot on the grid will have to re-apply for 2014, prospective teams might feel it's not worth joining GP2 only to risk losing their spot after one season.

And that, I think, is all the rumour I've heard.

[cleanup]

Originally Posted by BackmarkerUK

Felipe Nasr has said he will not be driving for DAMS in 2013, and it's rumoured that he will be switching to ART, with his Banco do Brasil sponsorship.

Marcus Ericsson claims that the top teams are interested in him. It's rumoured he will move to Addax for 2013.

Rio Haryanto supposedly has offers from Rapax and DAMS as well as Carlin.

Daniel Juncadella, who has been very impressive in F3 this season, will test for Rapax. As his uncle is Luis Pérez-Sala it is rumoured he might be considered at Addax.

Mitch Evans will be testing with Arden at Barcelona, and it's possible (probable, even?) that he will sign for the team, having won GP3 with MW Arden, and being managed by Mark Webber, who has obvious links to Christian Horner. The other seat he has been linked to is DAMS, given Boullier has links to Evans.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs will be testing for Arden and Addax. I suppose he's hoping that his success in Auto GP will attract sponsors.

Nigel Melker will be testing with DAMS and Racing Engineering.

Facundo Regalia will test for iSport and Racing Engineering. Despite being average so far in his junior career, but his dad's Varlion money might buy him a seat.

Jazeman Jaafar's sponsors (and himself) want him to drive in either GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 in 2013, with Petronas backing he could easily end up on the grid.

It is rumoured that as Aaro Vainio is managed by Nicolas Todt he will move into GP2 with ART.

Daniel Abt, runner up in GP3, is rumoured to be being considered as a Williams test driver, if Valtteri Bottas gets a race seat in F1 next season. If he does, then he won't compete in GP2. If he does end up in GP2, however, ART is the most likely destination.

Pål Varhaug aims to make his GP2 comeback after finishing as runner-up in Auto GP, but this is dependent on him attracting (American) investors. His dad/manager says that a number of teams are interested.

Sergio Canamasas is also trying to get a GP2 budget together.

For coming 2nd and 3rd in GP2 Mathéo Tuscher and Christopher Zanella will receive GP2 tests. I don't believe either have the budget to secure a drive there next season.

Stefan GP (yes, that Stefan GP) are rumoured to be interested in replacing Coloni on the grid. A more reasonable rumour, but with less evidence for it, is that Meritus, formerly of GP2 Asia, will bid to replace them. Given that any team getting a spot on the grid will have to re-apply for 2014, prospective teams might feel it's not worth joining GP2 only to risk losing their spot after one season.

And that, I think, is all the rumour I've heard.

Some very juicy information, where are you getting info, is it written somewhere?

[BackmarkerUK]

Originally Posted by cleanup

Some very juicy information, where are you getting info, is it written somewhere?

I'll try and post some links, can't guarantee English sources:

Facu Regalia: "The goal for 2013 is GP2"

Jazeman mulling move to World Series or GP2

Facu Regalia will run for iSport and Racing Engineering in winter testing

Quaife-Hobbs to run with Addax, Arden

Evans eyes move up to GP2 series

Ericsson hopes for a new GP" chance: "There is great interest"

At the end of the month Rio Haryanto will test in Spain

Abt - Williams test driver?

Fighting for a Formula 1 dream - without a penny in salary

Top talent Nigel Melker will test for GP2's big teams

GP2: Stefan GP for Coloni?

[p-matt]

Good info there. Nasr and Vainio/Abt is a very tasty lineup at Lotus!

I presume Calado won't have budget for GP2 this year? He could have won it next year. Although I guess the same was true with Oli Turvey when RSF could no longer provide funding.

[BackmarkerUK]

Originally Posted by cleanup

Some very juicy information, where are you getting info, is it written somewhere?

I've posted a response with links to news sources in, hopefully it will get moderator approval soon Some are just twitterings though, for example Meritus is people adding 2+2 and getting 5 (Meritus applied to replace Super Nova last year, therefore they'll apply to replace Coloni this year).

Originally Posted by p-matt

Good info there. Nasr and Vainio/Abt is a very tasty lineup at Lotus!

I presume Calado won't have budget for GP2 this year? He could have won it next year. Although I guess the same was true with Oli Turvey when RSF could no longer provide funding.

Calado claims to have secured what he's doing next season already, and will be announcing it soon (he says). On the one hand, having known he was going to lose RSF funding all year, and being GP2's best rookie, he will probably have been spending this year looking for sponsors, who may have been impressed by his achievements. On the other hand, GP2 is very expensive, so maybe he's off to Formula Renault 3.5, or maybe he's been signed up by a junior-team programme. I am yet to hear anything yet, though.

[Mekola]

I'm not so sure if any team would replace Coloni as 13th team in next GP2 season. Stefan GP and mostly Meritus are interesting bids, but it seems it could repeat the case of Durango that left the series in 2009 and put 2010 season with only 12 teams.

[Juntos]

Very good round up BackmarkerUK. Thanks for sharing.


Meritus is not welcome by Bruno. I'm pretty sure he built up a body of knowledge that suggests Peter Thompson is not the most honest businessman around. All criminal records are bad records!

[bella]

let's be fair though, if there's an honest, clean person in motorsport then they're lying about it

[ivanalesi]

bella is spot on But I think the spot of Coloni should not be filled since it will create bigger market for driver seats and there aren't exactly many customers. You can see from the GP3 this season, only Evans is probably going to stay in GP2 - Abt, Vainio, Da Costa & Pal Kiss are already racing FR3.5. And at the end of the day, as the GP2 organizers know very well from GP3, once the best drivers are confirmed, they attract a lot others.

[Go_For_Pole]

Abt, Vainio, Da Costa & Pal Kiss racing in FR3.5 doesn't mean they will stay there though, this experience of a bigger car that they are getting is relevant for GP2 as well

[BackmarkerUK]

Originally Posted by Go_For_Pole

Abt, Vainio, Da Costa & Pal Kiss racing in FR3.5 doesn't mean they will stay there though, this experience of a bigger car that they are getting is relevant for GP2 as well

Da Costa will stay in Formula Renault 3.5 purely because he's part of the Red Bull Junior Team (for now), and Red Bull prefer to place their drivers in Formula Renault 3.5, ever since Buemi.

[Go_For_Pole]

Obviously. Interesting that he was the most sucessful of the RB Juniors this year, shows how wrong they got it with their selection...

[W.A Trichlorostyrene]

Originally Posted by BackmarkerUK

For coming 2nd and 3rd in GP2 Mathéo Tuscher and Christopher Zanella will receive GP2 tests. I don't believe either have the budget to secure a drive there next season.

Is there an age limit in GP2? Tuscher will only be 16 next year.

[BackmarkerUK]

Originally Posted by Go_For_Pole

Obviously. Interesting that he was the most sucessful of the RB Juniors this year, shows how wrong they got it with their selection...

Daniil Kvyat was going well in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, though he's been let down by poor qualifying performances all season, and it looks as though he will lose the title to Stoffel Vandoorne; Callan O'Keeffe was running away with the Formula BMW Talent Cup until the Grand Final. But other than them I agree, Williamson, Albon (only there because he's Thai), Sainz Jr. and Wackerbauer were all disappointing.

[BackmarkerUK]

Originally Posted by W.A Trichlorostyrene

Is there an age limit in GP2? Tuscher will only be 16 next year.

Kevin Ceccon was 17 when he first raced in GP2, so there have been young drivers before (though not as young as Tuscher).

GP2's sporting regulations state that no one under the age of 16 is permitted in the pitlane at a GP2 race, and that drivers must hold a Grade A International FIA License (which are awarded by the driver's ASN), neither of which would be an issue for Tuscher.

[ivanalesi]

I think Tuscher should be in GP3 next year, he's still so incredibly young, no need to rush. He'll probably be the youngest driver even in GP3

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by BackmarkerUK

Felipe Nasr has said he will not be driving for DAMS in 2013, and it's rumoured that he will be switching to ART, with his Banco do Brasil sponsorship.

Marcus Ericsson claims that the top teams are interested in him. It's rumoured he will move to Addax for 2013.

Rio Haryanto supposedly has offers from Rapax and DAMS as well as Carlin.

Daniel Juncadella, who has been very impressive in F3 this season, will test for Rapax. As his uncle is Luis Pérez-Sala it is rumoured he might be considered at Addax.

Mitch Evans will be testing with Arden at Barcelona, and it's possible (probable, even?) that he will sign for the team, having won GP3 with MW Arden, and being managed by Mark Webber, who has obvious links to Christian Horner. The other seat he has been linked to is DAMS, given Boullier has links to Evans.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs will be testing for Arden and Addax. I suppose he's hoping that his success in Auto GP will attract sponsors.

Nigel Melker will be testing with DAMS and Racing Engineering.

Facundo Regalia will test for iSport and Racing Engineering. Despite being average so far in his junior career, but his dad's Varlion money might buy him a seat.

Jazeman Jaafar's sponsors (and himself) want him to drive in either GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 in 2013, with Petronas backing he could easily end up on the grid.

It is rumoured that as Aaro Vainio is managed by Nicolas Todt he will move into GP2 with ART.

Daniel Abt, runner up in GP3, is rumoured to be being considered as a Williams test driver, if Valtteri Bottas gets a race seat in F1 next season. If he does, then he won't compete in GP2. If he does end up in GP2, however, ART is the most likely destination.

Pål Varhaug aims to make his GP2 comeback after finishing as runner-up in Auto GP, but this is dependent on him attracting (American) investors. His dad/manager says that a number of teams are interested.

Sergio Canamasas is also trying to get a GP2 budget together.

For coming 2nd and 3rd in GP2 Mathéo Tuscher and Christopher Zanella will receive GP2 tests. I don't believe either have the budget to secure a drive there next season.

Stefan GP (yes, that Stefan GP) are rumoured to be interested in replacing Coloni on the grid. A more reasonable rumour, but with less evidence for it, is that Meritus, formerly of GP2 Asia, will bid to replace them. Given that any team getting a spot on the grid will have to re-apply for 2014, prospective teams might feel it's not worth joining GP2 only to risk losing their spot after one season.

And that, I think, is all the rumour I've heard.

This sickens me. Flat out. Call me xenophobic if you will but that is ridiculous.

[chunterer]

So some of these early tit bits suggest the field could be a lot stronger next year?

Nasr in ART would be very strong is his second year.

I think that after Bird and Bianchi's decisions this year drivers may well look at FR3.5 instead of GP2.

[W.A Trichlorostyrene]

Originally Posted by ivanalesi

I think Tuscher should be in GP3 next year, he's still so incredibly young, no need to rush. He'll probably be the youngest driver even in GP3

On one hand, a backward move to GP3 didn't seem to do a lot of good to Kevin Ceccon(vastly different circumstances, granted), but on the other, 2013 could be a very good timing to join the championship, with the new car.

[BackmarkerUK]

Originally Posted by ptclaus98

This sickens me. Flat out. Call me xenophobic if you will but that is ridiculous.

What's the problem? Is it that a Norwegian driver is relying on American sponsors, or that it's Varhaug looking to return to GP2?

If it's a Norwegian relying on American sponsors, if he can pull it off, fair play to him. Even Formula One has struggled to attract American sponsors, so just getting sponsors would be a mean feat. For what it's worth I don't believe he will manage to attract American sponsors. If it's that it's Varhaug, I think he's probably earned another try at GP2. He did reasonably well in Auto GP, and worse drivers have been given second chances in GP2. Jolyon Palmer didn't score at all in his first season, and now he's a race winner.

Originally Posted by chunterer

So some of these early tit bits suggest the field could be a lot stronger next year?

It could be stronger next year. Nasr will presumably be back, if Evans, Quaife-Hobbs, Abt/Vainio, Calado, Jaafar and Juncadella make it on the grid, I would say the grid will be strong. But it could easily be that it's just drivers of the calibre of Canamasas, Ma, Varhaug and Regalia.

[BackmarkerUK]

Nino Singh Judge may have inadvertently revealed that Alexander Rossi will be driving for on twitter:

@AlexanderRossi well done dude. Next year lots of trophies with @MyCaterhamGP2

[bella]

Originally Posted by ivanalesi

I think Tuscher should be in GP3 next year, he's still so incredibly young, no need to rush. He'll probably be the youngest driver even in GP3

tuscher and his entorage were sniffing around fr3.5 at the weekend too. presumably he'll end up at least testing over the winter.