The 2016 GP2 season in review: The drivers

Supported by the Red Bull young drivers program, Frenchman Pierre Gasly reached an important milestone in his career by winning in the feeder series to Formula 1.

At the end of this GP2 season, there were 26 other drivers (including “substitute” drivers for one or more races) who fought with the aim of winning a title that greatly increases the chances of making it to Formula 1.

Who stood out? Who disappointed? A look back at this high-level campaign.

The tops

**Pierre Gasly**: For his second full season in the discipline, the French driver won the GP2 title, a sine qua non condition for his survival within the uncompromising Red Bull program led by Helmut Marko. After a first half-season of discovery with the now-defunct GP2 Caterham team in 2014, Pierre Gasly moved to DAMS in 2015 where his top speed was unquestionable, but he showed a significant lack of consistency to challenge a relentless Stoffel Vandoorne. In /f1/actualite/21639-antonio-giovinazzi-devient-pilote-reserve-de-ferrari.html, he chose to move to the new Prema team, already titled in F3 and replacing Lazarus. On the other side of the garage, his teammate was the Italian Antonio Giovinazzi.

Still in search of a single-seater victory since 2013 (!), the Rouen-born driver finally returned to success at Silverstone. He would stand on the top step of the podium 3 more times: in Budapest, at Spa-Francorchamps, and at Abu Dhabi, each time during the long race on Saturday afternoon. Although his start to the season was difficult (no points in Monaco, only two points in Austria, making a mistake while leading the race), he managed to recover from the disappointment of not securing Daniil Kvyat’s seat at Toro Rosso in 2017 and demonstrate that he was capable of winning a championship.

His teammate Giovinazzi, the revelation of this season, has not made it any easier for him, as the latter was leading the championship before the last race in Abu Dhabi. Without an F1 seat, Gasly is expected to turn to the Japanese Super Formula championship while maintaining his role as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing in F1.

Presenting our new #GP2 champion 🎉 Congratulations to @PierreGASLY pic.twitter.com/bfPFSBSEIE

— GP2 Series Official (@GP2_Official) 27 novembre /f1/actualite/21639-antonio-giovinazzi-devient-pilote-reserve-de-ferrari.html

Antonio Giovinazzi: If one had to identify the revelation of this campaign, there’s a strong chance Antonio Giovinazzi would be chosen. In his first season in GP2, the Italian consistently fought at the front. He secured 5 victories (one more than Gasly), stood on the podium 8 times, and claimed pole position twice. His comeback race in Italy was impressive, as was his season, and he was just as deserving of the championship as Pierre Gasly.

His stock with F1 teams has significantly increased, Ferrari has chosen him as the 3rd driver in 2017, with the potential for FP1 sessions with Sauber. Supported by the Indonesian branch of KFC, he could bring a potentially interesting budget for a Formula 1 team.

Interesting profiles

Raffaele Marciello: Formula 3 champion in 2013, Marciello is in his third season in GP2, clearly the best since his debut in the category. Having moved from Trident to Russian Time, he has never been far from the leaders, and his consistency even allowed him to lead the championship at one point in the season. However, despite six podiums, he did not win, although more was expected. He himself admitted having abandoned his F1 dreams and will likely not be in the series next year.

Norman Nato: After a rookie season with Arden, the French driver, a friend of Jules Bianchi, moved to Racing Engineering, a team that led Alexander Rossi to the runner-up title in 2015. His season was good, with 2 victories and 5 podiums. His speed glimpsed at Arden materialized into results, and his level seems to have progressed. Although not the most prominent French driver, Norman Nato clearly deserves a place in motorsport. Not selected by an F1 team, he says he wants to become a professional and turn to another category, as he mentioned to Motorsinside last May.

Sergey Sirotkin: His first season with Rapax in 2015 opened the doors to the champion team ART. As the favorite for the title, his performance was disappointing. While the Russian demonstrated that he was very fast, he made too many driving errors to hope to win the title. It’s a shame; he could have secured a seat with Renault in F1 (for whom he is a test driver) if he had won the crown. He will likely be present in GP2 in 2017 to finally achieve it, but he will need to be more consistent. However, his place with ART is not guaranteed.

Luca Ghiotto: Surprise vice-champion of GP3 in 2015, he stayed with Trident for his move to GP2 this season. Still in the discovery phase, the Italian driver managed to increase his performance over the races, clinching his first victory in Malaysia, at the wheel of a Trident, which is not the most competitive team in the series. He will stand on the podium a total of 4 times and will be one to watch in 2017.

Oliver Rowland: As the Formula Renault 3.5 champion, the next step for Rowland was logically GP2. After some races in 2015 (with Status and MP), he signed with MP Motorsport. Although the Dutch team is not known for being the fastest in the field, Oliver Rowland was expected to seize the opportunities that came his way and perhaps more. While he climbed onto the podium four times, he did not achieve any victories. Additionally, he mostly hovered around 8th or 9th place. In 2017, he is expected to put himself more in the spotlight. He is certainly capable of it.

The flops

Alex Lynn: Stayed with DAMS, the Brit was logically a serious candidate for the title. However, despite 3 wins for 5 podiums, the number of blank results was far too high. It is not an exaggeration to think that he could have done better, especially at the wheel of a DAMS that allowed him to fight for the title in 2015. Due to a lack of opportunities in F1, it seems that he wants to turn to endurance racing, where he has participated in a few races. His testing sessions with Williams in F1 were very encouraging, which leaves a sense of regret…

Mitch Evans: GP3 Champion, like Alex Lynn, Mitch Evans is nonetheless in his 4th season in GP2. A title contender in 2014 and 2015, he seemed more withdrawn this season, not much helped by a Campos team struggling to raise its level of play. He still claimed a fine victory in Austria, which shows that the potential is still there, but it seems that F1 is not opening its doors to him. He has therefore turned to Formula E with Jaguar and seems eager to make a mark in this series, which might explain his dip in motivation.

Nobuharu Matsushita: Protected by Honda, the Japanese driver surprised everyone during his first campaign in 2015. His potential for improvement seemed significant. However, it seems that the Japanese driver has progressed little this season, even though he now knows the European circuits. His support from Honda should secure him a place in the series next year, serving as a second chance after an overall disappointing season.

And the others?

Translate: The Briton Jordan King is also one of those who seem to have potential but not the necessary resources to fight for the title. Knowing that he is aiming for F1 with Manor, notably thanks to his father’s money, we hope he will show he has the level required. Gustav Malja also made a mark at the end of the season with interesting performances and will need to confirm in 2017. Finally, we will remember Artem Markelov‘s performance with his coup for the victory in Monaco.