GP2 – Transfer update
After a 2016 campaign won by Pierre Gasly, the GP2 Championship, the "official" antechamber to F1, will set off again for a new season from April 14 in Bahrain. As is the case every season, there will be plenty of driver transfers between the various teams on the grid.
As of now, seven drivers have been confirmed in the 10 teams (11 with the potential return of Hilmer Motorsport) in the GP2 championship, while some drivers have not yet been officially announced but are highly anticipated for certain seats. Pierre Gasly, who won the championship in 2016, can no longer claim a seat in this category according to the rule that states the reigning champion can no longer participate in GP2 afterwards. Without an available seat in F1, he will compete this year in the Super Formula championship in Japan.
Confirmed pilots
Prema: #1 Charles Leclerc / #2 Antonio Fuoco
Both protégés of the Ferrari young driver program, one a GP3 champion and the other 3rd in the same championship, the two young talents of the prancing horse will be at the wheel of Prema single-seaters (repainted in Ferrari red for the occasion) that dominated the 2016 season with Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi. They will try, like these predecessors, to compete for the championship in their first season, which doesn’t seem impossible given their talent and the impressive level of mastery of the Italian team. As a reserve driver at Haas in F1, Leclerc will also want to show that he has a place in the top category for 2018.
Racing Engineering: #3 Louis Delétraz / #4 Gustav Malja
It’s a brand new duo at Racing Engineering, featuring the F3.5 V8 vice-champion Louis Delétraz, and the Swede Gustav Malja, who was seen with Rapax last season (finishing 13th in the championship with 2 podiums). The Swiss driver, who participated in the final round of the 2016 season with Carlin, will need to confirm his status as a promising young driver by performing at the forefront, while Malja will need to confirm the great progress he showed throughout last season. However, it seems challenging for the Racing Engineering drivers to compete for the championship this season, unless there’s a surprise.
MP Motorsport: #15 Sérgio Sette Câmara
The only confirmed driver at MP Motorsport for now, Sérgio Sette Câmara comes straight from Formula 3 (11th in the 2016 championship) where he did not really shine despite Red Bull’s support. The Brazilian perseveres by signing with MP Motorsport in GP2, thanks to generous sponsors but not due to Red Bull, which has just dropped him from its young driver program due to a lack of results.
Pertamina Adren: #20 Norman Nato / #21 Sean Gelael
It was thought that Norman Nato was leaving GP2, but it’s clear that he’s back for a third season in the category! He returns to the team where he started, Arden, after moving to Racing Engineering in 2016 with 2 victories and 5 podiums. His mission will be to elevate an Arden team that has been struggling in the standings for a few seasons, finishing last in 2016 despite having been competitive in the past.
Alongside him is Indonesian Sean Gelael, backed by Pertamina (an Indonesian oil company, previously a sponsor of Campos) and Jagonya Ayam (the Indonesian subsidiary of KFC owned by his father), who hasn’t shone much in the past but seems to be finding some consistency over the seasons. Thus, it is a primarily experienced duo that will be seen at Arden in 2017.
The expected pilots
At ART, Nobuharu Matsushita sees his place almost secured thanks to Honda’s support. He is expected to be supported by Alexander Albon, the revelation of the GP3 championship, already with ART in 2016.
Jordan King should continue in GP2, either with Russian Time or MP Motorsport. Luca Ghiotto would also be a candidate for a Russian Time seat, although Artem Markelov will likely continue with the Russian outfit.
For his part, Oliver Rowland is expected to join DAMS alongside Nicholas Latifi. Finally, Sergey Sirotkin should remain in GP2, although there’s no indication of the team he will compete with in 2017.
The departing pilots
Among the key figures of the 2016 championship, the likely departures include Raffaele Marciello, who wants to become a professional, Antonio Giovinazzi, who is expected to take the role of reserve driver at Ferrari in F1, Alex Lynn, who is moving towards Formula E with DS, and Mitch Evans, who is also driving for Jaguar in Formula E.
