After a break of over two months, the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers are due to meet up again at the Hungaroring for the third round of the season. Six drivers have already moved clear at the top of the overall standings, but there is little between them. Who from Hartley, Pic, Turvey, Waldschmidt, Kechele and Mäki will end the summer as leader?
Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton: just as in Bahrain, the podium at the recent French GP was dominated by three drivers who cut their teeth in Formula Renault 2.0 before moving up to F1! Clearly, the Eurocup is more than ever the top category for young talented drivers from throughout the world.
With four races gone, the top seven drivers are separated by just 14 points. To put it another way, fewer points than can be scored with a win! We can exclude Tristan Vautier, who was a guest at Zolder, from the list of the top seven and focus on the six title contenders.
After a faultless performance in Belgium, Brendon Hartley (Epsilon Red Bull) was off the pace at the Nürburgring, managing a modest 8th place. Having also fallen back in the Italian championship, the New Zealander needs to return to form at the Hungaroring. He is ready to do just that, as he demonstrated when setting the fastest time in collective testing at Magny-Cours (May 31 – June 1).
Second spot is currently held by a rookie, French driver Charles Pic (SG Formula). Impressive at Zolder, he hit top form at the Nürburgring where he took his first race win. That put him within six points of Hartley and into the frame as a potential title winner. If he can continue his good form this weekend at Val de Vienne in the French championship, he'll head for Hungary full of confidence...
Having racked up the points finishes in the first two meetings, Oliver Turvey (Jenzer Motorsport) lies third in the overall standings. The British driver, voted McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year, has so far only finished in the top three once, following the disqualification of Waldschmidt. He will now have to raise his level if he wants to be in the running to win races!
Tied for third, Henki Waldschmidt has unquestionably been the quickest driver so far this season. But two disqualifications for technical non-compliance have cost the Dutchman no fewer than 22 points. Instead of being well ahead of the rest, he now has to push hard to get back to the top.
Behind these four, Frank Kechele (Motopark Academy) has yet to make it onto the podium. But the German's confidence was given a boost by his double win at the opening round of the NEC (North European Cup) at Zandvoort!
Third and second at the Nürburgring, Mika Mäki (Red Bull Epsilon) is also improving fast. A win at Valencia in the Italian championship provided further proof that the Finnish rookie is continuing to make great strides.
Obviously, these six men will not be the only ones fighting for victory. After hitting form – and taking the overall lead in the process – in the Italian championship at Waldschmidt, Jaime Alguersuari is ready to add his name to the list of Eurocup winners. An ambition shared by the likes of rookie Roberto Merhi (Jenzer Motorsport), Mihai Marinescu (District Racing) and Oliver Oakes (Motopark Academy).
N° Teams (Home country) Drivers (Home country - ASN) Junior 1 SG FORMULA (FRA) Nelson PANCIATICI (FRA - FRA) 2 SG FORMULA (FRA) Charles PIC (FRA - FRA) J 3 SG DRIVERS PROJECT (FRA) Jon LANCASTER (GBR - GBR) 4 SG DRIVERS PROJECT (FRA) Alexandre MARSOIN (FRA - FRA) J 5 MOTOPARK ACADEMY (GER) Oliver OAKES (GBR - GBR) 6 MOTOPARK ACADEMY (GER) Frank KECHELE (GER - GER) 7 MOTORSPORT ARENA (GER) Fabio ONIDI (ITA - ITA) 8 MOTORSPORT ARENA (GER) Tobias HEGEWALD (GER - GER) J 9 JENZER MOTORSPORT (SUI) Oliver TURVEY (GBR - GBR) 10 JENZER MOTORSPORT (SUI) Roberto MERHI (ESP - ESP) J 11 JENZER MOTORSPORT (SUI) Fabio LEIMER (SUI - SUI) J 12 EPSILON EUSKADI (ESP) Miquel JULIÀ (ESP - ESP) 14 EPSILON EUSKADI (ESP) Pablo MONTILLA (ESP - ESP) J 15 EPSILON EUSKADI (ESP) Stefano COLETTI (MON - MON) J 16 EPSILON RED BULL TEAM (ESP) Mika MÄKI (FIN - FIN) 18 EPSILON RED BULL TEAM (ESP) Brendon HARTLEY (NZL - NZL) J 19 EPSILON RED BULL TEAM (ESP) Jaime ALGUERSUARI (ESP - ESP) J 20 CRAM COMPETITION (ITA) Giovanni NAVA (ITA - ITA) J 21 CRAM COMPETITION (ITA) Daniele ZAMPIERI (ITA - ITA) J 22 CRAM COMPETITION (ITA) Sergio CAMPANA (ITA - ITA) J 23 PREMA POWERTEAM (ITA) Andrea CALDARELLI (ITA - ITA) J 24 PREMA POWERTEAM (ITA) Martin PLOWMAN (GBR - GBR) 25 PREMA POWERTEAM (ITA) Henki WALDSCHMIDT (NED - ITA) 26 BVM MINARDI TEAM (ITA) Felipe LAPENNA (BRA - BRA) 27 BVM MINARDI TEAM (ITA) Markus NIEMELA (FIN - FIN) 28 DISTRICT RACING (ROM) Aleix ALCARAZ (ESP - ESP) J 29 DISTRICT RACING (ROM) Mihai MARINESCU (ROM - ITA) J 30 OMICRON RACING (ESP) Pascal KOCHEM (GER - GER) 31 OMICRON RACING (ESP) Francesc MORENO (ESP - AND) J 32 OMICRON RACING (ESP) Tiago PETIZ (POR - POR) 33 BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING (BEL) Stéphane RICHELMI (MON - MON) J 34 BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING (BEL) Pierre COMBOT (FRA - FRA) 35 SL FORMULA (GER) Anton NEBILTSKIY (RUS - RUS) J 36 SL FORMULA (GER) Pedro NUNES (BRA - BRA) 37 CARLIN MOTORSPORT (GBR) Marc AUBY (RSA - RSA) 38 CARLIN MOTORSPORT (GBR) Joe GHANEM (LIB - LIB) J 44 BVM MINARDI TEAM (ITA) Simeon IVANOV (BUL - ITA) Wild Card 45 STEINER MOTORSPORT (AUT) Bianca STEINER (AUT - HUN) Wild Card J
