First meeting of season promises high drama
The first two races of the season, set to take place at Spain's Motorland Aragón circuit, will offer a first taste of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series ahead. Each of the 13 teams has spent the winter preparing for this kick-off, and everyone involved is aware of the importance of a successful start to their 2011 campaign.
With ISR's Daniel Ricciardo absent due to F1 commitments, the other hopefuls will be keen to take advantage.
The six days of collective testing in the run-up to season only went to prove the quality of the competition for 2011's Formula Renault 3.5 Series. 2010 runner-up Daniel Ricciardo showed his class at Motorland Aragon and in the wet at Barcelona, while Carlin's Robert Wickens took charge of events at the Paul Ricard HTTT.
With 12 cars within one second of each other in both sessions it wasn't easy to draw up a list of favourites. One thing is clear however, namely that Ricciardo won't score a single point during the opening round of this, the seventh season of World Series by Renault.
Otherwise engaged as third driver for the Red Bull Racing team, the Australian will spend his weekend at the wheel of a Toro Rosso F1 for testing in the run-up to the Chinese Grand Prix while his rivals are helping to get the Formula Renault 3.5 Series underway. In the absence of such a formidable contender, it will be all the more important to make the first meeting of the year count.
Drivers with previous experience of Formula Renault 3.5 Series will be trying even harder to make the most of the season's opening weekend. Winner of one race last season, ISR's Nathanaël Berthon and Carlin's Jean-Éric Vergne will be something of a yardstick against which the rest of the field measure themselves, as will Epic Racing's Albert Costa who finished fifth overall last season.
The Spaniard will be driving in the colours of Epic Racing, successors to the Epsilon Euskadi team. Meanwhile, Mofaz Racing's Jake Rosenzweig, and old hands such as KMP Racing's Anton Nebylitskiy and Nelson Panciatici, and P1 Motorsport's Walter Grubmuller and Daniil Move are also known quantities. BVM Target and Gravity-Charouz, two new teams to join the action this season, have also put their money on drivers who are veterans of the class.
The Italian team are relying on the services of Daniel Zampieri and Sergio Canamasas, while the Czech team features Jan Charouz and Brendon Hartley, all of whom will be doing their utmost to give their respective teams an early boost. Robert Wickens has already won one Formula Renault 3.5 Series race at 2008's Silverstone meeting. Second in the 2009 F2 championship, and second in GP3 in 2010, the Canadian returns to the discipline with the firm intention of lifting the second title of his career following his success in Formula BMW USA in 2006.
Drivers would also do well to keep an eye on the nine Rookies, all of whom put in the hours during collective testing to familiarise themselves with the Formula Renault 3.5. Four drivers join the series from Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. Kevin Korjus, winner of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 2010, joins Tech 1 Racing alongside rival from last season, Arthur Pic, who finished third in the championship.
Comtec Racing's Daniel de Jong and International Draco Racing's Andre Negrao have also made the jump. The top two drivers from Italian Formula 3, Fortec Motorsport's Cesar Ramos, last season's champion, and International Draco Racing's Stéphane Richelmi also join the fight. 2010 British F3 international Series champion Jean-Éric Vergne once again lines up against Pons Racing's Oliver Webb and Comtec Racing's Daniel McKenzie.
Having made an impression in last year's Formula Renault 3.5 Series at Monaco, Fortec Motorsport's Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in the 2010 GP3 Series, is the second American to join the starting grid for what promises to be an exciting season.
