2015 FR3.5 silly season

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by gaaaazFR

Question about Carlin line-up : does Giovanazzi part time schedule means that Dillman is not going to do a full season according to you?

Yes, that's the impression that I'm getting, which if true would be a tad harsh on Tom. The Jagonya Ayam people could of course loan Giovinazzi to another team for a few rounds - I'm sure Comtec would be grateful for a driver after the season they've just had

Just reading a Q&A on Gustav Malja's website and noticed this quote - Looks like FR3.5 is taking a leaf out of European F3's book and introducing a separate rookie championship:

Mattias Persson: How about expectations – have you set yourself a target for the up-coming campaign?

Gustav Malja: There is a "championship within the championship" – a dedicated points table where new drivers battle it out for the rookie title. I want to win that. Where that would leave me in the overall pecking order remains to be seen.

[bella]

Originally Posted by WSR Fan

Just reading a Q&A on Gustav Malja's website and noticed this quote - Looks like FR3.5 is taking a leaf out of European F3's book and introducing a separate rookie championship:

er, there always has been...

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by bella

er, there always has been...

Oh, it's just that I've never seen, as Malja put it, a "dedicated points table" for FR3.5 rookies - like this F3 example.

[bella]

they've always had a rookie of the year type thing as in the highest placed rookie in the championship.

which is all you want really because if you're that pushed for results that you have to put 3rd in rookie championship or something on your cv then you probably want to consider a career in instruction instead

[ivanalesi]

There is even a podium for the top rookies with awards

[bella]

exactly! what more do people want!

[Formulahistory]

Update:

DAMS: Nyck de Vries – Jazeman Jaafar (?)
Fortec: Oliver Rowland – Seb Morris (?)
Arden: Egor Orudzhev – Nicolas Latifi (?)
Zeta: Roman Mavlanov (?) – Vasily Romanov (?)
Lotus: Matthieu Vaxivière (?) – Alex Fontana (?)
Strakka: Gustav Malja – Sergey Sirotkin (?)
AVF: Beitske Visser – Zoël Amberg (?)
Tech-1: Aurelién Panis – Andrea Pizzitola (?)
Draco: Pietro Fantin – Bruno Bonifacio (?)
Comtec: Meindert van Buuren (?) – Steijn Schothorst (?)
Pons: Oscar Tunjo – Sandy Stuvik (?)
Carlin: Tom Dillmann – Sean Gelael

[bella]

it's not seb morris at fortec, iirc they've signed but not announced their second driver?

[kotkot]

Yes they already have their second driver but it's not public yet. One of the options for Morris is sticking with Fortec but not in FR3.5 but in Eurocup. Another option could be GP3, he had good post-season testing with Status.

By the looks of it, the Formula Renault 3.5 grid will be quite good considering the circumstances and it seems it will be a full grid. Lots of good, decent drivers.

[LavidaLoca]

Esteban Ocon no being confirmed on the Mercedes DTM Line-up, i would guess he will be either at Dams or Fortec

[bella]

Originally Posted by kotkot

By the looks of it, the Formula Renault 3.5 grid will be quite good considering the circumstances and it seems it will be a full grid. Lots of good, decent drivers.

my thoughts exactly. certainly not going to be one of those epic, golden years but given the circumstances there's potentially a decent amount of talent in there.

i think it's too easy for people to latch onto names and not keep an eye on the rest of the eurocup grid for some quick guys who might spring a surprise.

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by LavidaLoca

Esteban Ocon no being confirmed on the Mercedes DTM Line-up, i would guess he will be either at Dams or Fortec

I was only thinking the other day that it's all gone a bit quiet regarding him recently. Like you said, he's missed the DTM boat, Jolyon Palmer has got the Lotus test & reserve seat ahead of him and he's missed out on a top GP2 seat, so at the moment you'd have to say FR3.5 looks the most likely for him - which would be great for the series!

Question is though, if he did join FR3.5 full-time, surely Gravity Sport Management would want to place him in their own Lotus team, rather than a 'rival'??

[olev]

Originally Posted by WSR Fan

I was only thinking the other day that it's all gone a bit quiet regarding him recently. Like you said, he's missed the DTM boat, Jolyon Palmer has got the Lotus test & reserve seat ahead of him and he's missed out on a top GP2 seat, so at the moment you'd have to say FR3.5 looks the most likely for him - which would be great for the series!

Question is though, if he did join FR3.5 full-time, surely Gravity Sport Management would want to place him in their own Lotus team, rather than a 'rival'??

Given Gravity's preferences, my bet is that he'll end up in a french team: DAMS or Tech 1. It was like that with Sorensen last year, at least.

[cds_uk]

Got to be DAMS surely, and if it is i bet he wipes the floor with de Vries.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by cds_uk

Got to be DAMS surely, and if it is i bet he wipes the floor with de Vries.

God yes, he'd nail him!

[Rf1 Fan]

Well rumours in France, is that Gravity ran out of money for Ocon.

Gwen Lagrue denied this directly.

Speedweek says that he shall drive in 3.5 series.

[bella]

i'd be surprised too, i thought lotus and gravity were from two different money pots. now the teams ok but the coffers are bare for the drivers? reading between the lines it seems as if they've dropped at least one of their other junior drivers. if i were them i'd be binning off all the others in favour of getting ocon a really solid drive. he's that good...

[gaaaazFR]

Originally Posted by Rf1 Fan

Well rumours in France, is that Gravity ran out of money for Ocon.

Gwen Lagrue denied this directly.

Speedweek says that he shall drive in 3.5 series.

Looks like Gravity tried to "sell" him on high point of his career (most probably to Merc.), and it also look like it didn't work.

Ocon might end up in 3.5 but it means Gravity will have again to pay for it (their financing him integrally), thus following questions are : does Gravity has enough money to finance him until Formula1? Will they find another spot to transfer him? What happens if he doesn't explose in 3.5? (they'll have lost their investment since Karting years)

[WSR Fan]

Meindert van Buuren will race for Lotus this season - he's the 11th confirmed driver and the third from Holland, after Nyck de Vries and Beitske Visser.

Every team bar Comtec and Zeta Corse have announced at least one driver now..

[Rf1 Fan]

Originally Posted by gaaaazFR

Looks like Gravity tried to "sell" him on high point of his career (most probably to Merc.), and it also look like it didn't work.

Ocon might end up in 3.5 but it means Gravity will have again to pay for it (their financing him integrally), thus following questions are : does Gravity has enough money to finance him until Formula1? Will they find another spot to transfer him? What happens if he doesn't explose in 3.5? (they'll have lost their investment since Karting years)

It seems that the story is a bit different.

Mercedes approached Gravity to get Ocon after Verstappen unsuccessful attempt against Red Bull in August.


Gerard Lopez said no we have the bucks to bring him to GP2 on our own. Then in december the whole Ocon's business model fall off hence why he lost the drive at Dams. After that Gravity tried to sell him off to Mercedes, but Mercedes proposed little money so they went in DTM for Auer and Gotz as Gravity refused to accept that offer.

[gaaaazFR]

Originally Posted by Rf1 Fan

It seems that the story is a bit different.

Mercedes approached Gravity to get Ocon after Verstappen unsuccessful attempt against Red Bull in August.


Gerard Lopez said no we have the bucks to bring him to GP2 on our own. Then in december the whole Ocon's business model fall off hence why he lost the drive at Dams. After that Gravity tried to sell him off to Mercedes, but Mercedes proposed little money so they went in DTM for Auer and Gotz as Gravity refused to accept that offer.

Oh yes that's different... you mean Plan A was GP2 chase for the title with Dams, falling down when RB proposed two drivers, and Plan B was Merc. in DTM but it felt down has well cause the price wasn't high enough?

So now they have to find a Plan C... GP2 with another team or WSR with Dams as well? (2nd solution would make sense)

[Go_For_Pole]

Crossing fingers that a top GP2 team can sign him

[remdev]

Vaxivière confirmed with Lotus charouz.

Stoneman probably with Dams.

[WSR Fan]

Originally Posted by remdev

Vaxivière confirmed with Lotus charouz.

Stoneman probably with Dams.

Vaxiviere has confirmed on Twitter that he's joining the Lotus F1 Junior Team too.

And if Stoneman does join DAMS it'll be brilliant news, not just for the series but for Dean himself after he had to give up his ISR seat in 2011. He's done tremendously well to get himself back in this position after everything he's been through and he fully deserves the chance IMO.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by Go_For_Pole

Crossing fingers that a top GP2 team can sign him

Considering a GP2 budget is larger than a FR3.5 one...

...but for Ocon to not get a drive this season would be simply shocking and would sum up the motorsport world now. He deserves a step up, and considering Verstappen is in F1, Blomqvist is in DTM, Ocon hammered them and others in a straight fight over a season so I'm really hoping for the best.