Top 10 feeder series drivers of 2018

Last year I wrote a series of articles covering my top picks for the most impressive feeder series drivers in each respective category. This year I thought I would mix it up a bit (and save myself the trouble of ensuring everything was formatted consistently) by covering my top 10 drivers regardless of category in one list.

2018 was an interesting year for feeder series as a whole, to start with we had the introduction of the new Dallara F2/18, which was met with almost universal criticism due to the problems it caused for drivers when pulling away which made race starts a complete lottery. We entered 2018 all but knowing that it would be the last year of the GP3 series, Formula Renault Eurocup was entering another year with massive grids and fierce competition and there was an ever-increasing number of North American based feeder series with ever-decreasing grids and ever-tame competition.

We ended the year with all-round confusion as to the future (and meaning) of the term “Formula 3”, a controversial female-only feeder W Series and the reveal of the 2019 FIA F3 and Formula Renault cars. It was an exciting year that revealed some fantastic future prospects, so without further ado, here are my top 10 most impressive feeder series drivers of 2018.

10. Lando Norris

Norris started the year with a pole and a feature race win which had many thinking that the 2018 FIA F2 season would go the same way as his previous feeder series campaigns — that is to say he would adapt quickly, outqualify the rest of the field almost immediately and dominate the season. That would be naive, and in his, and Carlin’s first year in F2, Bahrain was an outlier. Lando and the team struggled with the notoriously difficult Pirelli tyres and after that first weekend, once others caught up and got over the clutch issues of the new Dallara, they never looked quite as competitive. It was a solid year from Norris, ending the year 2nd only to the stellar George Russell and showing he has nothing left to prove on the ladder to F1, but 2018 was an unfortunate blemish on Norris’ near perfect career thus far.

9. Enaam Ahmed

Enaam Ahmed entered 2018 not knowing if he was even going to have a seat anywhere on the feeder series ladder due to budget issues, despite dominating the 2017 British F3 championship with 13 wins from 24 races. He managed to secure a full-time seat at Hitech GP in the FIA European F3 championship and showed that 2017 was down to his talent, not the lack of serious competition, even leading the standings after Hungary— the second round of the 2018 F3 season. He didn’t maintain this form throughout but nevertheless was a regular points scorer who, if not for some unfortunate results in Norisring and Spa, may have been knocking on the door of the top 6 come season’s end. If Ahmed can improve his consistency and race pace slightly going into 2019, he may be able to mount a title challenge should he stick in FIA F3.

8. Tadasuke Makino

Makino finished 13th in the 2018 FIA F2 Championship, mustering just 1 win and 0 podiums. However, given how rapid his career progression has been, due to Honda’s desperation for a Japanese F1 driver, Makino did a remarkable job. After a poor first half to his 2017 FIA F3 campaign, and a massive step up to F2, he was the better of the two Japanese, Honda-backed drivers, beating Fukuzumi by 31 points and showed that, when the stars align, he can beat anyone with his fantastic Monza feature race win. He would benefit from some consistency and if he returns to FIA F2 in 2019, he may well be a regular top ten finisher.

7. Marcus Armstrong

In 2018 Marcus Armstrong cemented himself as one of the brightest stars of junior single seaters. After title success in his first full season, winning the Italian F4 championship in 2017, he came into FIA European F3 with a lot of expectation which he certainly met. Though his results dropped off in the second half of the season where his Prema teammates Schumacher and Schwartzman’s improved, he was still the fastest for much of the first half which extremely impressive given his lack of experience. With a 2019 FIA F3 ride confirmed with Prema, he should be a very strong shout for the title given his great, if not stellar all-round pace in 2018.

6. Kiern Jewiss

With Carlin taking a sabbatical from the 2018 British F4 championship, it was left to JHR, Arden and Double R to step up to the plate. Only JHR’s Ayrton Simmons (entering his 3rd year in the series) and Double R’s Jewiss proved up to the task. Simmons needed to dominate the season to have any chance of impressing team owners higher up. He did so early on, but it was Jewiss who maintained the consistency and ultimate pace throughout the year to beat Simmons to the title in his rookie year, and by 71 points. With a good management team behind him, Jewiss has emerged as a very exciting prospect for 2019 and has shown why British F4 continues to be one of the most respected F4 series, despite its typically small grids.

5. Billy Monger

I’m not close enough to his situation or even articulate enough to contribute anything meaningful to the heaps of (deserved) praise Monger has already received, but even ignoring his accident, any driver who can complete just 4 Formula 4 races in a given month, not race at all for the rest of the year, then still come back, in a higher category no less, and finish the first race on the podium deserves recognition and a look from any team boss in FIA F3 for 2019. He never got the win he was looking for but was close on many an occasion in the 2018 British F3 series, and if he can secure the budget, get into a good team and remain consistent, he could find himself on the shortlist for many top tier manufacturer’s young driver programs, whether that be GT3, Prototype or Touring cars.

4. Dan Ticktum

Ticktum’s season was a funny one. He began 2018 as the favourite for the FIA F3 championship title, and was on course to do just that, securing several poles and wins, proving he has both the raw qualifying speed and race pace to match. He was leading the championship comfortably midway through the season as his rivals failed to match his consistency and talent for starting from the front and staying there. Then came Spa, when pre-season test topper Mick Schumacher sorted out his one-lap troubles and began catching up to Ticktum. From then on, Ticktum’s season became one of frustration, controversy and hot-headedness, accusing the Prema team of having access to additional engine power and arguing with critics on social media. He finished the year in 2nd position and dominated Macau, winning his second consecutive Macau GP, proving once again that the pace is there. If he can just learn to keep his cool, both in the moment and over a whole season, he will be a superstar.

3. Mick Schumacher

Next, the aforementioned Schumacher, who was the other side of the same coin in the drama of the FIA F3 championship. Though he caught his fair share of bad luck early on in the season, he was also underwhelming in qualifying, despite flashes of pace and consistently setting the fastest times in pre-season testing. However, over time he sorted his issues out and seemed to come alive mid-season, setting pole positions left, right and centre and going on to secure 5 poles and 7 wins from 12 races, across the summer and early autumn rounds of the championship. Schumacher seems to possess main of the traits of his legendary father — consistency, raw pace, overtaking ability and maturity and level-headedness, though we shouldn’t compare Mick Jnr to Michael as that would be unfair. Schumacher has been confirmed to race in FIA F2 in 2019 with Prema and if he can maintain the level of form he showed this year, he could well be on a few F1 teams’ wishlist come next Christmas.

2. George Russell

Russell came into 2018 riding a wave after securing the 2017 GP3 title and being signed up to Mercedes’ junior driver programme. Despite his clear talent, there were some that didn’t see Russell as one of the greats, alongside the likes of Leclerc, Norris and Vandoorne, to name a few junior superstars of the past 3 years. Russell crushed any doubt with a sensational year in FIA F2, securing 7 wins and 4 podiums from 24 races, more than any other driver - despite suffering from considerably more start issues than his rivals. Russell is a fast qualifier, smart overtaker and has never showed any signs of struggling with tyre wear, and in a year where every team and driver had to get used to a new car, this is all the more impressive. Russell won the championship comfortably in the end, and if Williams can deliver him a car anything close to competitive, he will be a wonder to watch, and undoubtedly a match for the highly-rated Kubica.

1. Alexander Albon

So, Albon takes the top spot for my most impressive feeder series drivers of 2018. Though he finished 3rd in FIA F2 this year, Albon demonstrated exactly why the likes of Leclerc and Russell rate him so highly. He achieved 4 wins and 4 podiums and was narrowly beaten to second place by Norris. Albon improved drastically on an already impressive 2017 campaign, demonstrating strong qualifying and race pace. He beat his teammate Latifi handily and impressed Red Bull enough to take him back after dropping him in 2012, putting him in a potentially prime position in Toro Rosso in 2019. It was a fantastic year for a driver who started it unsure if he was even going to compete further than the first round of the season. Like Russell, Albon shed any doubt that he isn’t, or wasn’t a top talent deserving of an F1 seat immediately, unlike Rusell, he did so in a team without the financial backing of an F1 team, as well as the mental, emotional and professional support that such a relationship brings, and he did so with an arguably less talented teammate, but still managed to bring home the results for DAMS, despite some trouble early on in the season.

At many points he was on the same level as Russell and was at least able to get on top of the car/tyres more often than Norris, if not “faster”, and given how tumultuous his pre-season plans were, this was a remarkable achievement.