Top feeder series drivers of 2017: F2

Artem Markelov

Markelov, on paper, should not be considered as one of the top drivers of 2017. His skill is expected of someone with 4 years experience in F2. However, he was not far off perfect in 2017. Incredible, daring overtakes are his staple and he was always happy to demonstrate that fact. His race pace and tyre management were also impeccable. His only fault is his qualifying pace, which saw him set just 1 pole position throughout the year, though this can be forgiven because of Leclerc’s domination in that regard. He may not have what it takes to get to F1, however any team in any series should have Markelov on their shortlist for 2018.

Sergio Sette Camara

Ok, so he may have not scored a single point until Spa, and he had some comedic and often intense arguments with his team, however the way in which Camara improved over the course of the year is very impressive. After finishing 6th in the feature race at Spa, he led early on, and held off the competition to score his, and MP Motorsport’s first win in F2. From then on he got a podium at Monza and outscored his experienced, and much older teammate Jordan King throughout the rest of the year, finishing just 15 points off King’s total despite him scoring in 10 of the first 11 races where Camara scored 0 times. He also demonstrated killer instinct and incredible speed in his impressive, albeit curtailed Macau GP effort. Joining Carlin for 2018, he should be a frontrunner and challenging for regular wins.

Charles Leclerc

As with Norris, there isn’t much that can be said about Leclerc that hasn’t been said already. After a tightly fought 2016 campaign in GP3, he dominated in F2, leaving his fellow Ferrari Academy driver and (at one time) highly-rated teammate Fuoco for dust. In qualifying he was perfect, scoring pole 9 times, though he set the fastest lap a tenth time in Hungary before he was disqualified for a technical infringement. In races he was also perfect, his tyre management was second-to-none (which is mightily impressive for a rookie in a series which is notorious having tyres that are difficult to manage and warm up) and he was an absolute predator in his overtaking. Hopefully Sauber’s Alfa-Romeo/Ferrari alliance will pay off, because with a half-decent car, Leclerc could be a superstar akin to Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen as young drivers who immediately impress.

Originally posted on 29/12/17 at jdaykin.me