Top feeder series drivers of 2017: Formula Renault and F4
Max Fewtrell
Fewtrell flew somewhat under the radar in his 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup campaign. The likes of Gabriel Aubry, Robert Schwartzman, Will Palmer and Sacha Fenestraz grabbed the headlines, however it was Fewtrell that arguably did the best job given his position. Those ahead of him are all considerably more experienced, with multiple seasons in both F4 and Formula Renault (NEC and Eurocup). For Fewtrell to jump into a new car, in what turned out to be an incredibly large and frightfully competitive field and end the season as the highest rookie shows that he has serious talent. After winning the British F4 title in 2016, Fewtrell has stamped himself as one to watch. Expect him to be a real title contender going into 2018.
Oscar Piastri
When a driver is dominant in a series, as Jamie Caroline was in the 2017 British F4 season, everyone else tends to be forgotten about. While Caroline did do a fantastic job, it was Australian driver Oscar Piastri who, to me, was the most impressive driver in the field. Entering his first season of racing cars after finishing just 6th in the 2016 FIA-CIK World Junior Karting Championship, Piastri drove fantastically well to finish 2nd in the standings. As well as speed he showed great consistency — scoring outside of the points just twice from 30 races. If he can continue to improve and maintain his adaptability and speed, he will be a scary prospect for his competitors, whether he continues in F4 or moves up to FR2.0 with Arden.
Dan Ticktum
Whatever you make of his foray into banger racing (to put it lightly) at Silverstone 2015 in which he received a 2 year ban from the MSA for overtaking 10 competitors under the safety car to intentionally crash into a rival, Ticktum has undeniably been incredible in 2017. The ban was lifted after 12 months in September 2016, allowing him to take part in the BRDC British F3 Autumn Trophy where he finished 4th — a solid result for a driver with such little experience and who wasn’t permitted from racing a car for the previous year. He was promptly taken under the Red Bull Junior Team’s wing and returned to racing in the 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup season, where he has since gone on to take a podium and a win and end up 7th in the standings. Again, pretty solid results considering, however it’s his return to Macau which saw him deliver an unbelievable overtake on both Maxi Gunther and Lando Norris in one go, taking the win him. He also contested 5 races for DAMS in GP3, scoring more than triple the points than the teams regular full season drivers Tatiana Calderon and Bruno Baptista managed. Having shown such pace in GP3, his recently announced F3 deal with Motopark should prove to be a successful one. As controversial as his return to racing has been, he is a superstar in waiting, and Red Bull will be watching him closely as the F1 driver market evolves going into 2019/2020.
Originally posted on 05/12/17 at jdaykin.me
