Rookie F1

The young driver test is a great place for future hopefuls to showcase their skills to the world as they take a step closer to joining the Formula One grid. Some have already been signed up in test driver roles, Czech driver Jan Charouz is one of Renault’s many third drivers and will be climbing inside the R31 next week. As ever money is of the biggest concern, some teams sell seats to cover the costs and others do it for the revenue boost, either way they want those seats filled intent on discovering the next big thing.

So who do we have? Below is a constantly updated list of the drivers and their scheduled appearances as they are announced.

Driver Line-Up

Driver Schedule

Drivers

Nathanael Berthon – A late addition to the line up, who took third overall in 2009 West European Formula Renault 2.0 Cup. Competing in the current Formula Renault 3.5 Series.

Jules Bianchi – Young French driver with a family connection to racing. Has a good track record with strong finishes in Formula Renault, F3 and GP2.

Mirko Bortolotti – Current Formula 2 champion in a year that saw him finish off the podium twice from 16 races.

Valtteri Bottas – Current GP3 champion, and another driver with a commanding track record. Has been a test driver for Williams for 2 years.

Sam Bird – Starting his career in the Formula BMW UK series he’s since graduated through the ranks of Formula Renault, British F3 and GP2. Drove in the young driver test for Mercedes last year.

Kevin Ceccon – Current Auto GP champion, who has also competed in GP2, Euro F3 and Italian F3.

Johnny Cecotto Jr. – Current GP2 driver who has progressed through the usual route of Formula BMW, Formula 3000, Formula Renault and 3. Best result was 3rd in the German F3 series in 2008.

Jan Charouz – One of the many Renault test drivers, in his second year. Has a history in Le Mans.

Max Chilton – Brother of Tom who is a BTCC driver. Has driven in F3, Formula Renault and most recently in GP2 where he came 20th.

Dani Clos – Has tested for Williams in the past. His best championship result was in the 2010 GP2 series when he took 4th place with a win in Turkey.

Stefano Coletti – Competed against Alguersuari in karting and was once part of the Red Bull Driver Development programme. Most recently competed in the GP2 series and came 11th overall with 2 wins.

Rodolfo Gonzalez – Career highlight in 2006 when he won the British F3 National Class with 13 wins from 22 races. Has finished his second full season in GP2 in 26th.

Esteban Gutierrez – Took his first title in 2008 in the Formula BMW Euro series, and his second in 2010 in GP3. Current Sauber test driver and has just completed a season in GP2.

Kevin Korjus – Has had a relatively short, but successful career. Won his first championship in 2010 in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. Currently competing in Formula Renault 3.5, finishing 2011 in 6th with 3 wins.

Fabio Leimer – Secured his first title in 2009 in the International Formula Master with 7 wins. Currently competing in GP2 and is running in 14th.

Gary Paffett – A well known name in McLaren, and is a successful DTM driver winning the title in 2005, with three near misses in 2004, 2009 and 2010. Has been close to an F1 drive, but was pipped to a McLaren seat by Hamilton.

Charles Pic – Another current GP2 driver, who finished 4th this year. He won his first GP2 feature race upon his debut with Arden International in Spain, 2010. Has a fairly successful history in Formula Renault (Campus, Eurocup 2.0 and 3.5) finishing third overall in each series.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs – Won his only title in 2005 in the T Cars category and since then has progressed through Formula Renault, Formula 3 and GP3, before being signed to Virgin Racing as a test driver.

Luiz Razia – Took his first title in 2006 for Razia Sports in the South American Formula Three series. Prior to being signed up to a test driver position to Virgin Racing (2010) and Team Lotus (2011), he tried out Formula Renault, Formula 3000 and current resides in GP2.

Alexander Rossi – Starting his career in the US he drove for Skip Barber Racing School after a P5 finish out of 2,000 in the Red Bull F1 US Drivers search. Rossi crossed the Atlantic in 2009 to join the International Formula Master series, GP2 Asia, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5.

Oliver Turvey – 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC winner. Combining higher education studies with motorsport has proved a challenge he could overcome, but a lack of funding has limited his 2011 season to the Monaco round.

Jean-Eric Vergne – Formula Campus Renault (2007) and British F3 Championship (2010) title winner. He’s also competed in GP3 and Formula 3.5 Renault, in the latter series he finished 2011 in 2nd with 5 wins. Currently he’s signed up with Toro Rosso as a test driver.

Robert Wickens – Current Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion who is also on Virgin Racing’s books as a test driver. He’s also won the Formula BMW USA title back in 2006.