GP2: No Longer 'F1's Feeder Series'

GP2 (and its predecessor F3000) has always been referred to as Formula One’s feeder series. However, with the latest champion- Romain Grosjean- having just been crowned, I’ve been thinking is this really the case any more?

Take the five drivers that have made their F1 debut in 2011. Of them, two have never raced in GP2: Daniel Ricciardo and Paul di Resta (who hadn’t even raced in single seaters for 3-and-a-half years prior to F1). This means that 60%- only just over half- of the rookies have competed in the supposed F1 feeder formula. Just last season, the same number of drivers made their F1 debut, but all had raced in GP2. Suddenly, GP2 has- seemingly- become less important, especially given di Resta’s impressive first season.

The nail can be really hit on the head by looking at the last four F1 champions. Only one (Lewis Hamilton) has raced in GP2 or F3000. Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel all skipped out this stage of the racing ladder and all were aged 21 or under when making their Grand Prix debuts. So this suggests that success is achieved by getting into F1 from a young age, not by having experience in its ‘feeder’ category.

Perhaps part of the reason for the decline in drivers making the step from GP2 to F1 lies with the teams. Back in the early 2000s when budgets were unrestricted and enormous, most teams ran or had links with junior outfits in F3000. Top constructors such as McLaren and Williams had ties, along with midfield strugglers Prost and Arrows. Nowadays only Renault (with ART) and Team Lotus (with Team AirAsia) have any connection with GP2. More teams have links to theoretically junior categories- Red Bull sponsor World Series by Renault Carlin cars and Virgin also have an operation in this category. So perhaps this is where the teams are looking for talent, not GP2.

So where does this leave the latest crop of GP2 drivers, and inparticular champ Grosjean? Well, it’s unliekly he’s going to get a drive at Renault, his previous F1 team and where he’s a test driver. And with many other teams already confirmed their line-ups, he may not get a seat at all. Therefore, instead of seeing GP2 as a series to aim for, maybe it’s time young, junior drivers avoided it at all costs! Next season, and its rookies, may give us the answer.

For more see: http://allsortsofmotorsports.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/gp2-no-longer-f1s-feeder-series/

 

You make some good points but I have to disagree.

GP2 is still the best place to be if you want to be noticed by the F1 team bosses. The races happen on the same day as F1 races and the fact that it is widely regarded as F1's feeder series means that F1 teams will always be looking at the performances of GP2 drivers when considering their own driver line-up.

Most of the GP2 Champions have moved on to F1 and I expect this to continue in the future. Grosjean's chances of an F1 drive in 2012 look unlikely due to the lack of available drives, but hes in a good position as Renault reserve driver and he might get his chance soon.

 

Good point. However, the FIA seem to agree with me that something needs doing. They've announced new tyre regulations that mirror F1's (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95044), clearly a step in the right direction to improve the category and re-establish its position as F1's feeder series. More importantly, it now helps to decrease the enormous jump between F1 and GP2.

 

I know this is old but...

http://www.gp2series.com/News-Room/News/2011/11_november/Fourteen-GP2-drivers-joined-the-F1-Young-Driver-tests/

At old bit of news for an old thread but it shows how important gp2 still is.

 

I suppose, with champ Grosjean and Pic (who only finished 4th) joining, it is still an important training ground.