20 seats have already been filled and there are just two spaces yet to be confirmed on the 2014 Formula 1 grid.
The driver market for the up-coming season has been one of the busiest in recent years, with some high profile moves that dominated the headlines throughout 2013.
Now, we are just starting the final lap as we await the decision on who will take the final two spaces on the grid for the season opener in Australia.
In recent months, we have had announcements from Force India, Sauber and more recently Marussia, who confirmed Max Chilton will remain at the team for a second season last weekend.
But who will be chosen to race for the ‘green machines’ in 2014? That is one of the big questions currently being asked, along with ‘what will the cars look like?’ and ‘will the first test be chaos?’
The most obvious choice for Caterham is to retain their 2013 drivers. Charles Pic did a consistent, but rather anonymous, job last season. He brought the car home and had the upper-hand at the start of the season.
Giedo van der Garde’s rookie campaign started off in shaky style, but he soon improved and put in some fantastic, gutsy qualifying and race performances to prove that the team was right to promote him from his reserve driver role and, at last, give him a race seat.
Personally, if I had to choose between the two, I would pick van der Garde, as I feel the Dutch driver has shown more potential and raw speed in comparison to Pic, who has obvious talent, but hasn’t done anything special or really shown that he is one to watch.
The Caterham team could be in the situation where they have to pick one driver, as Kamui Kobayashi is being heavily linked to an F1 return with the Leafield-based outfit. He was spotted at the factory and has been keen to get back into to the sport after a year in sportscar.
I think he would be a great addition to the team, personally, as he has some experience – which they were lacking in their 2013 line-up – and is obviously very quick, although his driving does still need a bit of polishing up.
GP2's Marcus Ericsson is being tipped to be in with a shot at a drive with Caterham too and spent the 2013 season finale with the team in Brazil. Despite winning races and scoring podiums, I feel he hasn't particularly proved himself as a top driver during his four-year stint in the feeder series. I, personally, feel that there are better drivers out there - some I have mentioned above, but if he has the financial backing, that could be enough to secure him a spot on the 2014 grid.
Esteban Gutierrez was briefly linked to a drive before securing his Sauber future, but you can be sure that Heikki Kovalainen is not giving up on a race seat at Caterham. He was dropped by the team for 2013 but returned as their reserve driver.
If he doesn’t snatch a seat for this season, it is possible that he could remain as their third driver, to complete tests with the car and give them feedback. 2014 is a big year for all 11 teams, so input from an experienced driver will be extremely valuable.
I’m slightly disappointed that Alexander Rossi, their 2013 reserve driver, hasn’t been put into the mix for the seat, as he is a great talent and proved on a number of occasions in his maiden GP2 campaign that he has plenty of speed. It would be great to see an American in F1 once again, and I think Rossi does have the talent to do well – he showed this in the two first practice runs he had in 2013.
So the battle for the final two spaces on the grid is hotly contested, but I think it is most likely that they will recruit Kobayashi and stay with van der Garde. That is what I’m hoping for as well, as I believe that would be a strong line-up for them.
The team looks set to make a decision pretty soon, and of course I will be reporting on the announcement when it is eventually decided, so stay tuned on the blog and over at RichlandF1 for the latest.
For a look at the full 2014 grid, as well as the calendar and permanent number decisions, go here.
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| © Octane Photographic |
Now, we are just starting the final lap as we await the decision on who will take the final two spaces on the grid for the season opener in Australia.
In recent months, we have had announcements from Force India, Sauber and more recently Marussia, who confirmed Max Chilton will remain at the team for a second season last weekend.
But who will be chosen to race for the ‘green machines’ in 2014? That is one of the big questions currently being asked, along with ‘what will the cars look like?’ and ‘will the first test be chaos?’
The most obvious choice for Caterham is to retain their 2013 drivers. Charles Pic did a consistent, but rather anonymous, job last season. He brought the car home and had the upper-hand at the start of the season.
Giedo van der Garde’s rookie campaign started off in shaky style, but he soon improved and put in some fantastic, gutsy qualifying and race performances to prove that the team was right to promote him from his reserve driver role and, at last, give him a race seat.
Personally, if I had to choose between the two, I would pick van der Garde, as I feel the Dutch driver has shown more potential and raw speed in comparison to Pic, who has obvious talent, but hasn’t done anything special or really shown that he is one to watch.
The Caterham team could be in the situation where they have to pick one driver, as Kamui Kobayashi is being heavily linked to an F1 return with the Leafield-based outfit. He was spotted at the factory and has been keen to get back into to the sport after a year in sportscar.
I think he would be a great addition to the team, personally, as he has some experience – which they were lacking in their 2013 line-up – and is obviously very quick, although his driving does still need a bit of polishing up.
GP2's Marcus Ericsson is being tipped to be in with a shot at a drive with Caterham too and spent the 2013 season finale with the team in Brazil. Despite winning races and scoring podiums, I feel he hasn't particularly proved himself as a top driver during his four-year stint in the feeder series. I, personally, feel that there are better drivers out there - some I have mentioned above, but if he has the financial backing, that could be enough to secure him a spot on the 2014 grid.
Esteban Gutierrez was briefly linked to a drive before securing his Sauber future, but you can be sure that Heikki Kovalainen is not giving up on a race seat at Caterham. He was dropped by the team for 2013 but returned as their reserve driver.
If he doesn’t snatch a seat for this season, it is possible that he could remain as their third driver, to complete tests with the car and give them feedback. 2014 is a big year for all 11 teams, so input from an experienced driver will be extremely valuable.
I’m slightly disappointed that Alexander Rossi, their 2013 reserve driver, hasn’t been put into the mix for the seat, as he is a great talent and proved on a number of occasions in his maiden GP2 campaign that he has plenty of speed. It would be great to see an American in F1 once again, and I think Rossi does have the talent to do well – he showed this in the two first practice runs he had in 2013.
So the battle for the final two spaces on the grid is hotly contested, but I think it is most likely that they will recruit Kobayashi and stay with van der Garde. That is what I’m hoping for as well, as I believe that would be a strong line-up for them.
The team looks set to make a decision pretty soon, and of course I will be reporting on the announcement when it is eventually decided, so stay tuned on the blog and over at RichlandF1 for the latest.
For a look at the full 2014 grid, as well as the calendar and permanent number decisions, go here.
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