Twelve months ago we asked which up-and-coming drivers outside F1 were the talents of the future.
Your choices included three drivers who went on to make their F1 debuts – Stoffel Vandoorne, Jolyon Palmer and Alexander Rossi.
Can you identify more talents of the future? F1 Fanatic has drawn up a list of 135 of the world’s top international racing drivers who are or could soon be eligible to race in F1 under the FIA’s new superlicence rules.
The list contains all drivers who participated in an F1 practice session in the two years prior to 2016, all drivers with at least ten FIA superlicence points at the beginning of 2016 and the Formula E champion. Drivers who are already part of an F1 team’s full-time line-up are omitted, along with any that are unavailable due to injury.
Over to you
Which of these drivers most deserve an F1 race seat? Select up to 22.
Which 22 drivers would you put in F1 in 2016?
- Zach Veach (0%)
- Yvan Muller (0%)
- Yuichi Nakayama (0%)
- Wu Ruopeng (0%)
- Will Stevens (1%)
- Will Power (3%)
- Vladimir Atoev (0%)
- Tom Randle (0%)
- Tom Blomqvist (1%)
- Tio Ellinas (0%)
- Timo Bernhard (1%)
- Tim Macrow (0%)
- Takamoto Katsuta (0%)
- Tadasuke Makino (0%)
- Susie Wolff (1%)
- Stoffel Vandoorne (6%)
- Stephane Sarrazin (1%)
- Stefano Coletti (0%)
- Spencer Pigot (0%)
- Simon Pagenaud (1%)
- Simon Hodge (0%)
- Sho Tsuboi (0%)
- Sergey Sirotkin (1%)
- Sebastien Loeb (3%)
- Sebastien Buemi (3%)
- Scott Dixon (2%)
- Sam Bird (3%)
- Sage Karam (0%)
- Ryan Hunter-Reay (2%)
- Romain Dumas (0%)
- Rodrigo Pflucker (0%)
- Robin Frijns (3%)
- Roberto Merhi (1%)
- Robert Schwartzman (0%)
- Ricky Collard (0%)
- Ricky Capo (0%)
- Ralf Aron (0%)
- Raffaele Marciello (1%)
- Pierre Gasly (2%)
- Pedro Piquet (0%)
- Pedro Cardoso (0%)
- Oliver Rowland (2%)
- Oliver Jarvis (0%)
- Nyck de Vries (1%)
- Norbert Michelisz (0%)
- Nobuharu Matsushita (0%)
- Niko Kari (0%)
- Nicolas Lapierre (0%)
- Nico Muller (0%)
- Nick Yelloly (0%)
- Nick Cassidy (0%)
- Nelson Piquet Jnr (1%)
- Neel Jani (1%)
- Naoki Yamamoto (0%)
- Mitsunori Takaboshi (0%)
- Mitch Evans (2%)
- Mike Rockenfeller (0%)
- Mattias Ekstrom (1%)
- Mattia Drudi (0%)
- Matthieu Vaxiviere (1%)
- Matt Parry (0%)
- Marvin Kirchhofer (0%)
- Marvin Dienst (0%)
- Martin Cao (0%)
- Markus Pommer (0%)
- Mark Webber (3%)
- Marco Wittmann (1%)
- Marco Andretti (1%)
- Marcel Fassler (1%)
- Marc Lieb (0%)
- Lucas di Grassi (2%)
- Lucas Auer (0%)
- Luca Ghiotto (1%)
- Louis Deletraz (0%)
- Loic Duval (1%)
- Lando Norris (0%)
- Lance Stroll (1%)
- Kevin Jorg (0%)
- Kenta Yamashita (0%)
- Kazuki Nakajima (0%)
- Julio Acosta (0%)
- Juan Pablo Montoya (4%)
- Jose Maria Lopez (1%)
- Jordan Lloyd (0%)
- Jordan King (0%)
- Johnny Cecotto Jnr (0%)
- Joel Eriksson (0%)
- Joao Paulo de Oliveira (0%)
- Jimmy Eriksson (0%)
- Jamie Green (0%)
- James Nash (0%)
- James Calado (1%)
- Jake Dennis (0%)
- Jack Harvey (0%)
- Jack Aitken (0%)
- Hiroaki Ishiura (0%)
- Helio Castroneves (1%)
- Guan Yu Zhou (0%)
- Graham Rahal (1%)
- Giedo van der Garde (1%)
- Gabriele Tarquini (0%)
- Gabby Chaves (0%)
- Felix Rosenqvist (2%)
- Felipe Ortiz (0%)
- Facu Regalia (0%)
- Fabio Leimer (1%)
- Esteban Ocon (4%)
- Emil Bernstorff (0%)
- Egor Orudzhev (0%)
- Edoardo Mortara (0%)
- Ed Jones (0%)
- Dennis Olsen (0%)
- Dean Stoneman (1%)
- Daniel Juncadella (0%)
- Conor Daly (1%)
- Christian Vietoris (0%)
- Charles Pic (1%)
- Charles Leclerc (1%)
- Carlos Munoz (0%)
- Bruno Spengler (1%)
- Bruno Baptista (0%)
- Brendon Hartley (1%)
- Benoit Treluyer (1%)
- Benjamin Barnicoat (0%)
- Ben Gersekowski (0%)
- Augusto Farfus (0%)
- Antonio Giovinazzi (0%)
- Antonio Fuoco (1%)
- Antonio Felix da Costa (3%)
- Anthony Davidson (1%)
- Andre Lotterer (4%)
- Allan McNish (0%)
- Alexander Rossi (5%)
- Alex Lynn (3%)
- Adderly Fong (0%)
Total Voters: 362
An F1 Fanatic account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.
Your alternative F1 grid for 2015
Here are the drivers you chose to fill an alternative F1 grid 12 months ago:
Debates and polls
- Will Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
10th April 2016, 12:04
Some absolutely terrible drivers included here. Funny.
kpcart
11th April 2016, 5:17
What about Robert Kubica? recently Mercedes SLS- GT3 to help his friend Martin Prokop start a new race team, in a one off 12 hour race at Mugello afew weeks back. Kubica qualified 3rd and set the fastest lap of the race — it was his first circuit race since F1 in 2010. too bad they cant make a bigger cockip in f1 just for him for his right arm, as he still has the speed. here is that fastest lap at of the race at mugello 12H by Robert Kubica:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l6yMtNITGo
BasCB (@bascb)
11th April 2016, 7:21
I think its nice to have more or less a complete field of drivers in good racing series to choose from. Some clearly do have the talent for F1 some are too old by now, some will never be talented enough.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
10th April 2016, 12:05
Couple of drivers here who, on talent, are absolute no-brainers. Vandoorne, Ocon, Leclerc, Frijns, Lynn.
Patrick (@paeschli)
10th April 2016, 21:58
Argh, I missed Vandoorne when going over the list.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
10th April 2016, 12:05
I’ve always wondered what Helio Castroneves would be able to do in a decent F1 car. Maybe Haas can hire him, as the guy is very popular in the US.
Fletch (@fletchuk)
10th April 2016, 13:32
Would love to have seen that – but hes getting on a bit these days
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
10th April 2016, 12:06
I just took a random group of drivers that actually could be in F1, so I did not vote for Webber or Montoya although I would love them both back.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
10th April 2016, 12:07
I forgot Ocon…
BasCB (@bascb)
11th April 2016, 7:22
Didn’t include Webber (he’s done with F1) but I did include Montoya, seeing how he is going in IndyCars @xtwl
kpcart
12th April 2016, 1:30
But Montoya has been done with f1 since 2006.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
10th April 2016, 12:09
Alex Lynn, Alex Rossi, Andre Lotterer, Ben Treluyer, Brendon Hartley, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Felix Rosenqvist, Graham Rahal, James Calado, Juan Montoya, Marcel Fassler, Mark Webber, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Oli Rowland, Roberto Merhi, Sam Bird, Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud, Stoffel Vandoorne, Will Power and Will Stevens. Guys who I feel are still good enough, drivers who have a lot of potential or guys who I felt never got the shot in F1 they really should have had. With the IndyCar drivers, I picked out guys who are really good at fuel management and are just generally quick on the road and street courses.
I would have put Josef Newgarden in place of Pagenaud on there too if he was available.
MM
10th April 2016, 12:24
Montoya in a heart beat! Bring back this ballzy driver please!!!
montreal95 (@montreal95)
10th April 2016, 12:59
No Josef Newgarden? And Where’s JEV? Yet the retired Susie Wolff and Alan Mcnish are there, along with drivers clearly not F1 material like Coletti, Fong and Vietoris. Yeah I very much disagree with this list
Anyway my 22 choices. I’ve tried to chose feasible drivers and not someone who was in F1 before or who’s past the hope of getting into it:
da Costa
Vaxiviere
Rowland
Gasly
Rahal
Bird
Lynn
Stoneman
Ocon
Calado
Lopez
Evans
Frijns
Sirotkin
Rossi
Leclerc
Leimer
Rosenqvist
Ghiotto
Wittmann
Buemi
Vandoorne
Tango (@tango)
11th April 2016, 15:30
I d watch this gris if it were racing
Ross Curtis (@vulcan9919)
10th April 2016, 13:04
Antonio Felix da Costa, won races in every major series he’s raced in. Just look at where he would be in Formula E at the minute without having so much bad luck
Joao (@johnmilk)
10th April 2016, 19:35
His bad luck is painful to watch. And he is driving with an old spec car
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
11th April 2016, 2:56
@vulcan9919 Felix da Costa and Frijns is the ‘lost’ Toro Rosso line up of the last few years in my opinion. Red Bull’s drivers last year were aged 26, 21, 21, 18. Big gap for one of those two to fit into!
Wais (@itswais77)
16th May 2016, 16:24
and they’re driving old-spec FE cars too
Kurt (@dangerpaws)
10th April 2016, 13:44
In my opinion…. IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden should be in this poll too!!
He would definitely be on my list.
Tyler (@tdog)
10th April 2016, 14:02
No Robert Wickens? One of the unluckiest not to make F1 in the last decade in my view.
dubsix (@dubsix)
11th April 2016, 14:34
Yes, how is this man glossed over compared to some of the has been and never will be gracing this list?
hhg1 (@hhg1)
10th April 2016, 14:07
While I don’t want this to turn into a series of “what about them” thread, I think no Laurens Vanthoor is a shame.
Is it possible to do write-ins on these polls? I know write-ins risk trolls or something, but idk
hhg1 (@hhg1)
10th April 2016, 14:09
Actually, a lot of sportscar drivers are missing: Tandy, Derani, etc.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
11th April 2016, 7:15
@hhg1 I think Vanthoor probably only blossomed when driving GT cars, was he really fast enough for F1. Same for Tandy.
jamiejay (@jamiejay995)
10th April 2016, 14:16
Not on the list but my pick is Robert Wickens. He had a stellar open wheel career beating future F1 drivers and winning the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 championship over the likes of Vergne, Rossi and, Riccardo. Also his wins in DTM in the rain and dry with an under powered mercedes. It might be my Canadian bias but i do believe Wickens 100% deserves to be in F1. Its just a shame he doesnt come from a rich family and couldnt buy himself an f1 seat like you do nowadays.
dubsix (@dubsix)
11th April 2016, 14:35
well said!
Sean Doyle (@spdoyle17)
10th April 2016, 14:44
If IndyCar used the 10-6-4-3-2-1 system last year, Rahal would’ve been champ. He delivered when he could. Massively unrepresented… For someone freakishly tall for an open wheeler, the guy has some serious game. All from teams that were midfield.
Wais (@itswais77)
16th May 2016, 16:25
Rahal was mostly unlucky in his Indy career, he managed to have a good year last year.
Balue (@balue)
10th April 2016, 14:55
Weird not to see Paul de Resta on the list.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
10th April 2016, 15:46
Yes, and weird to see how many people voted on former f1 drivers such as Di Grassi.
Sam Stuart (@bluebill77)
10th April 2016, 17:27
Not enough Super Licence Points for Di Resta to qualify.
Balue (@balue)
10th April 2016, 19:54
Then how can he be a Williams reserve driver?
VMaxMuffin (@vmaxmuffin)
10th April 2016, 23:53
As he’s previously held a super licence I believe he is exempt from the system.
Rick
12th April 2016, 5:19
Williams reserve driver this year so not included for that reason
sam3110 (@sam3110)
10th April 2016, 14:56
Jimmie Johnson, Danica Patrick and Sebastian Ogier
James Coulee
10th April 2016, 15:04
No Kamui Kobayashi? Wouldn’t he fulfill the criteria?
Not many drivers are as exciting to watch as he was in an F1 car.
budchekov (@budchekov)
10th April 2016, 16:13
Agreed, and no Pipo Derani !
Patrick (@paeschli)
10th April 2016, 22:00
I’m glad Red Bull brought Verstappen in to compensate for the loss of Kamui Kobayashi. I really miss him :/
Sven (@crammond)
10th April 2016, 15:42
My favourite option on that list is Gabriele Tarquini.
GeeMac (@geemac)
11th April 2016, 14:46
Poor Gabriele. A touring car legend on one hand and on the other the holder of one of the most unwanted F1 records (most DNPQ’s).
Understeer (@abdelilah)
10th April 2016, 17:05
Definitely Robin Frijns, too bad he refused Red Bull, what a waist of talent.
Wais (@itswais77)
16th May 2016, 16:27
good and bad choice at the same time
Good: Cause he won’t be treated like a dog
Bad: He can’t do F1 :(
Sam Stuart (@bluebill77)
10th April 2016, 17:22
The most underrated driver in that poll is Sirotkin in my opinion. If I was to pick one, of course it would be Vandoorne, then Ocon, then Sirotkin, Lynn, Gasly and Rowland as joint.
Sam Stuart (@bluebill77)
10th April 2016, 17:41
I also want Yuji Ide back
hoshino (@hoshino)
10th April 2016, 17:35
Two drivers I miss the most are not in this list – Robert Kubica and Kamui Kobayashi.
Sam Stuart (@bluebill77)
10th April 2016, 17:38
McNish doesn’t qualify so I wonder why he is on the list I wonder
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
10th April 2016, 20:58
@bluebill77 He won in the WEC in 2013 before he retired, that still counts towards superlicense points.
Slowhands (@slowhands)
10th April 2016, 17:55
Josef Newgarden
Pipo Derani
Robert Wickens
Kanil (@kanil)
10th April 2016, 18:05
I’m unfamiliar with most of these drivers, and the handful I’m familiar with are IndyCar/Le Mans folks that I’m indifferent about seeing in F1.
Pastor Maldonado wasn’t an option, so I went with Piquet Jr. for the lulz. Sorry about that.
verstappen (@verstappen)
10th April 2016, 18:44
Based on talent:
Ocon
Vandoorne
Frijns
Lotterer
Sirotkin as outsider (F1 metrics made me value him different a year or 2 ago, actually don’t know how he’s done since)
Based on fun / character:
Loeb
Montoya
Wolff
Castroneves
Carmen Jorda is missing.
Sam Stuart (@bluebill77)
10th April 2016, 19:27
Not enough super licence points for Jorda. I don’t think that Sirotkin is an outsider anymore as he’s been fantastic recently and has got a drive in GP2 the class leading ART purely on talent.
George O'Donnell (@georgeod)
10th April 2016, 18:47
I would love to see Kyle Busch (NASCAR champion) in F1. I know there’s no chance in hell of this ever happening though!
Probably in the minority here, but I would love to see Nelson Piquet Jr back in F1. He’s such a talent and has had great success in so many diverse championships, including single seaters on the way to F1, NASCAR, Rallycross, Formula E. He’ll probably always be known for Singapore 2008 rather than his amazing race results and driving talent.
RoscoeDC
11th April 2016, 14:20
I was wondering if Kyle Busch would be in the choices. I don’t think he would be any good at F1 but it would be worth the price of admission to see him try to get in and out of the car.
Ben (@scuderia29)
10th April 2016, 19:53
Sebastian Loeb is without a doubt the best driver outside of formula 1, he is a genius
faulty (@faulty)
10th April 2016, 20:42
How old is Jan Mardenbrough (sp?)?
He’s had a decent rise to prototypes, hasn’t he?
Wais (@itswais77)
16th May 2016, 16:29
ye, shouldve been on the list
danny11 (@danny11)
10th April 2016, 20:46
I was really hoping with an American Formula One team that Alexandra Rossi would get a shot. I wonder what happened there?
terryhangover (@terryhangover)
10th April 2016, 20:59
No JEV?
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
10th April 2016, 21:08
@keithcollantine, next year when you make the same vote, could you put on a counter showing how many drivers have I already selected? Can’t keep up with them :)
My 22 picks this year: Alex Lynn, Andre Lotterer, Antonio Felix da Costa, Brendon Hartley, Charles Leclerc, Dean Stoneman, Egor Orudzhev, Esteban Ocon, Graham Rahal, Luca Ghiotto, Marco Wittmann, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Mitch Evans, Neel Jani (very much underrated IMO), Nelson Piquet Jnr, Norbert Michelisz (yes, I’m Hungarian), Oliver Rowland, Robin Frijns, Sam Bird, Sebastian Buemi, Stoffel Vandoorne, Tio Ellinas
There are too many good drivers out there, still could have put in Power, Sirotkin, Duval and Lopez from the vote, and from drivers without superlicense points: Oliver Turvey, Simona de Silvestro, Robert Wickens, Jann Mardenborough, Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor, and maybe Kyle Busch. From ex-F1 drivers Montoya, JEV, Kobayashi, Rossi, Davidson and Glock. That’s another 16 picks I know :D Wouldn’t want to be a team principal making these decisions…
FJBH10 (@fjbh10)
10th April 2016, 21:55
Should have had Mathias Lauda here too, he will be one to watch in the future I reckon.
FJBH10 (@fjbh10)
10th April 2016, 21:56
P.S I know he’s not elegible with superlicence rules etc but I imagine he will be in the future.
Geeyore (@geeyore)
10th April 2016, 23:15
Mark Webber!
Oh….ummmm….. nevermind…. Really?
Andre Lotterer ran an F1 race late season 2014 if I recall.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
10th April 2016, 23:55
Aye l would like
Lotterer and Vandoorne ..
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
11th April 2016, 8:47
Yes, Lotterer did. He replaced Kobayashi at Caterham for one race at Spa-Francorchamps and lapped faster than his team mate Ericsson. Ericsson was beating Kobayashi at the time, so Lotterer did a very good job even though he DNFed at the end.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
11th April 2016, 2:24
Undoubtedly two drivers who made a splash last year (Nick Cassidy, Kenta Yamashita) in Japanese F3 will make a splash again this year (FIA F3 and sadly still Japanese F3). It’s a shame Toyota have no F1 involvement anymore, else Yamashita could be the next promising Japanese F1 driver. Although Matsushita isn’t bad either for Honda. Cassidy might make the headlines for the wrong reasons if he has to keep giving the lead to Lance Stroll in order for him to win the FIA F3 title.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
11th April 2016, 3:00
Talking of Honda, I wonder why they didn’t send 2013 Super Formula champion Naoki Yamamoto to drive GP2 in 2014. Instead, his older team-mate, Takuya Izawa. So, no surprise that they were way behind when they rejoined F1..
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
11th April 2016, 2:52
I chose Vandoorne, Rossi, Ocon, Lotterer, Frijns, Buemi, Bird, Felix da Costa, Lynn, di Grassi, Rowland, Gasly, Evans, de Vries, Sirotkin, Van der Garde, Piquet Jr, Lopez, Calado, Merhi, Pic, Wittmann.
I would like to see Rosenqvist and Leclerc in GP2/GP3 first, even if GP2 is long overdue for Rosenqvist, so Marciello and Vaxiviere get an interim year at ‘Lotus’. If we could then add ‘Minardi’, for a full grid, I’d select Vietoris and Mortara.
Fikri (@elangsawah)
11th April 2016, 5:30
No JEV? or he counted as already in F1?
Michael (@cavman99)
11th April 2016, 7:53
Carmen Jorda?
Matheus Carvalho (@mattrc)
11th April 2016, 19:56
You’re joking right?
Steve (@steve)
11th April 2016, 8:02
Jerome d’Ambrosio, he must have Super Licensce Points and qualify to race for F1. Practically all other Formula E drivers are on the list. And I think he’s is one of the latest to drive for a F1 team (Lotus).
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
11th April 2016, 8:46
Stoffel Vandoorne, Felix Rosenqvist, Esteban Ocon, Andre Lotterer, Alexander Rossi, Robin Frijns, Sam Bird, Tom Blomqvist, Antonio Felix da Costa, Pierre Gasly, Sergey Sirotkin…
I can’t do 22.
Lee Porcelli
11th April 2016, 12:00
Always wanted to see Sebastien Loeb do his thing in a f1 machine.Being a aussie I feel Will Power has always shown that he would be competitive.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
11th April 2016, 14:50
The person who voted for Sage Karam just made my day, I can’t stop laughing! “Surge Karom” is more like it.
Placid (@placid)
12th April 2016, 3:44
Karam could be perfect for GP2.
GeeMac (@geemac)
11th April 2016, 14:54
My choices ended up being pretty much a mix of the best drivers in LMP1 (Lotterer, Treluyer), IndyCar (Power, Dixon), a couple of sentimental ex-F1 drivers (Montoya) and the up and comers (Vandoorne and Ocon).
Looking at the results most have done the same.
Matheus Carvalho (@mattrc)
11th April 2016, 19:56
Duval gets 12%, Montoya 46%. I really don’t understand which parameter people are using.
Placid (@placid)
12th April 2016, 3:48
They left out Newgarden, Hinchcliffe, and Aleshin. Just look at Nico – he is out-scoring Marco and Graham combined.
Veach, Jones and Serralles would be perfect for GP2.
macrob
5th May 2016, 17:38
Boy I would pay to see Montoya back in the grid…best driver without doubt.
Fixy (@)
5th May 2016, 19:10
Hartley, Daly, Calado, Yelloly, Vietoris, Ghiotto and Kirchhofer are, amongst those I voted for, the lowest rated. I picked these former GP2/GP3 drivers because I followed them closely in those two series and I liked them. Yelloly did miracles last year with Hilmer, who have gone bankrupt; Calado and Kirchhofer have been, in GP2 and GP3 respectively, the solid front-runners for ART, race-winners but not title-winners. Calado was especially underrated I think while Kirchhofer has a chance now with struggling team Carlin in GP2. Daly was fast in GP3 and solid in GP2, in the few races he got to start. Hartley, when he returned to ORT in 2011, immediately raised the teams’ bar, but the fact they left at the end of the season says a lot of the car at his disposal. Vietoris had a few exceptional races in 2011, beating the unbeatable, Romain Grosjean, at Spa and Nurburgring. Ghiotto resisted to Esteban Ocon last year in GP3 till the final race, and he took pole in his maiden race at Spa in 2014. This while driving for Trident, and not having the Frenchman’s pedigree.