FR 3.5: the plateau is taking shape

Less than a month before the first Formula collective tests Renault 3.5 Series, the forces present are taking shape little by little. While some teams have not yet revealed their driver duo, others are already ready to work to reach the podiums. This is particularly the case of the Toulouse team Tech 1 Racing, which should be one of the most prominent teams this season.

Simon Abadie's team presents one of the most beautiful ?line-up? of this season, with Brendon Hartley, already present in FR 3.5 Series last year, and Daniel Ricciardo, winner of the F3 British in 2009. In addition, the two young men will take turns as reserve drivers of the team Red Bull F1, proof of the close links with the premier discipline of motorsport.

An impression reinforced by the fact that the MoFaz team, which allowed Fairuz Fauzy to finish in second place in the last championship, is now called Lotus F1 Racing Junior Team, while Fauzy is now third driver of the Formula team. 1. The cars of the “Junoir Team” which will run in the FR 3.5 Series will also wear the colors of Lotus F1 Racing.

International Draco Racing, which won the teams and drivers titles, with Bertrand Baguette, in 2009, hopes to maintain its rank. However, the team of Adriano and Nadia Morini has called on two young drivers, who will not have an easy task. After a year in the FR 3.5 Series, Colombian Julian Leal joins Draco, where he will team up with Frenchman Nathanaël Berthon, French Formula Renault 2.0 champion.

The P1 Motorsport team, which was able to overcome the destruction of its factory by fire last summer, wishes to join the fight for the first places. The British team called on Jan Charouz, winner of the Le Mans 2009 series with Aston Martin, and recently selected by Renault to join the RF1 Driver Program, becoming a reserve driver for the F1 team. He will team up with Walter Grubmüller, runner-up in British F3 last season.

The Epsilon Euskadi team will also be present among Draco's challengers, since the Spanish team has renewed its confidence in Albert Costa, winner of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and the FR 2.0 WEC with Epsilon Euskadi in 2009.

While Greg Mansell joined Comtec Racing, Federico Leo was confirmed at Pons Racing, as was Filip Salaquardra at ISR and Anton Nebilitkiy at KMP. Carlin Motorsport, Fortec Motorsport, Interwetten.com Racing and SG Formula are expected to announce their driver pairings in the coming weeks.

Before the start of the season, several collective testing sessions will be organized. The teams will first meet in Barcelona on March 4 and 5, before joining Jerez on March 13 and 14. A final session will be organized, on March 26 and 27, on the circuit which will host the first event of the season (April 16 to 18), Motorland Aragon.