Post by Placid on Dec 16, 2020 2:30:21 GMT -8
This year will be a year to remember and forget. The pandemic of the plague hit very hard in the sports world. And some go there in time. But in the end, there was a great glimmer of hope in the world of motorsports in Europe. They had their ups and downs. But this new decade could provide a few good US drivers and then some. With Christmas around the corner, it is time to evaluate the Class of 2020.
Let's review:
OUT:
The pandemic has hurt the motorsports business. 2 drivers were unable to travel to Europe due to restrictions.
Kris Wright: The Wexton, PA., native was scheduled to be signed by Fortec Motorsports to compete in the Euro Formula Open series. But the pandemic prevented him from joining the team. So the best option that had left was to enter the ARCA Racing. He competed in 6 events that earned him 3 top 10s. Nothing is lined up for 2021.
Devlin De Francesco: The Toronto native was scheduled to join Trident Racing for the FIA F3 season. But Andretti Steinbrenner provided with a seat with the team to compete in the Indy Pro 2000 series where he finished 2nd in the championship scoring 2 wins and 4 additional podiums. He will move up to Indy Lights for 2021.
Benjamin Pedersen: In 2019, the Seattle-based Dane finished 2nd in the FIA F3 Americas series in 2019 before moving to Great Britain to compete in the BRDC British Formula 3 series with Double R Racing. Pedersen would earn 1 win in the final round in Silverstone with 2 podiums and 3 Top 5s with a 9th place finish in the series. Benjamin would have become a contender for the 2021 BRDC British F3 season. But Global Racing Group in association with HMD has signed him for the 2021 Indy Lights season.
DOUBTFUL:
Carter Williams: The Clovis, Cal. native competed in the BRDC British F3 part-time with a limited budget with JHR Developments. Williams only competed in 3 events earing him 1 top 5 and 2 top 10 finishes. It is undetermined where Williams will land as he begins to piece out his budget for 2021.
Reece Ushijima: Another California native from Laguna Hills competed in the British F3 series with Hitech this year. Reece managed to score 2 reverse-grid 2nd place podiums, 1 top 5, and a total of 11 top 10 finishes that earned him an 11th place finish in the series. There are no current updates at the moment on where Reece will have for next year.
Cameron Das: The Baltimore native was unable to score points in the FIA Formula 3 series. Cameron recently tested with Carlin-Buzz racing to see if he will have a ride for next year. He also split his time with Team Motopark in the Euro Formula Open series for only 5 events that earned him 2 podiums and 3 top 5 finishes enroute to finish 6th in the series. No updates in the moment, but his chances to remain in Europe are slim. He has not won since 2017 when he competed in the British F3 series.
PLAUSIBLE: BUT LIKELY:
Logan Sargeant: The Boca Raton, Florida native was 1 of the favorites to take the FIA F3 series title. But Logan had company with 2 Aussies - Prema teammate Oscar Piastri and Alex Peroni. All 3 drivers were rivals from their Formula Renault Euro Cup days. Sargeant started very strong and stayed with the leaders up to the finale in Mugello where after the feature, Sargeant was tied with Piastri with the last sprint race of the season. But it took only 5 turns to end Sargeant's miracle run to finish 3rd in the series with Piastri narrowly taking the title from both Sargeant and Theo Purchaire who finished 2 by 3 point with Sargeant only 1 point behind the Frenchman. Sargeant managed to have a Formula 2 test ride with Campos racing and performed like a mid-pack driver. Traffic really hurt his testing. But there will be a possibility that he could land a ride. But it will depend on the funding due to the fact that he is no part of a driver development program.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Bryce Aron: The Winnetka, Illinois native (Another homeboy) competed in the Formula Ford 1600 UK where he earned a 5th place finish in the series with 1 win with Low Dempsey Racing - a team where there is a start for US talent with the conjunction with Team USA Scholarship. This year he finished 3rd in the Walter Hayes Trophy. Just recently he tested a Formula 3 car with British F3 team Douglas Motorsport. It could become a stepping stone towards British F4. We will see where he will land.
FAMILY TIES: A shout out for Sebastian Montoya. The son of Juan Pablo Montoya had a decent but good season. Sebastian managed to score 3 top 5s and 10 top-10 finishes along the way. He also survived a huge shunt at Imola. There is no doubt that he is a great prospect for 2021. But we will see if he will be retained by Prema.
KEEPERS:
Jak Crawford: The Houston native was assisted by Red Bull after his stint in the NACAM Formula 4 where he finished 2nd in the series in 2019. It caught the eye of Helmut Marko and was signed by Van Amersfoort for the Italian Formula 4 and the ADAC Formula 4 series. Right off the bat, Crawford began to earn multiple podiums and 3 2nd-place finishes and 2 3rds in both series. His breakthrough came at the Red Bull Ring at Speilberg during the Italian F4 series where he earned his maiden win. Top 5s came along the way before earning his wins in the German series with his maiden ADAC F4 series at the Nürburgring before a return at the Red Bull Ring completing a podium cycle. That cycle closed the gap on British driver and teammate Jonny Edgar. Crawford had a curveball thrown at him in the 2nd visit at Lausitzring where he scored a win. But an incident in Race 3 cut down his chances for the German F4 title. Then the decider gave a glimmer of hope at Oscherleben. Crawford had to win the events in order to fight for the title. He managed to win 2 races in which Edgar made a crucial mistake where Edgar misjudged his speed shredding his left tire. Crawford then won the 2nd race over his teammate that he took the series lead by 7 points. But the reverse grid for race 3 took Crawford down where he was unable to move up the standings losing the German F4 title by 2 points. It was the same thing for Crawford in the Italian Formula 4 series where he was in a verge to finish in the top 5. But a flood at Vallelunga cut down his chances where he finished 6th in the Italian F4 series standings. He recently tested an FIA F3 car with Hitech and he began to evolve. Now the wait begins where he will earn his ride in the FIA F3 series.
Kaylen Frederick: Dr. Rally!!! The Potomac, MD. native became a story to remember. After coming off from a 9th place finish in the British F3 series in 2019, Carlin decided to bring him back for the 2020 season. Right off the bat, Frederick managed to score 2 wins in the opening round at Oulton Park. But lost a 3rd due to a false start in race 1. He would later score a 2nd place podiums and a 3rd at Donington Park enabling to keep the series points lead by 19 over series contenders Kush Maini and Ulysse De Pauw. But there was a huge splashdown at Brands Hatch losing his lead after he was unable to hold the car in race 1 where he was DQd after causing a collision with 3 cars during a safety car period. That incident dropped him to 5th. But he kept his battle with Maini, De Pauw and Louis Foster on the next 3 rounds with 4 wins and 2 2nd-place podiums to re-capture the points lead over Maini taking a 13-point lead into the finale. And Silverstone was the best place to settle the score. Frederick started the assault enroute to win and increase his lead and kept continuing to keep Maini in his mirrors. Especially in the final race where Frederick blitzed into history to become the 1st US driver to win the coveted British Formula 3 series title. A 1st to win a National F3 title since Ross Cheever won the All-Japan Formula 3 series in 1987. Frederick had to sacrifice that FIA F3 test to concentrate his chances win the series title. A great achievement for the US. There will be a great chance for Frederick that he could land a seat with Carlin in the Euro Formula Open for next year. It is unlikely for FIA F3 because they need a higher budget in order to ride. And just like Sargeant, he is also a driver with no connections with a development team. But something will come up for Frederick.
As we all know, Juan Manuel Correa has begun his rehab so he can get back into racing. But it is not guaranteed that he could go back to Formula 2. He will put every effort to get a race seat in the future
It was very close for my vote on who was the better US driver. As much as I wanted Jak to be my top pick of the year, I would only say this:
SORRY "SUPER TEX". As much as he did in 2020, Jak got his assist from Red Bull. And he developed very well.
The decision came based on how drivers were funded. Pilot One stuck it out for Frederick this season. I know Jak and Logan are working very hard to earn a coveted Formula 1 race seat. But Carlin brought back a driver that could help them get another team title.
And for his giant rally, my selection for 2020 Valedictorian is Kaylen Frederick. An unknown that came by surprise, that sooner or later he will be a driver that could become an investment for other teams.
This is considered the best US class since 2016 where Riverton, Utah native Bruno Carneiro won The FIA Chinese Formula 4 championship and Valencia, California's Colton Herta finished 3rd in the Euro Formula Open Series, and Montreal's Lance Stroll who won the FIA Formula 3 European Championship (right before the GP3 merger as the FIA F3 championship). And Toronto's Devlin De Francesco finished 5th in the British Formula 4 Championship.
And that does it for 2020. We will see who else will join next year now that 3 drivers will go for better things. You may share your opinion about this years class.
TO ALL THE DRIVERS: WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!!
WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A GREATFUL NEW YEAR!!!!!
Let's review:
OUT:
The pandemic has hurt the motorsports business. 2 drivers were unable to travel to Europe due to restrictions.
Kris Wright: The Wexton, PA., native was scheduled to be signed by Fortec Motorsports to compete in the Euro Formula Open series. But the pandemic prevented him from joining the team. So the best option that had left was to enter the ARCA Racing. He competed in 6 events that earned him 3 top 10s. Nothing is lined up for 2021.
Devlin De Francesco: The Toronto native was scheduled to join Trident Racing for the FIA F3 season. But Andretti Steinbrenner provided with a seat with the team to compete in the Indy Pro 2000 series where he finished 2nd in the championship scoring 2 wins and 4 additional podiums. He will move up to Indy Lights for 2021.
Benjamin Pedersen: In 2019, the Seattle-based Dane finished 2nd in the FIA F3 Americas series in 2019 before moving to Great Britain to compete in the BRDC British Formula 3 series with Double R Racing. Pedersen would earn 1 win in the final round in Silverstone with 2 podiums and 3 Top 5s with a 9th place finish in the series. Benjamin would have become a contender for the 2021 BRDC British F3 season. But Global Racing Group in association with HMD has signed him for the 2021 Indy Lights season.
DOUBTFUL:
Carter Williams: The Clovis, Cal. native competed in the BRDC British F3 part-time with a limited budget with JHR Developments. Williams only competed in 3 events earing him 1 top 5 and 2 top 10 finishes. It is undetermined where Williams will land as he begins to piece out his budget for 2021.
Reece Ushijima: Another California native from Laguna Hills competed in the British F3 series with Hitech this year. Reece managed to score 2 reverse-grid 2nd place podiums, 1 top 5, and a total of 11 top 10 finishes that earned him an 11th place finish in the series. There are no current updates at the moment on where Reece will have for next year.
Cameron Das: The Baltimore native was unable to score points in the FIA Formula 3 series. Cameron recently tested with Carlin-Buzz racing to see if he will have a ride for next year. He also split his time with Team Motopark in the Euro Formula Open series for only 5 events that earned him 2 podiums and 3 top 5 finishes enroute to finish 6th in the series. No updates in the moment, but his chances to remain in Europe are slim. He has not won since 2017 when he competed in the British F3 series.
PLAUSIBLE: BUT LIKELY:
Logan Sargeant: The Boca Raton, Florida native was 1 of the favorites to take the FIA F3 series title. But Logan had company with 2 Aussies - Prema teammate Oscar Piastri and Alex Peroni. All 3 drivers were rivals from their Formula Renault Euro Cup days. Sargeant started very strong and stayed with the leaders up to the finale in Mugello where after the feature, Sargeant was tied with Piastri with the last sprint race of the season. But it took only 5 turns to end Sargeant's miracle run to finish 3rd in the series with Piastri narrowly taking the title from both Sargeant and Theo Purchaire who finished 2 by 3 point with Sargeant only 1 point behind the Frenchman. Sargeant managed to have a Formula 2 test ride with Campos racing and performed like a mid-pack driver. Traffic really hurt his testing. But there will be a possibility that he could land a ride. But it will depend on the funding due to the fact that he is no part of a driver development program.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Bryce Aron: The Winnetka, Illinois native (Another homeboy) competed in the Formula Ford 1600 UK where he earned a 5th place finish in the series with 1 win with Low Dempsey Racing - a team where there is a start for US talent with the conjunction with Team USA Scholarship. This year he finished 3rd in the Walter Hayes Trophy. Just recently he tested a Formula 3 car with British F3 team Douglas Motorsport. It could become a stepping stone towards British F4. We will see where he will land.
FAMILY TIES: A shout out for Sebastian Montoya. The son of Juan Pablo Montoya had a decent but good season. Sebastian managed to score 3 top 5s and 10 top-10 finishes along the way. He also survived a huge shunt at Imola. There is no doubt that he is a great prospect for 2021. But we will see if he will be retained by Prema.
KEEPERS:
Jak Crawford: The Houston native was assisted by Red Bull after his stint in the NACAM Formula 4 where he finished 2nd in the series in 2019. It caught the eye of Helmut Marko and was signed by Van Amersfoort for the Italian Formula 4 and the ADAC Formula 4 series. Right off the bat, Crawford began to earn multiple podiums and 3 2nd-place finishes and 2 3rds in both series. His breakthrough came at the Red Bull Ring at Speilberg during the Italian F4 series where he earned his maiden win. Top 5s came along the way before earning his wins in the German series with his maiden ADAC F4 series at the Nürburgring before a return at the Red Bull Ring completing a podium cycle. That cycle closed the gap on British driver and teammate Jonny Edgar. Crawford had a curveball thrown at him in the 2nd visit at Lausitzring where he scored a win. But an incident in Race 3 cut down his chances for the German F4 title. Then the decider gave a glimmer of hope at Oscherleben. Crawford had to win the events in order to fight for the title. He managed to win 2 races in which Edgar made a crucial mistake where Edgar misjudged his speed shredding his left tire. Crawford then won the 2nd race over his teammate that he took the series lead by 7 points. But the reverse grid for race 3 took Crawford down where he was unable to move up the standings losing the German F4 title by 2 points. It was the same thing for Crawford in the Italian Formula 4 series where he was in a verge to finish in the top 5. But a flood at Vallelunga cut down his chances where he finished 6th in the Italian F4 series standings. He recently tested an FIA F3 car with Hitech and he began to evolve. Now the wait begins where he will earn his ride in the FIA F3 series.
Kaylen Frederick: Dr. Rally!!! The Potomac, MD. native became a story to remember. After coming off from a 9th place finish in the British F3 series in 2019, Carlin decided to bring him back for the 2020 season. Right off the bat, Frederick managed to score 2 wins in the opening round at Oulton Park. But lost a 3rd due to a false start in race 1. He would later score a 2nd place podiums and a 3rd at Donington Park enabling to keep the series points lead by 19 over series contenders Kush Maini and Ulysse De Pauw. But there was a huge splashdown at Brands Hatch losing his lead after he was unable to hold the car in race 1 where he was DQd after causing a collision with 3 cars during a safety car period. That incident dropped him to 5th. But he kept his battle with Maini, De Pauw and Louis Foster on the next 3 rounds with 4 wins and 2 2nd-place podiums to re-capture the points lead over Maini taking a 13-point lead into the finale. And Silverstone was the best place to settle the score. Frederick started the assault enroute to win and increase his lead and kept continuing to keep Maini in his mirrors. Especially in the final race where Frederick blitzed into history to become the 1st US driver to win the coveted British Formula 3 series title. A 1st to win a National F3 title since Ross Cheever won the All-Japan Formula 3 series in 1987. Frederick had to sacrifice that FIA F3 test to concentrate his chances win the series title. A great achievement for the US. There will be a great chance for Frederick that he could land a seat with Carlin in the Euro Formula Open for next year. It is unlikely for FIA F3 because they need a higher budget in order to ride. And just like Sargeant, he is also a driver with no connections with a development team. But something will come up for Frederick.
As we all know, Juan Manuel Correa has begun his rehab so he can get back into racing. But it is not guaranteed that he could go back to Formula 2. He will put every effort to get a race seat in the future
It was very close for my vote on who was the better US driver. As much as I wanted Jak to be my top pick of the year, I would only say this:
SORRY "SUPER TEX". As much as he did in 2020, Jak got his assist from Red Bull. And he developed very well.
The decision came based on how drivers were funded. Pilot One stuck it out for Frederick this season. I know Jak and Logan are working very hard to earn a coveted Formula 1 race seat. But Carlin brought back a driver that could help them get another team title.
And for his giant rally, my selection for 2020 Valedictorian is Kaylen Frederick. An unknown that came by surprise, that sooner or later he will be a driver that could become an investment for other teams.
This is considered the best US class since 2016 where Riverton, Utah native Bruno Carneiro won The FIA Chinese Formula 4 championship and Valencia, California's Colton Herta finished 3rd in the Euro Formula Open Series, and Montreal's Lance Stroll who won the FIA Formula 3 European Championship (right before the GP3 merger as the FIA F3 championship). And Toronto's Devlin De Francesco finished 5th in the British Formula 4 Championship.
And that does it for 2020. We will see who else will join next year now that 3 drivers will go for better things. You may share your opinion about this years class.
TO ALL THE DRIVERS: WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!!
WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A GREATFUL NEW YEAR!!!!!
Korean cable TV is lousy. no more NASCAR nor NHRA