Jake Rosenzweig
American Jake Rosenzweig has re-signed with Carlin to compete in the 2010 World Series by Renault. The 20-year-old drove for Trevor Carlin, Carlin Team Boss, last season in the Formula 3 Euro Series.
Aside from a stellar weekend at Zandvoort, Jake had a fairly tough year in 2009, one that was laden with DNF’s. His average finish (in races completed) was 13.69. His best finish of the season, in F3 Euro Series competition, was 3rd. He qualified off-pole for that race.
Jake has shown a tremendous amount of potential. Personally, I would have liked to have seen him run another season in the Formula 3 Euro Series. I’m still waiting for that break-out year from him.
His most recent racing endeavors include running two races in the GP2-Asia series with Super Nova Racing. Additionally, he spent some time in the sports car ranks driving in the British Porsche Carrera Cup.
Mikhail Aleshin announced that he will return to Formula Renault 3.5 competition in 2010 with Carlin. This will be his fourth full-season in the World Series by Renault.
The 22-year-old Russian driver spent last season in the FIA Formula 2 championship where he compiled 1 win, 5 podiums, and 13 top-ten finishes en route to 3rd in the overall championship. During his three previous seasons in Formula Renault 3.5 with Carlin, he logged six podiums and one win (Monza-2007).
He should do pretty well in 2010 as he (at least at this point) will be the most experienced driver in the field. He had 6 top-five finishes during his 2008 FR 3.5 season and his average finishing position, excluding two DNF’s, was 8.4.
Spaniard Victor Garcia has signed with KMP Racing for the 2010 World Series by Renault. He will join Anton Nebylitskiy who signed with the team early last month.
Garcia spent the bulk of last season in British F3-International competition where he logged 11 top-ten finishes. His best finish was 3rd at Spa-Francorchamps after starting the race in 13th position.
Keisuke Kunimoto
Epsilon Euskadi has signed Keisuke Kunimoto and Albert Costa for the 2010 World Series by Renault.
Both drivers should be a solid addition to the Spanish team. Costa won both the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the WEC title with Epsilon last season totaling twelve wins and nineteen podiums between the two series. Kunimoto ran four WSR events (2-Rounds) with Epsilon last season and completed a very successful test with the team last October at Motorland Aragon. This should be a pretty good year for the Epsilon Euskadi squad.
Epsilon Euskadi won the 2005 World Series by Renault title with Robert Kubica behind the wheel.
(photo: http://www.keisuke.jp/)
Nelson Panciatici announced that he will join the Lotus Racing Junior Team in the 2010 World Series by Renault. After spending three years in the Formula Renault 2.0 category, Panciatici ran one-year of Spanish F3 prior to making the jump to Superleague Formula and GP2 in 2009. The transition may have been a little steep for the now 21-year-old and he has since committed to running the 2010 World Series by Renault.
This will probably be a good move for Panciatici who may have rushed his development last season. Working with Fairuz Fauzy–who finished runner-up in the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 category and is the current team owner of the Lotus Racing Junior Team— will hopefully be beneficial for the young Frenchman.
**update** It has been announced that Russian Daniil Move will also drive for Fauzy and the Lotus Racing Junior Team. Thanks to blog reader Craig for the update via the comment section.
Stefano Coletti
Comtec Racing has signed Stefano Coletti for the 2010 World Series by Renault. Coletti, 20, spent last season in the Formula 3 Euro Series where he logged 1 win, 2 podiums, 2 fast laps and 8 top-ten finishes. He also earned the hard charger award at both Zandvoort and Hockenheim.
He made his Formula Renault 3.5 debut last season in a one-off at Monaco with Prema. He finished a solid 10th after starting the race 13th.
In August 2009, he made his GP2 debut running four races for Durango (replacing Davide Valsecchi). His best finish in GP2 was 12th. While racing at Spa, in the GP2 Series, he suffered a fractured sternum after a major-off into the tire barriers. At the time of the incident, he was battling for a top-ten finishing position.
In November, he traveled to the United States and completed a test in a Indy Lights car with Team AFS/Andretti Autosport at Putnam Park, Indiana.
This year will mark his first full-season in the World Series by Renault. He will be teamed up with Greg Mansell under the Comtec Racing tent. This is a pretty decent signing for Comtec. As the season progresses, Coletti will likely be a driver to watch.
(photo: http://www.stefanocoletti.com)
Greg Mansell, 22, announced that he will return to the World Series by Renault in 2010 with Comtec Racing. He drove the final two races of the 2009 season with Comtec. Prior to that, he drove for Ultimate Motorsport where he logged a best finish of 9th at Spa-Francorchamps.
Away from his open-wheel endeavors in 2010, Greg plans to run an LMP1 car with his brother Leo (25).
P1 Motorsport has announced the signing of Jan Charouz and Walter Grubmuller for the 2010 World Series by Renault.
Jan Charouz, 22, has spent the last few years of his racing career focusing on sports cars and racing in the LMP1 division of the Le Mans Series. Prior to the 2007 season, he worked his way up through various ranks in single-seater competition by running 2 races in A1GP for Team Czech Republic, as well as F3000 International Masters, F3000 Italy and FBMW ADAC. He didn’t have a ton of success until the 2006 season in F3000 International Masters where he won the overall championship by claiming two victories and eight podiums. Last fall, he had the opportunity to sample a Formula Renault 3.5 car at both the Barcelona and Motorland Aragon tests with RC Motorsport.
Walter Grubmuller will be making the jump to Formula Renault 3.5 competition after a very impressive year in British Formula 3. Grubmuller, 21, finished the season ranked second in the final standings after compiling 2 wins and 9 podiums. The 21-year-old Austrian driver has done a nice job developing his craft and taking his time before jumping to the next rung on the ladder. Similar to Charouz… this will likely be a learning year for Grubmuller but I fully expect him to do quite well. Watch for some solid results as the season progresses.
KMP Racing has signed Anton Nebylitskiy to drive for the team in the 2010 World Series by Renault.
After an extremely disappointing rookie season in the Formula Renault 3.5 category, Nebylitskiy, 20, is looking to rebound in 2010 with the newly formed KMP Racing. The team recently purchased two cars from Ultimate Motorsport and has named Bruno Besson as the team manager. Watch for an additional driver to be signed in the coming weeks.
Prema Powerteam has announced that they will not enter the 2010 World Series by Renault. The team spent four years in the Formula Renault 3.5 category, but has decided to focus on its F3 programs for 2010.
