6) Will Stevens
British driver Will Stevens began the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season with his maiden victory in the series at Monza, but was forced to wait until the penultimate race of the year, race one at Jerez, to secure his second victory, with the Strakka Racing driver enduring a tough mid-season where he struggled for pace and results.
His biggest issue seemed to be qualifying, with Stevens often found outside the top ten on the grid, but when he could find the pace in qualifying, such as his first series pole position in Jerez, he often found himself in a good position at the end of the race.
Stevens’ second year in the series should have seen him step up after a promising debut year, but due to his qualifying woes, often found himself languishing down at the lower end of the top ten, and those results (eight times he finished between sixth and tenth) that ultimately cost him the chance to get higher than sixth in the Drivers’ Championship.
The twenty-three-year-old did however find himself becoming a Formula 1 driver in 2014, taking the Caterham F1 Team drive for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, having ran for them in the Young Drivers’ Test at Silverstone in July. His performance in Abu Dhabi will have done his chances of a drive next year no harm should Caterham survive, but its hard to see anyone else taking a chance with the Briton, as sad as that is. A third driver role somewhere is possible, but if his 2015 F1 dream does not become reality, another talented driver could be lost to the system.