1) Esteban Ocon
After an almost season-long display of excellent racing, Esteban Ocon was the deserving 2014 FIA European Formula 3 Champion, with nine wins and fifteen pole positions propelling him to the title with three races still to run.
Continuing the run of Prema Powerteam series champions, after Roberto Merhi, Daniel Juncadella and Raffaele Marciello, Ocon began the year on the front foot, taking a win, a second and a third place at Silverstone, and took eleven out of a possible twelve podium finishes in the opening four events, with only a last lap technical issue in race one at Hockenheim denying him a 100% record.
A first lap clash with Max Verstappen saw his points-scoring run ended at Spa-Francorchamps, although he followed that up with three consecutive runners-up spots. At Moscow Raceway he was unbeatable, taking three wins out of three, all from pole position.
His only pointless weekend was in Austria, where everything seemed to conspire against him, including another first lap tangle that saw him plummet down the order from pole position in race one. He got back to winning ways at Imola, and clinched the title in race three in Italy, and was able to afford an average weekend in Hockenheim knowing that the championship was already his.
The Lotus F1 Team-backed driver has plenty of options available to him for 2015, with both the GP2 Series and Formula Renault 3.5 possible destinations. He has already taken part in his first Formula 1 practice session in Abu Dhabi, and could add a reserve driver role with Lotus in 2015 alongside his driving duties. There is a lot of potential in this young man, and should be one to watch not just in 2015 but also for many years to come.
