Red Bull-backed Carlos Sainz Jr and his DAMS team were more often than not the dominant driver and team combination during the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, and it was no surprise when the young Spaniard secured the title. It was another strong year for the series when it came to talent, and we at The Checkered Flag look at those who have impressed most of all in 2014, counting down our top 10 drivers of the season
Every driver who won a race in 2014 did so for the first time in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, and all six of them are inside the top ten, but who else makes it there when we at TCF rate our top 10 drivers of the season?
10) Marlon Stockinger
Marlon Stockinger finished his second season in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series ninth in the Drivers’ Championship in 2014, but the Lotus driver failed to score points more often than he achieved it, and the driver from the Philippines would have been hopeful of more.
A podium finish for a runners-up position in race two of the season opener at Monza promised much for Stockinger, but only once more would the twenty-three-year-old finish on the podium in 2014 with a third place finish in race two at the Nurburgring.
He often brought the car home – he only retired twice all season – but was too often fighting for positions outside the top ten – he finished eleventh three times. His inconsistency cost him valuable points and possibly threw a spanner into the works as he attempts to develop his career.
He has some options for 2015, such as a third year in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series or a move to the GP2 Series, but wherever Stockinger ends up in 2015, he needs a stellar season to help continue his single seater career. If he doesn’t… then it is likely his dream to become the first driver from the Philippines to make it into Formula 1 will end pretty quickly.