4) Mitch Evans
Mitch Evans’ move to Russian Time, the 2013 GP2 Series Teams’ Champions, was meant to be a catalyst to a brilliant year for the New Zealander, but the untimely death of Team Principal Igor Mazepa pre-season turned the team into turmoil, with Motopark withdrawing their backing and iSport returning, and it took a while for everyone to get into the swing of things.
When Evans did hit form, he was superb, and he took two wins in consecutive Feature races at Silverstone and Hockenheim and finished fourth in the championship having taken an additional four podiums during the season.
After two disappointing weekends in Bahrain and Spain, Evans finished on the podium in the Monaco Feature race, a circuit he traditionally does well at, and followed that up with a sixth place during the Sprint race. Another double haul of points followed in Austria, before he took his maiden series win at Silverstone, where he took the lead by undercutting long-time leader Jolyon Palmer during the pit stops. The two had traded position early in the race, and were well clear of the chasing pack at the chequered flag.
He took his second victory at Hockenheim, the 200th race in GP2 Series history, in fantastic style. He had started a lowly fifteenth on the grid after a disappointing qualifying, but gambled on tyre strategy enabled him to make early strides up the order, and was able to take the lead when everyone made their stop, and was able to hold off the challenge of Stoffel Vandoorne for the win.
Evans took further podiums at Monza, Sochi and Abu Dhabi, and his fourth place in the championship represents a good effort by the New Zealander and by Russian Time. Should the protégé of Mark Webber return for a third year in the series, expect him to mount a serious title challenge.
