There were a number of very strong performances during the 2014 GP3 Series season in a year that saw nine different race winners but ultimately saw Red Bull Junior Alex Lynn claim the title in his first season.
The standard of driving at the front of the field in 2014 was usually very high, and saw rookie drivers mix it with, and take it to, the more experienced racers in the series as every driver strived to catch the eye of teams in the higher echelons of motor sport.
The Checkered Flag now looks back at the 2014 GP3 Series season, and rates our top ten drivers of the year.
10) Patric Niederhauser
After switching from Jenzer Motorsport to Arden International for 2014, Patric Niederhauser was hoping for a change of fortune after his 2013 season, when he was expected to be a championship contender in his second year in the series, never really got going. Unfortunately, he was never in contention for the championship in his third season either.
It was not for the lack of trying however, with the Swiss driver taking two victories during the season in the reverse races in Hungary and Russia. It should have been three, when having taken the chequered flag first in the finale in Abu Dhabi, he was disqualified because of a technicality.
He looked to have turned a corner after his Hungaroring victory, which came after a tremendous start took him from third to first at the first corner, but his performance at the following round at Spa-Francorchamps could be classed as a complete nightmare. As one of the most experienced drivers in the field, he left his breaking far too late at the first corner in race one and caused a multiple car collision, and then crashed out early in race two.
His race two victory at Sochi however was fantastic, especially after coming under attack from both Marvin Kirchhofer and Dean Stoneman on the final lap on what was quite possibly the best end to a race all season.
Tenth place in the championship was not what was order pre-season, and Niederhauser might be struggling to continue his single seater career, especially when not graced with the biggest budget. He has sampled endurance racing on a few occasions in the past few years and could be set for a full time move to that style of racing from 2015.
