6) Emil Bernstorff
Anglo-Danish driver Emil Bernstorff stepped up from German Formula 3 and was forced to play second fiddle to Carlin team-mate Alex Lynn for the majority of 2014, but was undoubtedly one of the stars of the series himself, especially for some amazing fight backs through the field during the year.
One of those fight-backs came in race two of the season opener at the Circuit de Catalunya. After a first lap retirement in race one, he was forced to start at the back of the field for race two and on a track not renowned for being easy to overtake took a point for eighth place in race two. He also had a good fight through the field in Russia when starting near the back after retiring in race one, claiming the final point on offer once more.
He took his first podium in race one in Austria, finishing just behind Lynn, but then took victory in race two despite starting seventh. It was his only win of the year, but only on two further occasions did Bernstorff fail to score any points all year. He took three more podiums, all for third places, at Silverstone, Hockenheim and Abu Dhabi and finished fifth in the championship.
Bernstorff’s performances in 2014 should see him move up a level in 2015, with Carlin handing him the opportunity to test one of their GP2 Series cars in the recent Abu Dhabi post-season tests. He would be a good addition to GP2 should he race there next season.
