Rio Haryanto

Name: Rio Haryanto
Date of birth: 22 January 1993 (age 18)
Nationality: Indonesian
Currently: 11th in GP3 standings, 10th in Auto GP standings

Rio made the step from karting into single-seaters in 2008, contesting the Formula Asia 2.0 series for Formula Renault cars. He won one race and finished third in the standings. He also contested 10 of the 14 races in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge, taking two wins and finishing sixth in the final standings.

For 2009 he moved to the Formula BMW Pacific series, driving for the Meritus team. From the opening 10 rounds of the season he won six times (including an emphatic four wins from four races at his home meeting at Sentul in Indonesia). The final five races of the year were all won by guest drivers, with Rio being the top regular driver and therefore receiving maximum points and allowing him to take the title with ease.

2010 saw Rio make the move to Europe to contest the brand-new GP3 Series with Manor Racing. Despite his relative inexperience at the age of just 17 he won at the second round of the season at Istanbul. He scored a further two podium finishes at Silverstone and Monza to place fifth in the final standings.

As the top driver in the Manor team he was given the chance to test for the sister Virgin Racing F1 team at the end-of-season young driver test at Abu Dhabi.

Rio has remained in GP3 in 2011, but failed to score any points in the opening three meetings of the year. He scored a fourth-place finish at Silverstone and then won in a rain-hit race at the Nurburgring, coming out on top of a late three-way fight for the win. He has also been racing in Auto GP for DAMS, finishing second in a race at Brno.

Talent rating: Rio was dominant in Formula BMW, and then shone in his first year in Europe in GP3 against more accomplished rivals. He has struggled this year so far but showed off his talent with his drive to victory at the Nurburgring. 6/10

Chances of getting to F1: Rio has attracted plenty of attention from his native Indonesia, and has good funding with it. He has already established links with the Virgin team, and also has time on his side to move into GP2 and do well there before making the step to F1. 8/10

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Photo credits: GP3, BMW, Pt. Kiky Sport, GP3

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

Name: Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
Date of birth: 3 February 1991 (age 20)
Nationality: British
Currently: Seventh in GP3 Series standings

Though, like most, Adrian began his career in karting, he then began racing in the T-Cars series in 2005. A saloon car series exlusively for drivers aged 14-17, Adrian took eight wins from 17 races to win the series at his first attempt, becoming the youngest ever driver to win an MSA-sanctioned series,

He contined into T-Cars into 2006, but switched focus during the year to begin testing in preparation for his move to single-seaters in 2007. A Formula BMW scholarship gained him entry to the UK series for 2007, where he finished tenth in the final standings. He also began racing in Formula Renault later in the year, entering races in both the Eurocup and North European Cup.

Adrian entered a full season of Formula Renault in 2008, in both the Italian series and the Eurocup with the BVM Minardi team. He finished fourth in the Italian championship with one win, but only managed to score two points in the Eurocup.

Remaining in Formula Renault for 2009, Adrian entered both the NEC and the Eurocup with Motopark Academy, finishing fourth in the standings in both series with one win in each.

Adrian made the step up to Formula 3 for 2010, entering the Euro Series with Motopark. After scoring points in the opening two events he then switched to the new GP3 Series with Manor Racing. After a slow start to the season he was much stronger towards the end, claiming a podium at Spa.

At the end of 2010 he tested in both the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and GP2 Series. He topped the timesheets on three of the five FR3.5 test days in Spain, and was never outside of the top three. In the GP2 test at Abu Dhabi he impressed again, including being third quickest in one of the sessions.

Despite his testing pace in the quicker cars, Adrian has remained with Manor in GP3 for a second season in 2011, and once again after a slow start he took his maiden win in the first race at Valencia. The Manor team's links with the Virgin Racing F1 team saw Adrian complete a straight-line aero test with the team in Spain earlier in the year.

Talent rating: Adrian showed promise early in his career, and while he often showed his potential in Formula Renault he seemed to lack the consistency. Now one of the frontrunners in GP3, he again seems to be unable to regularly show his pace. He did show his pace in FR3.5 and GP2 testing over the winter, however. 6/10

Chances of getting to F1: Adrian has shown he could be competitive in a higher series, and he could also have the backing to do it thanks to the family-run Quaife transmission manufacturer. His established links with Virgin Racing could help him to make that final jump too. 6/10

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 Photo credits: GP3 Media Service, Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

Robert Wickens

Full name: Robert Tyler Wickens
Date of birth: 13 March 1989 (Age 22)
Nationality: Canadian
Currently: Leading Formula Renault 3.5 Series standings

Robert began his single-seater career in Formula BMW USA in 2005, picking up two wins and five podium finishes on his way to third in the final standings. His rookie season impressed Red Bull, who signed him up to their junior team for 2006. He duly took the Formula BMW USA title, scoring three wins on the way.

2007 saw Robert make the step up to the Champ Car Atlantic series. He scored podiums in the first two races of the season, and then won the fourth race. He was unable to win again in the remainder of the season, but he did finish third in the standings.

Robert made his first steps into European racing towards the end of the year, contesting the final two rounds of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season with the Carlin team, driving the car raced by Sebastian Vettel earlier in the year until his F1 call-up. He scored a point in the second race at Estoril, and then finished seventh in the first of the races at Catalunya.

Robert raced in A1 Grand Prix over the winter of 2007-08, scoring a podium in his debut race in Malaysia and then winning in Durban later in the season.

Robert made the switch to FR3.5 full-time for 2008, again with Carlin. A win at Silverstone was the highlight of the year, finishing 12th in the final standings. He also raced in the Formula 3 Euro Series when his schedule allowed, winning at Le Mans.

He switched to the newly-relaunched FIA Formula Two Championship for 2009, and dominated the opening round of the season at Valencia, winning both races from pole position. He failed to continue the season in the same way though, not adding to his win tally and ending the season as runner-up. To add to the disappointment, a thinning out of the Red Bull junior programme at the end of the year saw Robert lose the energy drink giant's support.

Robert signed up to race in another new series for 2010, the GP3 Series with Status GP. He won three times in the second half of the season but that wasn't enough to stop Esteban Gutierrez running away with the inaugural title, Robert having to settle for second place again.

Without the budget to step up to GP2, Robert returned to Formula Renault 3.5 for 2011 with the backing of Marussia, sponsors of the Virgin F1 team. A strong first half of the season has seen him win twice and finish runner-up on four further occasions to lead the championship. In addition to being signed up as a reserve driver for Virgin, Robert will get to drive a Renault F1 car at the next FR3.5 meeting as a prize for topping the standings at the half way point.

Talent rating: His early years in North America proved his talent, and adapted quickly when he made the tricky switch to Europe. Though he has failed to win titles yet, he was runner-up in the first seasons of both F2 and GP3, and now leads the way in FR3.5. 8/10

Chances of getting to F1: Losing Red Bull's support was a blow, but he has picked himself up well and gained the backing of Marussia, which has given him links to the Virgin F1 team. It looks like it will only be a matter of time before they give him a crack. 9/10

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Photo credit(s): Robert Wickens & Formula BMW USA