The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2010

AUTOSPORT ranks the top 10 drivers of an extremely close-fought Formula Renault 3.5 season

10. Brendon Hartley

A year that promised much for the talented Kiwi was marked by a mid-season split from the Red Bull Junior programme. Overshadowed by rookie Tech 1 team-mate Ricciardo (who out-qualified him 7-4), there were still days when Hartley shone; such as at Spa where a challenge for victory ended with electrical failure, and at Monaco where he posted a charging drive. Aware that Red Bull had being sharpening the axe for some time, Hartley appeared more confident on resurfacing with P1 Motorsport at Silverstone, perhaps exhibiting the relief of at last knowing where he stood. After qualifying on the front row, a clumsy overtaking attempt on Aleshin undid the good work. Hartley has reunited with P1 in testing and posted competitive lap times.

9. Daniel Zampieri

The 2009 Italian Formula 3 champion had a rollercoaster season, but there were enough signs from the Roman to point to real skill - not least a string of impressive wet-weather drives. Zampieri took second at Spa, despite receiving a drive-through penalty for changing tyres on the grid after the authorised deadline. Strong points went begging by spinning out of third behind the safety car in Barcelona, and a strong second at Hockenheim was lost when his Pons machine was found to be marginally underweight. Has probably done enough for the Ferrari Academy to keep the faith, but his paymasters in Maranello will want to avoid any repeat of the embarrassing argument with ISR team boss Igor Salaquarda that resulted in exclusion at Silverstone.

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