The GP2 Series enters its third year as
Formula One's primary feeder category by partnering the top flight in the desert surroundings of the Bahrain International Circuit this weekend. That is one of the few sure things that can be said about the championship, however.
After two seasons of close racing among some of the brightest talents on the planet, GP2 2007 has a lot to live up to. A dozen series graduates now occupy Formula One seats of varying importance, with champions
Nico Rosberg and
Lewis Hamilton already running towards the front of the field with
Williams and
McLaren respectively, giving this year's field something to aim for.
While the same 13 teams remain on the grid, half the seats this season will be filled by series rookies, with ten drivers returning for a second season and just three coming back for a third crack at the title. The spread of experience ranges from Minardi Piquet Sports' Xandi Negrao, who has taken part in every test and race in series history, to BCN Competicion's Ho-Pin Tung, who has yet to set foot in a GP2 car, having only been signed last week.
With quality drivers among the rookies, the effect is to make the championship more open than in either of its previous two incarnations, with no-one team exerting dominance in testing, and a range of names taking turns to feature among the leading times. Of course, double champion ART Grand Prix featured strongly, despite pulling together an all-new line-up, and one of the focal points of the year will be whether the French team can be toppled from its lofty perch.
![Lucas di Grassi - ART Grand Prix [pic credit: GP2 media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/297629.jpg)
