F1 Fanatic

@ryanwilliams – It’s probably going to be tomorrow. Remember, Evans is a Kiwi, and the Speedcafe NZ article I linked to was posted shortly after midday local time, so while it might have appeared around the 14th in Europe, it was the 15th in the Antipodes, so he’s probably announcing it tomorrow.

We are pleased to confirm @mitchevans_ completes Arden’s GP2 lineup for the 2013 Season!

— ArdenMotorsport (@ArdenMotorsport) January 15, 2013

Good to see the ladder from GP3 to GP2 works, even if the one from GP2 to F1 may not (at least for Valsecchi and Razia).

Announcement shortly, stay tuned…

— Racing Engineering (@REOfficial) January 16, 2013

Fabio Leimer auch 2013 mit Racing Engineering in der GP2! Fabio Leimer in 2013 again with Racing Engineering in GP2!

— Fabio Leimer (@fabioleimer) January 15, 2013

Julián Leal and Fabio Leimer are in at Racing Engineering

http://www.gp2series.com/News-Room/News/2013/01/Leal-Leimer-at-Racing-Engineering/

@ryanwilliams Snap!

That’s half of the places for this year taken:

DAMS
1. Marcus Ericsson (SWE)
2. Stephane Richelmi (MON)

Lotus GP
3. James Calado (GBR)
4. Daniel Abt (GER)

Arden International
5. Johnny Cecotto Jnr (VEN)
6. Mitch Evans (NZL)

Racing Engineering
7. Fabio Leimer (SUI)
8. Julian Leal (COL)

Carlin
9. Felipe Nasr (BRA)
10. Jolyon Palmer (GBR)

iSport International
11.
12.

Caterham Racing
14.
15.

Barwa Addax Team
16. Rio Haryanto (INA)
17.

Rapax
18. Stefano Coletti (MON)
19.

Trident Racing
20.
21.

Ocean Racing Technology
22.
23.

Venezuela GP Lazarus
24.
25.

MP Motorsport
26. Daniel de Jong (NED)
27.

Is this like a competition between you two, @keithcollantine @ryanwilliams ? You would almost think so :)

Too bad Racing Engineering decided to go for the young and promising talent that is Léal. The team always seemed to go for proper talents, which makes the choice for Léal seem a bit odd.

The team is run by Franz Hilmer who owns Formtech, who supply parts for some F1 teams.

Press release:

Hilmer Motorsport joins GP2 Series field
German team given entry for 2013

GP2 Series organisers are pleased to announce that Hilmer Motorsport have been allocated an entry for the 2013 season. The German squad whose Team Principal Franz Hilmer already owns Formtech GmbH – a supplier for several Formula One teams – joins the thirteen team field in replacement of Ocean Racing Technology.

Hilmer Motorsport will run their GP2/11 cars for the first time on February 27-28-29 in Jerez, Spain where the first official pre-season testing will take place.

GP2 Series CEO Bruno Michel commented: “I am pleased to welcome Hilmer Motorsport to our category. It is the first time since the Series’ inception that we will have a German team in our field. They are already hard at work to be ready and competitive from the first pre-season test session next month in Jerez. I am sure that they will be a great addition to our grid.

I would like to thank Tiago Monteiro and everyone involved in his team for their work and dedication for the past four seasons.”

Hilmer Motorsport Team Principal Franz Hilmer added: “We are delighted that Hilmer Motorsport will participate to the prestigious GP2 Series. I would like to thank Bruno Michel for his support. We are currently working on putting together a strong team of highly experienced professionals in order to be ready for the first challenge of the season.”

Ocean Racing Technology Team Managers Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes said: “We are sad to announce that our team was forced to stop its activity in GP2 and GP3 due to financial difficulties caused by the lack of payment from our partners Parkalgar and the Portuguese Government.

We enjoyed the short time we were in both Series’, we had a great time with success achieving wins and podiums, but unfortunately we cannot sustain our activity in these conditions. We sure hope to be back once these problems are solved, and in the meantime we wish a successful experience to Hilmer Motorsport and a great season to GP2 and our competitors.

We want to thank everyone for their support during those four years: fans, friends, employees, GP2, drivers and competitors.”