British racing driver Nick Yelloly will compete with Status Grand Prix in this years GP3 Series.
A former race winner in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, the 23-year-old returned to the GP3 category last year with Carlin Motorsport, securing four podiums on his way to 6th in the points {note 1}.
While Status suffered a tough 2013 season following the introduction of the news GP3/13 chassis and engine package {note 2}, the Irish-Canadian squad believe that Yelloly will be an important tool in bringing success back to the team.
Team Principal Teddy Yip Jr commented: “Nick has been a highly successful driver over the past two seasons, and we know that his experience and leadership as well as speed are important assets for our driver line-up in GP3 this season.”
Yip Jr added: “He is ready to win this championship, and the team has re-doubled its efforts this winter to provide Nick and his team-mates with a title-winning platform.”
A podium with Alexander Sims last year confirmed that top results are possible for Status – whether the drivers on board are capable of unlocking those results is a different matter.
It is uncertain as to whether Yelloly is a championship contender or not, but do not be surprised if he is found on the podium on several occasions.
{note 1}
In what was a very close call, Yelloly finished the 2013 GP3 Series on equal points with Estonian driver Kevin Korjus. However, with both Yelloly and Korjus having claimed two 2nd place finishes and two 3rd’s, the overall position was decided in Yelloly’s favour as he had accumulated one more 4th place finish than Korjus.
{note 2}
Status GP’s status (sorry) in the GP3 Series dropped in 2013, when regular drivers Adderly Fong, Jimmy Eriksson and Josh Webster struggled regularly – the latter pair failed to score points at all.
The team finished last of the nine crews in the points standings with 18 points; however 16 of those points were recorded by Alexander Sims, who sole appearance with the team at the Nürburgring (taking one podium and an 8th place) raised the level considerably. Fong scored the other two points with a 9th place finish at Silverstone.