Damon Hill talks money and F1.
Former Williams ace and Sky Sports F1 analyst Damon Hill has warned that financial uncertainties may even be putting pressure on some of Formula One’s bigger players.
However Hill, who won his sole title with the Grove-based team in 1996, also reasons the financial oddities add to the peculiar nature of the sport.
Since his retirement from Formula One at the end of the 1999, Hill has watched as the spending within the sport has spiral upward.
Huge costs have led to the withdrawl of manufacturer teams Toyota, Honda and BMW in the last decade, while the likes of Jaguar sold to Red Bull and Genii Capital assumed Renault.
Numerous privateer teams also pulled out of the category or sold their entries, including the lacklustre HRT, who disappeared at the end of last season.
As the reality of the ongoing economic recession weighs down upon once dominant markets, even the larger marques are feeling the pinch despite Formula One’s success as a global enterprise.
“It’s expensive, isn’t it?” commented Hill. “It hasn’t shrunk as a business, it seems to have gotten bigger and bigger every year and the interest has grown and grown. It is competitive, so in the end you get people who survive that and it gives you a clue as to the pressure for the teams at the front – it is enormous, you just can’t believe the things they have to find each year. That’s why the sport is so fascinating.”
Hill’s father Graham – himself a double world champion with BRM and Lotus – ran his own Formula One team from 1973 until his death in a plane crash in November 1975. Since then, the scope of the sport has changed dramatically leading to some of the bigger players spending absurd amounts in the chase for victory.
“This year they’ll blow something in the region of a billion dollars if you think about it in just running the cars and going to all the circuits, so that’s the costs of putting on the show. This is a crazy world.”
Fellow Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle agrees with Hill’s sentiments, but was keen to add, “What we have now is quality, we just haven’t got the quantity and there’s always been this threat that it is all going to fall over, but it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. In 1989, there were twenty-nine cars; twenty of them were rubbish – I wouldn’t want to walk passed them, let alone sit in them, they were dreadful cars.”
Although the monies the sport earns from its season long global tour would make the eyes of many a millionaire well up with envy, Brundle believes a cautious hand needs to be played. “There is some genuine concern as to how the second half of the grid is going to pay for the new engines next year. The money has got to come from somewhere and it’s a question of the value.”
As sponsorship proves more difficult to come by, financial pressures are beginning to take their toll with several teams taking on drivers with backing or connections in order to stay afloat.
The clearest example of this occurred at the Marussia team in recent weeks, when the team dropped the experienced Timo Glock in favour of GP2 Series graduate Luiz Razia. However a prominent backer of the Brazilian driver failed to materialise, forcing the Anglo-Russian squad to recruit Jules Bianchi – a Formula Renault 3.5 driver, heavily associated with Ferrari.
Only two weeks before what would have been his Grand Prix début, Razia’s Formula One career looks to be over – a story which has not reflected well upon the sport.
It is a situation that garners some sympathy from Hill: “If two drivers knock on your door and one’s really good and the other’s really good too, but he’s got $40 million, you’d be an idiot to turn away the guy with $40 million.”
Continuing, the former champion noted despairing, “If you look across to sports that are predominant in the world right now, it does stick out a bit that someone could be in a competitive situation by virtue of bringing some money. Where does it stop? Would Ferrari take a driver who brought $100 million?”
But as Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft points out, “They did, he’s called Fernando Alonso. That Santander backing would not be there at Ferrari had it not been for Fernando Alonso.”
A famed West Ham supporter, Croft has spent several years announcing Grands Prix and that while the financial balance in Formula One skewered, there should still enough to spread amongst the teams. “There’s enough money in Formula One to keep eleven teams running, it doesn’t mean they need to take all the money for themselves, but in return for a long term commitment to the sport more money could be made available to the teams to go racing.”
With a touch of his usual straightforward nature, Hill gets in the final word. “Eventually it comes out in the wash. If you’re not good enough as a driver, it’ll show up and he won’t stay there. Eventually you get found out. If they’ve got more talent than is suggested by mere money, then they’ll stay. That’s partly our job is to explain.”
Sky Sports F1 HD is the only place to watch every Grand Prix of the F1 season live. Watch every practice, qualifying session and race on TV, online, on the go via Sky Go, and using Sky F1 Race Control.
For the first F1 Show on the road in 2013 Natalie Pinkham and Ted Kravitz are live in the paddock at the Australian Grand Prix. It will feature Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and triple world champion Sebastien Vettel, while Natalie also discovers there’s more to Albert Park than just motor racing. As well as all that, a brand new F1 Show game will be making its début. That’ll be at 9.30am (UK) on Friday.
Martin Brundle, Simon Lazenby, Ted Kraviitz, David Croft, Natalie Pinkham Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert at the RAC Club
Sky Sports F1 lead presenter Simon Lazenby is confident the subscription channel can up the ante on its rivals when the 2013 Formula One season kicks off this weekend.
A relative newcomer to motorsport, Lazenby debuted in Formula One along with Sky Sports F1 last year and believes the team – which includes former racer Martin Brundle and world champion Damon Hill – has melded well together.
“It was great – a learning experience for a lot of us,” commented Lazenby during a pre-season function in London. “We all came from different places – these guys who have had years and years in F1 driving or as reporters or commentators or world champions and there were those of us who came into it from day one, a new sport. So it was a real challenge trying to get everything together and gel as a team and I think we came a long way in the first year, because when we started we thought ‘how are we going to do this?’”
Unlike many other live-televised sports, Formula One utilises much in the way of pre and post-race analysis, ensuring the broadcasts can last for approximately fourteen hours per weekend.
Such demands over the course of a Grand Prix event came as an eye-opener for the former Sky Sports News anchor. “The motorsport public demands a lot – a lot of build up and a lot after [the race]. In the old days of rugby there was five minutes on, five off the back and then goodnight.”
Brundle agrees, but added that it can be something of a double-edged sword. “You end up making a huge amount of content, so you have a lot less time to be getting information, so the work rate compared to ITV sixteen years ago is at least five times greater than it was back then, because we have just got to keep coming up with fresh material for the weekend.”
It increased the workload for the 1990 Le Mans winner, who also played a larger role in the pit lane during Friday’s Free Practice sessions. “That means you’re busy creating […] and then you are on air for a long time and then somehow you have to go out and hoover up a lot of information and try and come up with some gem which we do occasionally.”
Since the inception of Sky Sports F1, pit reporter Natalie Pinkham has fronted a number of team and driver features – an element that is set to continue into this year. “We’ve just done a three-minute thing with Kimi [Raikkonen] that will be broadcast during Malaysia, but that required forty-five hours in Moscow, which is fun…”
Venturing further, Pinkham explained, “All the data in the world doesn’t reveal anything about driver personality, which is something all fans want to know about. You only get that by talking to them and perhaps taking them away from the track and doing interesting things with them.”
“On the teams front, we get an amazing amount of co-operation,” said lead commentator David Croft. “The more they understood what Sky was about and what Sky was wanting to do, the more they have opened their doors.” Croft continued, “One thing we will doing is inviting team principals on and have a chat with them at various points during a race and get views of what is going on, on the pitwall.”
“The vast majority of your audience want to be entertained and informed, they don’t want to make their own TV show,” noted Brundle. A sixteen-year veteran of Formula One broadcasting, he has developed a keen sense for what modern fans are looking for in Formula One. “We’ve got some incredible access this year. I think we are a bit like the F1 cars; we’re an evolution on what we did last year. We will have a mighty [feature] this year, to be filmed in June, driving a Red Bull RB7. My only concern is what on earth are we going to do after that?”
He added, “As soon as they saw the features we were doing, the teams have come knocking on our door. The teams are pushing us for access which is critical, because as Bernie keeps doing more and more deals where he is splitting the coverage in countries, there is so much [more] demand on the drivers and the fans want to know what the drivers are like.”
Amidst all this, the 53-year-old is well aware that not all fans are looking for the same things. “There are the hardcore fans who want to watch sector times and hoover up all the other stuff, but in my experience people want to be informed and entertained – it’s their pleasure, not their work.”
This season will also see a change in the presentation of the press conferences that open the weekend, according to Croft. It is hoped this new approach will allow drivers to draw out of their shells. “Myself, Bob Constanduros and James Allen occasionally are going to be doing some sessions together to make it a little bit more interesting and hopefully make it a bit better for you guys watching at home […] by asking proper supplementary questions.”
Alas, the Sky Sports F1 team appear to enjoy the white-knuckle ride that was their opening year and are confident they will not suffer from ‘second album blues’.
“I think we are just itching to get going again” says Pinkham, drawing a rare breath and as a lingering smile grows, Lazenby concludes this portion of the discussion. “It’s not exactly 28-hours-a-day down the pit, is it?”
Indeed Simon.
Sky Sports F1 HD is the only place to watch every Grand Prix of the F1 season live. Watch every practice, qualifying session and race on TV, online, on the go via Sky Go, and using Sky F1 Race Control.
For the first F1 Show on the road in 2013 Natalie Pinkham and Ted Kravitz are live in the paddock at the Australian Grand Prix. It will feature Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and triple world champion Sebastien Vettel, while Natalie also discovers there’s more to Albert Park than just motor racing. As well as all that, a brand new F1 Show game will be making its début. That’ll be at 9.30am (UK) on Friday.
And with this, themotorsportarchive.com reaches one thousand posted entries, most of which were filled with facts, quotes, thoughts and just occasionally, some rambling nonsense.
Since the second generation of themotorsportarchive.com debuted in April 2010, the focus has changed from one of a fan-based blog to that of a site attempting journalistic values of some kind – I have no idea if this has been even remotely successful.
Nowadays instead of catching a race from the comfort of my television set, I tend to be found freezing in the discomfort of a race track somewhere – and to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
From interviews conducted in damp sheds posing as garages or underneath unexpectedly searing sunlight in heavy clothes, to researched features fulfilling the archive, I do hope it has at least been interesting. And if not, well then, that’s just too bad.
This year, the priority remains junior single-seaters, especially Formula 3, GP2, GP3 and World Series by Renault, with the occasional Formula One, endurance racing and WRC opinion spots thrown in for good measure.
Next up though, it’s Monza – I think; it’s easy to get confused.
Thanks for all the eyeballs. It has certainly been a hell of a lot of fun.
Bring it.
Leigh O’Gorman
The Motorsport Archive
{note 1}
Self indulgent? Yes, but then why not?
{note 2}
Of course, as per usual, if there are features or developments that readers may wish to see on site, then do pass them on. I am always open to suggestions and constructive criticism.
Simon Lazenby, Ted Kravitz, Johnny Herbert, Martin Brundle, Natalie Pinkham, Damon Hill, Anthony Davidson and David Croft will front Sky Sports’ F1 coverage.
Sky Sports F1 commentator and former-Formula One driver Martin Brundle believes that Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton will open up now that he has left the McLaren team.
However, Brundle – a former McLaren driver – insists that Hamilton’s approachability will be heavily determined by the quality of his Mercedes W04 machine.
At a recent Sky Sports F1 media event, the 53-year-old commented that the “first signs are Lewis is more open. If the Mercedes is fast, he’ll stay that way; if not, he’ll close up again.”
A commentator in Formula One since his partial season in 1995, Brundle is also well aware of how words can be misinterpreted. “They know their words will be on the internet within a few minutes and in the end they might as well say nothing and not […] upset the team and not read a misquote and so they end up just gliding along on a neutral path.”
Expanding on that point, the winner of the 1990 Le Mans 24 Hour Race explained, “there are two things that will happen – you will always see the minder during interviews and if they step out of line, [drivers] get a good pasting from the boss and from the media minder.”
According to Sky Sports F1 lead presenter Simon Lazenby, the occasionally detached personality displayed by drivers is more indicative of modern professional sport as a whole.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily drivers per se – they are beholden to sponsors and they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders and I don’t think they want to give too much away.” Lazenby added, “there are different personas – those behind closed doors and those that have to be put across to the public.”
Sky Sports F1 pit reporter Natalie Pinkham sympathises with Hamilton – often found at the hands of a fervent British media scrum at each Grand Prix – who on a number of occasions has witnessed his actions and words misinterpreted far beyond their original intentions.
“It is a shame, because I love the way Lewis wears his heart on his sleeve. I’ve always found Lewis great to talk to, because you can see the emotion on his face and no amount of words can disguise how he’s feeling.”
This weekend sees Hamilton take to his Mercedes to the track in anger for the first time, when he lines up for the Australian Grand Prix.
Sky Sports F1 HD is the only place to watch every Grand Prix of the F1 season live. Watch every practice, qualifying session and race on TV, online, on the go via Sky Go, and using Sky F1 Race Control.
For the first F1 Show on the road in 2013 Natalie Pinkham and Ted Kravitz are live in the paddock at the Australian Grand Prix. It will feature Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and triple world champion Sebastien Vettel, while Natalie also discovers there’s more to Albert Park than just motor racing. As well as all that, a brand new F1 Show game will be making its début. That’ll be at 9.30am (UK) on Friday.
© FIA.
The revitalised FIA European Formula 3 Championship looks set to have a full grid of thirty entrants for the 2013 season.
In recent days, family-run squad Jo Zeller Racing confirmed Sandro Zeller for a full campaign, while URD Rennsport are continuing with Lucas Wolf.
Joining the fray this year will be the Romeo Ferraris-Mercedes team, who will be fielding a two-car effort.
The first seat at Romeo Ferraris has already being filled by Superstars race winner Michela Cerruti, while according to Autosport {note 1}, the second entry may be filled by American racer Michael Lewis.
The first of two pre-season tests ran at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday and Saturday with Raffaele Marciello and Will Buller laying down the fast laps.
As expected Alex Lynn ran Marciello close in the times, but the real surprise came from Formula 3 newboy Jordan King, who managed 2nd overall on day two, just behind Buller.
Josh Hill’s lost time on the opening day when his Fortec machine caught fire, but there was drama for Double R’s Antonio Giovinazzi who crashed heavily on Saturday morning, ruling him out of the rest of the day.
The final test comes in a week’s time, when the field reconvenes for two days of running at Monza prior to the opening round.
{note 1}
“Michael Lewis confident of making F3 European Championship grid” (Autosport, Jamie O’Leary)
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (1st pre-season test; March 8-9; Barcelona; combined times)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m40.812s 2. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m40.997s 3. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m41.021s 4. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m41.023s 5. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m41.159s 6. Tom Blomqvist EuroIntern'l Dallara-Merc 1m41.191s 7. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m41.195s 8. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m41.208s 9. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m41.374s 10. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m41.379s 11. Pascal Wehrlein Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m41.389s 12. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m41.401s 13. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m41.433s 14. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m41.441s 15. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m41.466s 16. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m41.508s 17. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m41.771s 18. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m41.812s 19. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m41.882s 20. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m41.893s 21. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m41.946s 22. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m41.976s 23. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m41.984s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m41.999s 25. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m42.416s 26. Dmitry Suranovich Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m42.813s 27. Michael Lewis Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m42.997s (Day 2) 28. Riccardo Agostini Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m43.044s (Day 1) 29. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m43.693s
World Rally Championship (Rally Mexico, Round 3)
Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier dominated the third round of the World Rally Championship in Mexico to assume a 31-point lead ahead of the retiring Sebastien Loeb. Ogier held off an early challenge from Mads Ostberg (M-Sport) to win by three-and-a-half minutes (despite getting held by closed gate in SS18) – the Frenchman also claimed three points for winning Sunday’s Power Stage.
Ostberg’s early charge fell apart on SS15 when electrical issues ground his Ford to a halt, promoting Citroën’s Mikko Hirvonen to a distant runner-up spot, after the latter suffered a puncture. Thierry Neuville eventually took 3rd place to secure his first WRC podium, while Dani Sordo assumed a rather anonymous 4th. Nasser Al-Attiyah made it two Qatar WRT Ford’s in the top five, while Chris Atkinson climbed to 6th, despite losing five minutes after hitting a rock on SS3.
PWRC champion Benito Guerra grabbed a credible 8th place in his home event. Jari-Matti Latvala lost all of day one after he too hit a rock, while Evgeny Novikov was hit by electrical problems early on, hampering his effort. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari took the WRC2 win, after garnering a nine-minute advantage over Nicolas Fuchs.
© GP2 Media Services.
Tom Dillmann has become the first driver to join the new GP2 Series squad RUSSIAN TIME ahead of the 2013 season.
The Frenchman ran with the German-based squad at the final pre-season test at Barcelona, while Robin Frijns, Christopher Zanella and Luciano Bacheta filled the second seat.
It was an impressive three-day run for both Dillmann and RUSSIAN TIME, with the former notching up 150 laps, although much of the test was hampered by changeable weather conditions throughout.
With the opening round of the series now less than two weeks away, RUSSIAN TIME have certainly given themselves precious little opportunity to fully prepare for the season start; however Team Principal and Founder Igor Mazepa is clearly aware of the enormity of the task ahead.
“We know that it will be a challenge to be quickly on par with the other teams, but we have managed to put together a group of people whose experience in GP2 will be invaluable and we are pretty confident that we will do a good job from the get-go.”
RUSSIAN TIME’s entry into the category was initiated when long time participant iSport International withdrew last month citing an inability to secure suitably budgeted drivers to fund their efforts.
A successful investment banker, Mazepa was elected as Chairman to the Board of the Ukrainian Exchange in 2008, eventually leading him to be named as the best manager of his nation’s stock market by rating house Economy.
Mazepa also enjoyed notable stints with Russian-American company Prospect Investments, Foyil Securities New Europe and MFK Interregional Financial Company, before founding Concorde Capital in 2004, eventually leading the company to be one of Ukraine’s banking services.
Mazepa’s deep pockets could mean RUSSIAN TIME may not need to worry so much about taking on drivers with a budget – a delight for Dillmann who lost his seat with Rapax last season when his sponsorship ran dry.
For Dillmann, the relief is clear: “First of all, I would like to thank Igor Mazepa and RUSSIAN TIME for this opportunity.” He continued, “They are new to the Series, but they have put everything in place to make sure that we are competitive from the start. I hope that my experience in GP2 will help them even more.”
It is safe to say buying a GP2 Series team is something of a sideline for Mazepa; however the desire to promote Russian and other Baltic state drivers through to the higher echelons of single-seater racing rests behind this buy out.
Motopark Academy’s Timo Rumpfkell will lead RUSSIAN TIME’s racing effort. The German has helped the likes of Scott Speed, Sebastien Buemi and Valtteri Bottas climb the ranks to Formula One, while other graduates include Antonio Felix da Costa, Brandon Hartley, Felipe Albuquerque and Frank Kechele.
Meanwhile ART Grand Prix pilot James Calado and Stefano Coletti (Rapax) displayed timesheet topping pace during this weeks GP2 Series test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
Coletti headed the times on the opening day, but it was Calado quickest through a wet morning session; an effort the Englishman repeated on the following morning. As conditions deteriorated through Wednesday, Johnny Cecotto Jr brought his Arden machine to the top of the sheets. Coletti proved quickest on the final day, with Carlin’s Felipe Nasr showing his hand in the afternoon.
Red flags became commonplace as conditions varied throughout the test. Rio Haryanto, Kevin Giovesi, Rodolfo Gonzalez, Cecotto Jr, Daniel Abt, Riccardo Agostini, Julian Leal, Rene Binder and Ma Qinghua all suffered offs or light spins.
The opening round of the 2013 GP2 Series goes live in two weeks time at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
2013 GP2 Series 2nd pre-season test (Barcelona; March 5-7; combined times) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Stefano Coletti Rapax 1m29.055s 2. Marcus Ericsson DAMS 1m29.217s 3. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1m29.381s 4. Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1m29.453s 5. Jolyon Palmer Carlin 1m29.467s 6. Sergio Canamasas Caterham 1m29.611s 7. James Calado ART 1m29.624s 8. Kevin Giovesi Lazarus 1m29.812s 9. Tom Dillmann Russian Time 1m29.843s 10. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1m29.862s 11. Mitch Evans Arden 1m29.902s 12. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs MP 1m29.914s 13. Robin Frijns Trident 1m29.951s 14. Daniel Abt ART 1m29.994s 15. Daniel de Jong MP 1m30.037s 16. Robin Frijns Russian Time 1m30.053s 17. Pal Varhaug Hilmer 1m30.300s 18. Johnny Cecotto Arden 1m30.323s 19. Conor Daly Hilmer 1m30.417s 20. Rene Binder Lazarus 1m30.454s 21. Julian Leal Racing Engineering 1m30.601s 22. Jake Rosenzweig Addax 1m30.620s 23. Simon Trummer Rapax 1m30.667s 24. Riccardo Agostini Hilmer 1m30.724s 25. Rio Haryanto Addax 1m30.813s 26. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident 1m31.029s 27. Ma Qing Hua Caterham 1m31.035s 28. Luciano Bacheta Russian Time 1m32.712s 29. Christopher Zanella Russian Time 1m53.772s (wet session)
© SRO.
British Formula 3 Championship Manager Benjamin Franassovici is confident the series can consolidate its heritage status and build for the future following the loss of several of its 2013 events.
A slow driver sign-up at the start of the year and uncertainty amongst the existing team led series promoters SRO to truncate to the season to just four rounds.
Following last years unsuccessful bid to merge with its European Championship counterpart, British F3 struggled to solidify a calendar; however SRO believe the shortened can reignite interest.
Of the original schedule, Silverstone (May 25-26), Spa-Francorchamps (July 25-27), Brands Hatch (August 10-11) and Nurburgring (September 21-22) remain, with each round – apart from the Brands Hatch event – receiving live television coverage from European broadcaster Motors TV.
SRO are hoping to target at least fifteen entries, with additional drivers expected to boost the grid at Spa.
Despite a fraught period of time for the series, Franassovici remains positive about the British F3’s outlook. “The support we received when we made our announcement regarding the revisions to the series was overwhelming and assured us we are taking the right direction,” said Franassovici.
He continued, “It was important to make a decision early. Current British F3 teams have replied positively and all are planning to enter cars. The National Class, now also open to cars from other series in Europe has been well received.”
British Formula 3 may appear to have taken a significant hit 2013 – and it has received a wound that would kill off other championships; however Franassovici is confident that correct and timely action was taken to preserve the series.
“The right decisions have been made in good time to allow British F3 to continue beyond 2013. We will continue to do our best to support the series and ensure it retains its prestige as well as continuing to be seen as an essential step on the ladder to the highest levels of the sport.”
Irrespective, 2013 remains a key year in the life of British Formula 3 and the four rounds ahead may go some long way to deciding whether it has a future beyond September.
Qinghua tested at Jerez. © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Ma Qinghua will become the first Chinese born driver to compete in the GP2 Series this season, when he takes part in the opening round in Malaysia with Caterham.
As well as garnering a GP2 seat, Qinghua has also been drawn into Caterham’s expanding Driving Academy Programme {note 1}.
Born in Shanghai {note 2}, Qinghua previously served as the reserve pilot for HRT’s Formula 1 effort last season, taking part in four Free Practice sessions – a position he will also hold with Caterham’s F1 effort.
Despite Qinghua’s relative lack of racing experience {note 3}, the 25-year-old did claim the 1600cc Chinese Touring Car Championship in 2011, although that may not mean a huge amount.
Qinghua’s unveiling as Caterham’s first GP2 entry for this season cam just as the opening test of the season was completed at Jerez {note 4}, with the Chinese racer notching up 171 laps in three days of running.
For a driver who has only competed in thirty-six car races in eight years, any experience is good experience. Although he spent the duration in the bottom half of the timing screens – as with everyone else – it is unknown what programme Qinghua was partaking in over the test, rendering analysis of the times quite pointless {note 5}.
Following the announcement, Qinghua could do little to contain his delight. The Shanghai native said, “I am very excited about joining the Caterham family and would like to thank everyone at Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Racing for giving me the chance to race in GP2 and to extend my F1 experience.
“Both teams have everything they need to keep growing in the right direction and I am looking forward to playing an important role in helping them achieve what they’ve set out to this year,” added Qinghua. “I know the fans at home will be really excited to see me race in GP2 and with the F1 work I also have ahead of me, China can be proud that it continues to have a driver involved in motor racing at the very highest level.”
As an aside Hilmer Motorsport’s Tom Dillmann and James Calado of ART Grand Prix set the quickest times during the GP2 test last week.
From the stint lengths, reliability appears stable – which is not too much of a shock for a car heading into its third season, ensuring much of the collective field ran plenty of tyre development and aero work, as well as preparatory race stints.
Beyond some brief electrical glitches (Mitch Evans) and numerous other niggling issues (Johnny Cecotto Jr, Jolyon Palmer, Daniel de Jong), a majority of the red flags were due to spins and off track excursions.
Dillmann topped the opening two days, while Calado polished off the test with a fast run on Thursday. The second pre-season test gets under way at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday, before the teams ship out for the opening round in Malaysia.
{note 1}
Caterham have also revealed that American pilot Alexander Rossi is to stay on with the Caterham Driver Academy in 2013 and will drive in a number of Free Practice sessions this year.
However unlike his Chinese counterpart, Rossi is has still yet to announce a competition drive for the coming year, while his former seat with the Arden Caterham squad in the Renault 3.5 Series has been filled by Antonio Felix da Costa and Pietro Fantin.
Qinghua will take a Free Practice seat with Caterham at the Chinese Grand Prix.
{note 2}
Although former GP2 competitor Ho-Pin Tung raced under a Chinese licence, he actually born in the town of Gelderland in the eastern region of the Netherlands.
{note 3}
Qinghua’s single-seater experience is sporadic at best. In a career that has made up mostly of half-season efforts and occasional weekend drives, the Chinese racer has not competed since the latter stages of 2011 and has only raced thirty-six times in eight years.
A cynical person might believe Qinghua brings something other than experience to the Caterham squad.
{note 4}
Caterham also ran Sergio Canamasas during the three days at Jerez; however it is unknown at this stage if a race deal is likely for the Spaniard.
{note 5}
As is the way with testing, those who try to analyse the time sheets are most likely talking (or writing) through their a**e.
GP2 Series pre-season test (Jerez; Feb 26th-28th; combined times) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Tom Dillmann Hilmer 1m24.400s 2. Stefano Coletti Rapax 1m24.418s 3. James Calado ART 1m24.525s 4. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1m24.534s 5. Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1m24.604s 6. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1m24.691s 7. Marcus Ericsson DAMS 1m24.712s 8. Sergio Canamasas Caterham 1m24.963s 9. Kevin Giovesi Lazarus 1m24.967s 10. Rene Binder Lazarus 1m24.976s 11. Simon Trummer Rapax 1m25.023s 12. Nathanael Berthon Trident 1m25.059s 13. Jake Rosenzweig Addax 1m25.243s 14. Mitch Evans Arden 1m25.258s 15. Jolyon Palmer Carlin 1m25.276s 16. Johnny Cecotto Arden 1m25.292s 17. Daniel Abt ART 1m25.312s 18. Julian Leal Racing Engineering 1m25.318s 19. Robin Frijns Trident 1m25.335s 20. Pal Varhaug Hilmer 1m25.391s 21. Daniel de Jong MP 1m25.506s 22. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs MP 1m25.604s 23. Ma Qing Hua Caterham 1m25.800s 24. Rio Haryanto Addax 1m26.398s
2013 GP2 Series field (as of March 3rd) DAMS: Marcus Ericsson Stephane Richemi Art Grand Prix: James Calado Daniel Abt Arden: Johnny Cecotto Jr Mitch Evans Racing Engineering: Julian Leal Fabio Leimer Carlin: Felipe Nasr Jolyon Palmer iSport: tba tba Caterham: Ma Qinghua tba Barwa Addax: Jake Rosenzweig Rio Haryanto Rapax: Stefano Coletti Simon Trummer Trident: tba tba Hilmer Motorsport: tba tba Venezuela GP Lazarus: Rene Binder tba MP Motorsport: Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Daniel de Jong
© FIA.
Josh Hill and Dmitry Suranovich have become the latest names attached to the FIA European F3 Championship.
The pair will be joining Felix Serralles and Pipo Derani at Fortec Motorsport, as the British squad bring a four-pronged attack to the series.
Hill’s position as both the son and grandson of Formula One World Champions {note 1} is quite unique in motorsport and is something that will naturally garner plenty of focus in the media.
However the 22-year-old is keen to point out that rather than emulate past heroics, his focus is on the job at hand. As far as Hill is concerned, “It’s great to be racing in the 2013 F3 European Championship. It’s a hugely prestigious championship that represented a major step in the careers of drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. At the same time, it also is an extremely competitive series. I just can’t wait for contesting my first tests and the first race at Monza.”
Hill’s promotion to the European F3 Championship comes off the back of a positive campaign in the Formula Renault NEC championship with Fortec, during which he picked up five wins and two podiums.
The Englishman eventually finished 3rd overall, not far behind fellow countrymen Jake Dennis and Jordan King.
For Suranovich, this will be the Russian driver’s first season with Fortec and follows a single season effort in the GP3 Series with Marussia Manor. Throughout a difficult year, Suranovich secured a best result of 11th, collecting no points along over the course of fifteen races.
The 17-year-old gained notoriety at Monaco last year for his part in a crash with Conor Daly during the Sunday morning sprint race, in which Daly barrel-rolled repeatedly. Clips of the accident, which came close to taking out several marshals, quickly went viral and appeared on news broadcasts across the world.
Considering his action leading to the incident, it is the opinion of TheMotorsportArchive.com that Suranovich was lucky not to be banned from the series.
{note 1}
Josh’s father Damon won the World title in 1996 with Williams after narrowly missing out two years beforehand, while grandfather Graham took the Formula One crown twice – first with BRM in 1962, before following up with Lotus in 1968.
On several occasions in the past, it has become necessary to go back over posts and correct Josh’s name, but I am getting better; however if from time-to-time Josh is referred to as “Damon”, then forgive the slip and quietly remind me that it is no longer the mid-90s.
2013 FIA European Formula 3 grid (as of February 28th)
Carlin: Jordan King Harry Tincknell
Jann Mardenborough Nicholas Latifi
Double R: Tatiana Calderon Sean Gelael
Antonio Giovanazzi
EuroInternational: Tom Blomqvist
Fortec: Pipo Derani Felix Serralles
Josh Hill Dmitry Suranovich
Jo Zeller Racing: TBA
ma-con Motorsport: Andre Rudersdorf Sven Muller
Mucke Motorsport: Mitchell Gilbert Roy Nissany
Pascal Wehrlein Felix Rosenqvist
Prema Powerteam: Lucas Auer Eddie Cheever III
Alex Lynn Raffaele Marciello
T-Sport: Will Buller Spike Goddard
URD Rennsport: TBA
Van Amersfoort: Dennis van de Laar Mans Grenhagen
© FIA.
After a tough introduction in 2012, Germany’s Sven Müller has settled for a second season in the FIA European F3 Championship.
The 21-year-old ended his previous campaign 8th overall following a slow start, but with just over one week to the opening test at Barcelona, Müller has sided with ma-con.
Commenting on his website, Müller noted that he is “convinced that together, we will [find] the last missing tenth […] to ride with the front runners” despite ma-con’s relative newness to the category.
Racing with Prema Powerteam, Müller notched up three podiums in 2012; however a string of early season finishes outside the top ten cast the Mainz native adrift of the leading pack.
Müller will not be in completely unfamiliar territory, having previously competed with ma-con in the ADAC Formula Masters series in 2011, picking up four wins and eight podiums along the way.
Müller’s confirmation with ma-con completes the team’s two-car, alongside relative youngster André Rudersdorf. The 17-year-old graduates from the Austrian Formula 3 Cup and the ATS Formula 3 Trophy, where he emerged a champion on both counts.
This comes only a few days after the British-based Double R Racing announced their transition to the European series.
After originally planning to run a full-season in the now truncated British Formula 3 Series with Antonio Giovinazzi and Sean Gelael, the addition of Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt’s squad could potentially bring the size of the grid to thirty cars.
Double R also unveiled their final driver for 2013, adding Colombian racer Tatiana Calderon fresh from her exploits in the Toyota Racing Series.
Double R’s three entries join the four drivers confirmed at Carlin, with the latter set to be led by Formula 3 veteran Harry Tincknell.
The Exeter born pilot enters his third season in the category and his second with the famous Carlin team. Tincknell will be joined by Italian F3 race winner Nicholas Latifi, Nissan GT Academy victor Jann Mardenborough and last year’s Formula Renault NEC runner-up, Jordan King.
Tram Principal Trevor Carlin was keen to measure his prospects for the coming year. “Harry makes an extremely welcome return to the team and his experience of Formula 3 will be the key; we have high hopes for him this season. Jordan will also be a Formula 3 rookie, but despite it being quite a young team, I look forward to seeing what surprises they can deliver as they progress throughout the season.”
Of his less experienced members, Carlin was realistic about their expectation. “Nicholas is going to have a very steep learning curve, with practically every circuit a new experience for him. This season will be about learning as much as possible for him, as it will for Jann, who let’s remember only has one season’s racing behind him.”
Of the Central European-based teams, Mücke Motorsport may prove to be one of the team’s to beat, with feisty Swede Felix Rosenqvist remaining with the German squad. Rosenqvist, who took four victories in the category last year will once again race alongside Pascal Wehrlein, as well as Mücke newcomers Roy Nissany and Mitch Gilbert.
After a year of bedding in to the championship, this will be a key year for Rosenqvist – a title favourite for sure. “It feels great to finally be able to announce my plans for 2013, and to continue my association with the guys at Mücke Motorsport for another year.
“It’s been a long winter with several flattering offers to consider, but at the end of the day, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the best option for my career.”
With the European Championship emerging as the primary F3 category in the continent, Rosenqvist is aware the stakes have been raised. “The competition will be even tougher than previously, but – on the back of our results at the end of last year – my sole target has got to be to win as many races as possible; and I’m here to fight for the title.”
While all the competitors are certain to be eyeing up the European Championship trophy, a bonus awaits the eventual victor – a prize drive in a Ferrari Formula 1 car, courtesy of the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Entries for the European F3 Championship close today and while twenty-four drivers have been confirmed; some delayed announcements are expected before the opening two-day test at Barcelona, which starts on March 8th.
2013 FIA European Formula 3 grid (as of February 27th)
Carlin: Jordan King Harry Tincknell
Jann Mardenborough Nicholas Latifi
Double R: Tatiana Calderon Sean Gelael
Antonio Giovanazzi
EuroInternational: Tom Blomqvist
Fortec: Pipo Derani Felix Serralles
Jo Zeller Racing: TBA
ma-con Motorsport: Andre Rudersdorf Sven Muller
Mucke Motorsport: Mitchell Gilbert Roy Nissany
Pascal Wehrlein Felix Rosenqvist
Prema Powerteam: Lucas Auer Eddie Cheever III
Alex Lynn Raffaele Marciello
T-Sport: Will Buller Spike Goddard
URD Rennsport: TBA
Van Amersfoort: Dennis van de Laar Mans Grenhagen
© GP3 Media Services.
Italian GP3 squad Trident have retained the services of 21-year-old Giovanni Venturini for the upcoming season.
Venturini, a Vicenza resident, joined the outfit prior to the fourth round at Silverstone last year, filling what was until that point a vacant seat.
In the remaining ten races, the Italian secured two podiums and three other points finishes, elevating Venturini to 13th in the final standings – respectable, if nothing else.
Aside from his GP3 spell, 2012 was not the smoothest of years for Venturini. A troubled early season spell in Formula Renault 3.5 with BVM Target dented confidence somewhat; however the nature of that drive and its revolving door policy suggests factors outside of the drive may have hurt the competitiveness of the seat {note 1}.
There is something of a common ground across Trident’s driver line-up, as Venturini is to be partnered by San Marino’s Emanuele Zonzini and fellow Italian David Fumanelli. Indeed Trident ran an all-Italian line-up last year too {note 2}, albeit with less potent results.
According to Venturini, “the decision to stay with Trident followed after a lot of analysis. During the off-season, I drove for two other teams in testing, and I’m convinced that this is the right choice, from both a technical and personal standpoint. In last week’s first pre-season test, I found a great chemistry with the car and I think we can definitely be a contender for the title.”
He added, “it’s going to be a hard-fought series with at least eight great candidates in contention. In the end, I think that consistency will be the key, and that’s the main direction we’re headed in”.
With Trident’s line-up completed, only six seats remain to be filled, with a full two-and-a-half months left to the season opener.
{note 1}
Following Venturini’s ejection from the FR3.5 drive at BVM, that seat would be filled by Sergey Sirotkin, Daniel Zampieri, David Rigon (one round each) and Tamás Pál Kiss (two rounds). Of his replacements, only Zampieri scored any points.
{note 2}
In 2012, Trident also ran Vicky Piria (full season) and Antonio Spavone (for four rounds) – neither of whom scored a point.
2013 GP3 Series field (as of February 27th) ART GP: Facu Regalia, Jack Harvey, tba MW Arden: Carlos Sainz Jr, Robert Visoiu, Daniil Kvyat Carlin: Luis Sá Silva, Nick Yelloly, Eric Lichtenstein Jenzer: Samin Gómez, Patric Niederhauser, Alex Fontana Marussia Manor: Dino Zamparelli, tba, tba Status GP: Jimmy Eriksson, Josh Webster, tba Bamboo Engineering: Roberto La Rocca, tba, tba Trident: David Fumanelli, Emanuele Zonzini, Giovanni Venturini Koiranen GP: Patrick Kujala, Aaro Vainio, Kevin Korjus
If McLaren thought losing Lewis Hamilton at the end of the 2012 season was a blow, the Woking team have just been hit harder with the defection of Paddy Lowe.
According to the presser from Monday afternoon, Lowe has been placed in “a different role with McLaren until the end of the year”, although it is widely believed by folks in the know that the 50-year-old is off to Mercedes.
Director of Engineering at McLaren Tim Goss is being promoted to Technical Director in place of Lowe. However Goss’ appointment may take on a different format than used by Lowe, although that may have more to do with the nature of skills employed by Goss than anything else.
Whereas losing a favoured driver can hamper immediate results, the loss of top end personnel can have long-term drawbacks for a team.
McLaren have been busy shuffling the team in recent seasons, starting with Pat Fry move to Ferrari in 2011. Since that time former Williams man Sam Michael has joined as Sporting Director.
Further reshuffling at the high end of McLaren’s engineering department, as well in the drivers seat will do little to create a confident air and this Hamilton’s departure may soon begin to hurt.
Of course Jenson Button remains with the team and is a known quantity, but with all due respect to Sergio Perez – who is a very good driver – he is not Lewis Hamilton; his ability to draw a team may appear limp compared to his predecessor.
Where the likes of Hamilton, Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel possess the natural talent to drag top results from any given car in their field, a focussed project emerges from seasoned personnel, engendered with the expertise to guide and nurture the engineering staff around them.
That ability is not one that is easily discovered, especially during an age when diversification of engineering knowledge has seemingly taken precedent over a generic technical skill set.
McLaren’s ability to perform may remain healthy in the short term, but their future will be defined by Goss’ contributions.
Lowe’s eventual arrival in Brackley could prove something of a problem for current Team Principal Ross Brawn.
The man who guided the squad to the World Championship in 2009 (as Brawn GP) is seemingly more and more out of favour with the Mercedes, following three seasons with one win and five podia, despite the manufacturer’s colossal budget.
Like McLaren, Mercedes are in the midst of a reshuffle, although the German squad’s realignment has taken on something of a comical look in recent months with a seemingly endless number of Technical Director’s being signed up to head various departments.
Whether it Brawn, Bob Bell, Aldo Costa, Geoff Willis or Lowe, Mercedes are painting a picture of team heavy in management, but light in success. With Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda also on the board, one wonders how long before this messy situation generates into raw open friction.
Admittedly, the team do appear to be hedging all their bets on a 2014 winner, but if it screws up, Formula One may be shy of a manufacturer soon afterward, although I am convinced Mercedes HWA (a company in which Wolff is a large shareholder) would take up the reigns, leaving the manufacturer to remain as engine supplier. I am basing that on nothing other than gut feeling.
For both squads, the ongoing confusion has the potential to heavily limit opportunities for success and while restructuring is a necessary evil from time-to-time, the uncertainty created by the manner in which the dealings have been conducted could do much to hurt the performance of their squads – both on and off track.
If nothing else, the destabilisation amongst the silver teams may open a door for Lotus to jump McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
Meanwhile, Lowe’s different role at McLaren should ensure the gardens at Woking are well cared for the next ten months at least.
As an aside, former-McLaren racer Alain Prost remarked in an interview yesterday that he expects Sebastian Vettel to equal his tally of four World Championships this year.
I’ll go one further than that and say Vettel will wrap up his fourth title with about two or three races to spare.
This might be old news, but there are times when I wonders if the folks that doll out press releases and the many who blankly post them as news ever truly know what they are on about.
As per ANI and the Daily Mail and posted by a number of news agencies, the headline read:
”F1′s only woman driver Susie Wolff to appear in BBC documentary on her life”
Fair enough. Interesting subject; not completely sure there will be enough footage to go around, but alas they have folks who are experts in such matters working on the project.
However in the second paragraph:
“Susie is tipped to become the first ever woman-racing driver and the film, The Fastest Woman In The World, follows her life and career in the male-dominated sport…”
This paragraph was sidelined by Jenson Button driving a Brawn GP taken in 2009. I really am not sure where to begin or end.
© GP2 Media Services.
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs has joined Dutch squad MP Motorsport for their first GP2 Series campaign.
The 22-year-old, who claimed the Auto GP World Series last year in style, will partner former Auto GP driver Daniel de Jong for this season.
Having already tested GP2 and Formula One machine, the determined Quaife-Hobbs has garnered a taste of top-level machinery; however budgetary issues have done much to slow his progress through the ranks in recent seasons.
Following previous experiences in Auto GP, the Englishman noted, “I’ve raced against MP Motorsport […] and naturally I know many of the personnel who came over from the Coloni team, so I’m looking forward to working with them all again.
“We had a very good finish to 2012, with two strong performances in GP2 testing, so I cannot see why we can’t build on those results as we head into the first of two pre-season tests in Spain.”
Quaife-Hobbs has previous raced on the Formula One support package, having enjoyed two full seasons in the GP3 Series with Manor Racing (now Marussia Manor). In thirty-one races, Quaife-Hobbs picked up one victory and two podiums, taking 5th overall in 2011.
This year, however, the Tonbridge resident only has the series title in his sights. “Looking ahead to the season, naturally I have to aim to win, as all drivers do, although I appreciate it’s going to be a tough challenge. The competition is always strong in GP2 and I’m sure this year will be no exception.”
Quaife-Hobbs joins several other drivers recently confirmed for GP2 driver this year including Jake Rosenzweig (Barwa Addax); Simon Trummer (Rapax); Johnny Cecotto Jr and Mitch Evans (Arden); Julian Leal and Fabio Leimer (Racing Engineering) and Rene Binder (Venezuela GP Lazarus).
Last month, it was also revealed that Hilmer Motorsport had assumed Ocean Racing Technology’s place in the series; however the German squad have yet to announce any drivers.
These team changes have been given extra emphasis this week following the revelation in Autosport that iSport are in the process of selling their GP2 entry in light of a budgetary hole {note 1}.
With the first test beginning on Wednesday at Jerez in southern Spain, eight seats remain undeclared.
2013 GP2 Series field (as of February 23rd) DAMS: Marcus Ericsson, Stephane Richemi Art Grand Prix: James Calado, Daniel Abt Arden: Johnny Cecotto Jr, Mitch Evans Racing Engineering: Julian Leal, Fabio Leimer Carlin: Felipe Nasr, Jolyon Palmer iSport: tba, tba Caterham: tba, tba Barwa Addax: Jake Rosenzweig, Rio Haryanto Rapax: Stefano Coletti, Simon Trummer Trident: tba, tba Hilmer Motorsport: tba, tba Venezuela GP Lazarus: Rene Binder, tba MP Motorsport: Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, Daniel de Jong
{note 1}
“iSport on verge of selling GP2 entry” (Autosport.com; Charles Bradley)
© GP3 Media Services.
Nick Yelloly, Josh Webster and Dino Zamparelli brought the number of British racers in the GP3 Series to four when they signed on this week.
While 2013 sees Webster and Zamparelli make their series débuts, for Yelloly it marks a return to the championship in which he earned a podium two years ago.
Yelloly, who graduated from the Formula Renault UK Series at the conclusion of 2010, scored 3rd place at Silverstone with Atech CRS during his original GP3, before moving onto Formula Renault 3.5 later that year.
Following twenty-three races, initially with Pons, before transferring to Comtec Racing {note 1}, Yelloly has decided to switch back to the GP3 Series in what he considers a sideways move.
For the 22-year-old, this is a must win season. “I’m really looking forward to working with Carlin this year, they’re a team with a great history so I think this will be an extremely exciting season for me. I just can’t wait for the season to start now, I’m in a good team and I’m aiming to fight for the championship.”
GP3 was a very different championship when Yelloly first contested the series in 2011; however the changes to the formula – as first tested at Estoril this week – apparently did much to convince Yelloly its potential.
“The upgrades to the car have transformed where GP3 is in the motorsport ladder; with so much more power and the combination of the Pirelli tyres and the F1 circuits, GP3 is a great package for me to be part of right now.”
Yelloly’s arrival marks the second ex-Formula Renault 3.5 driver to make the switch to GP3, following on from former Lotus-Charouz racer Kevin Korjus who has moved to Koiranen GP.
The signing of Yelloly, alongside Luis Sá Silva and Eric Lichtenstein, completes Carlin’s line-up.
Webster partners Jimmy Eriksson at Status Grand Prix {note 2}. With the support of Nine Group, the 19-year-old Webster is set to undertake a huge leap as he moves from the Formula Renault BARC Championship {note 3}.
Despite this, Status GP’s latest charge is well aware of the enormity of the task ahead of him. “GP3 is a massive step up for me and I am under no illusion about how much I have to learn, but it will be a fantastic experience and it’s great to be at first test […] at Estoril.
“Apart from learning about the car and the European circuits, the Pirelli tyres will also take some getting used to but I’m up for the challenge.”
The keen Webster added, “Of course I hope to do well but I am also aware of the fact that I haven’t driven at seven of the eight circuits we will be competing at this season, so this will undoubtedly be a learning year for me. I see GP3 as a two-year programme and I intend to put some solid foundations in place as quickly as I can.”
Marussia Manor went somewhat further this week. Not only did the GP3 squad confirm Dino Zamparelli as their first signing for 2013, the Formula One team also announced revealed the 20-year-old to be the latest addition to their Young Driver Programme.
In previous seasons, Zamparelli has enjoyed plenty of experience in the lower reaches of Formula Renault, eventually winning the BARC Championship in 2011 with Antel Motorsport. A move to the now defunct Formula Two Championship followed, during which Zamparelli secured two podiums on his way to 8th in the points.
Coming just before the opening test {note 4}, the drive was a long time in the works for Marussia Manor pilot. “We have been working extremely hard over the winter to achieve the seat and this is a dream come true to be able to get everything off the ground […]”
Zamparelli added, “Everything will be new for me, but I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and attacking the challenge head-on. Marussia Manor Racing have a great foundation which they have been building on for the last few years in GP3 and I’m looking forward to helping to maintain that momentum.”
As well as booking a seat for the season, Zamparelli also discovered other benefits to being part of a programme linked to Formula One. “For the first time in my career, I’ll actually have a proper pre-season testing programme and I will have time to develop with the car and the team – so I can’t wait! I go into every championship with the title as my main focus; and that’s exactly what I’ll be targeting.”
{note 1}
Yelloly enjoyed a rather decent spell in Formula Renault 3.5, taking two victories and three podiums during his twenty-three race spell in the series, culminating in taking 5th overall last year.
However, despite its positive reputation, FR3.5 may be taking a slight hit for residing in something of a no mans land on the road to Formula One. While several F1 teams are loosely connected to teams in the series, apart from Red Bull there appears to be little in the way of direct or even indirect promotion of talent.
The clearest example currently is Sauber third driver Robin Frijns, who had the nerve to win the FR3.5 championship in his début year. However with little hope for much Friday running at a Grand Prix, the Dutch racer has been left with little chance of a drive anywhere this year, unless he takes a spot in GP2.
{note 2}
At this week’s test at Estoril, Status GP ran Adderly Fong (Wednesday) and Melville McKee (Thursday and Friday) in their vacant third seat.
{note 3}
Webster enjoyed a relatively successful three seasons in the Formula Renault BARC Championship. Two years with Fortec (2010-11) brought 4th and 2nd in the standings respectively, garnering three wins and ten podia along the way.
A move to MGR in 2012 saw Webster earn the runner-up spot once again, this time collecting five wins and four podia; however the Chelmsford racer still fell shy of champion Scott Malvern.
During this time, Webster was also a finalist for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Awards, but lost out on that occasion to Formula Renault Eurocup racer Jake Dennis.
{note 4}
During the test at Estoril, Marussia Manor also ran Vicky Piria (all days), Tio Ellinas (Wednesday and Thursday) and twice Toyota Racing Series champion Nick Cassidy (Friday).
2013 GP3 Series field (as of February 23rd) ART GP: Facu Regalia, Jack Harvey, tba MW Arden: Carlos Sainz Jr, Robert Visoiu, Daniil Kvyat Carlin: Luis Sá Silva, Nick Yelloly, Eric Lichtenstein Jenzer: Samin Gómez, Patric Niederhauser, Alex Fontana Marussia Manor: Dino Zamparelli, tba, tba Status GP: Jimmy Eriksson, Josh Webster, tba Bamboo Engineering: Roberto La Rocca, tba, tba Trident: David Fumanelli, Emanuele Zonzini, tba Koiranen GP: Patrick Kujala, Aaro Vainio, Kevin Korjus
© GP3 Media Services.
Carlos Sainz Jr and Lewis Williamson made the best of the new GP3 Series machinery in the opening test at Estoril.
MW Arden’s Sainz Jr headed the opening two days, until Williamson (Bamboo Engineering) broke the Spaniard’s run with a fast run yesterday evening.
Cool temperatures helped bring the laptimes down on the opening day (Wednesday); so much so, the new GP3/13 began lapping the Portuguese circuit over three seconds quicker than the previous generation machines at the same track a year ago.
Carlin new boys Luis Sá Silva and Eric Lichtenstein were among the first to take the new cars on track, gifting the GP3/13’s throaty 400bhp engine a well received lift; however morning honours would eventually fall to Marussia Manor’s Tio Ellinas.
Daniil Kvyat also displayed plenty of speed during his stints, but it would be Sainz Jr who brought the best time of day one down to 1:26.816 in the final hour, as the cooling air allowed the Renault engines more room to breathe.
Upon the chequered flag, the Spaniard was delighted with his efforts: “So many people had said how difficult the GP3/13 car would be to drive and they were right! I was so surprised with the amount of power and speed, in particular through the corners. It’s very challenging for us and it’s a very good feeling driving a car with 400hp, we had a great base to start with so we will see what we can achieve.”
For Didier Perrin – GP3 Series Technical Director – Wednesday proved to be a proud day. “The car looks beautiful, it sounds fantastic and as anticipated it’s much quicker than the GP3/10. We have achieved over 650 laps on day one of testing. With more power, the car will be much more demanding for drivers’ therefore I am very confident that when we arrive in Barcelona for the first round, we will produce an even better show and a high level of exciting competition.”
Unlike the midweek opener, Thursday morning’s running was slowed due to heavy pre-session rain and heavy winds. But as the bleak outlook cleared, the twenty-seven strong field poured out for a further 833 laps.
David Fumanelli headed the morning times following a slow change to slicks; however Sainz Jr once again capitalised on changing weather conditions late on. Warmth crept across Estoril, with the emerging afternoon sun doing much to raise the track temperature and grip, while also lowering lap times.
After a day off on Thursday, Williamson returned to action with Bamboo yesterday to post the quickest time of the session. The team, new to GP3 {note 1}, made the most of the tricky Friday conditions to draw ahead of morning quick boys Kevin Korjus (Koiranen GP) and Sainz Jr.
The sun returned after lunch, eventually leading to a sly fall in lap times with slick tyres finally making an appearance in the finally couple of hours. Numerous red flags made for a stuttered day’s running, but it was Williamson who emerged on top as race simulations began to take hold.
Throughout the opening two days, the GP3/13 suffered no failures, although a few minor gremlins crept into the machines as the final day progressed – an impressive effort for the GP3/13’s first official test.
The series is set to run again at Barcelona on March 12th and 13th.
{note 1}
On Monday, Atech CRS announced that they were joining forces with Bamboo Engineering to field three cars in the GP3 Series from the start of this season until 2015. Bamboo are by no means novices in top level motorsport – indeed the British company do enjoy a solid reputation in the WTCC, having finished runner-up in the Independent’s Trophy in 2010, following their takeover of Tempus Sport in 2009.
The team announced on Thursday that Venezuelan racer Roberto La Rocca is to race for their GP3 Series effort this season. La Rocca last year won the North American F2000 Championship – not to be confused with the US F2000 Series – with HP Tech, taking eleven wins in fourteen races. He is a prodigy of Ralph Firman.
2013 GP3 Series pre-season test (Wednesday February 20th) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Carlos Sainz Jr MW Arden 1m26.816s 29 2. Daniil Kvyat MW Arden 1m27.616s 27 3. Tio Ellinas Manor 1m27.681s 19 4. David Fumanelli Trident 1m27.714s 26 5. Kevin Korjus Koiranen 1m27.846s 25 6. Robert Visoiu MW Arden 1m27.871s 24 7. Giovanni Venturini Trident 1m28.021s 30 8. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer 1m28.068s 42 9. Facu Regalia ART 1m28.112s 27 10. Conor Daly ART 1m28.309s 28 11. Jack Harvey ART 1m28.509s 21 12. Patrick Kujala Koiranen 1m28.614s 24 13. Aaro Vainio Koiranen 1m28.791s 19 14. Alex Fontana Jenzer 1m28.844s 28 15. Nick Yelloly Carlin 1m29.019s 28 16. Adderly Fong Status 1m29.029s 26 17. Emanuele Zonzini Trident 1m29.159s 28 18. Dino Zamparelli Manor 1m29.201s 30 19. Josh Webster Status 1m29.417s 27 20. Samin Gomez Jenzer 1m29.682s 35 21. Vicky Piria Manor 1m29.816s 27 22. Eric Lichtenstein Carlin 1m29.852s 27 23. Ethan Ringel Bamboo 1m30.266s 27 24. Luis Sa Silva Carlin 1m30.477s 26 25. Jimmy Eriksson Status 1m30.694s 29 26. Lewis Williamson Bamboo 1m31.142s 9 27. Roberto La Rocca Bamboo 1m31.313s 13
2013 GP3 Series pre-season test (Thursday February 21st) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Carlos Sainz Jr MW Arden 1m27.654s 31 2. Giovanni Venturini Trident 1m27.939s 26 3. Tio Ellinas Manor 1m27.971s 40 4. Conor Daly ART 1m28.026s 32 5. Daniil Kvyat MW Arden 1m28.071s 34 6. Kevin Korjus Koiranen 1m28.151s 29 7. Alex Fontana Jenzer 1m28.156s 26 8. David Fumanelli Trident 1m28.261s 27 9. Jack Harvey ART 1m28.517s 22 10. Facu Regalia ART 1m28.722s 28 11. Patrick Kujala Koiranen 1m28.729s 27 12. Nick Yelloly Carlin 1m28.734s 29 13. Emanuele Zonzini Trident 1m28.787s 37 14. Dino Zamparelli Manor 1m29.045s 32 15. Aaro Vainio ART 1m29.191s 26 16. Robert Visoiu MW Arden 1m29.342s 22 17. Samin Gomez Jenzer 1m29.556s 35 18. Roberto La Rocca Bamboo 1m29.570s 26 19. Jimmy Eriksson Status 1m29.574s 34 20. Josh Webster Status 1m29.640s 34 21. Ethan Ringel Bamboo 1m29.748s 22 22. Eric Lichtenstein Carlin 1m29.768s 40 23. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer 1m29.808s 32 24. Melville McKee Status 1m30.241s 43 25. Vicky Piria Manor 1m30.383s 33 26. Luis Sa Silva Carlin 1m30.425s 33 27. Ryan Cullen Bamboo 1m31.347s 33
2013 GP3 Series pre-season test (Friday February 22nd) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Williamson Bamboo 1m27.675s 44 2. Daniil Kvyat MW Arden 1m27.763s 46 3. Robert Visoiu MW Arden 1m27.848s 66 4. Jack Harvey ART 1m28.080s 60 5. Dino Zamparelli Manor 1m28.139s 63 6. David Fumanelli Trident 1m28.159s 52 7. Alex Fontana Jenzer 1m28.179s 54 8. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer 1m28.212s 51 9. Facu Regalia ART 1m28.322s 60 10. Kevin Korjus Koiranen 1m28.372s 53 11. Giovanni Venturini Trident 1m28.385s 59 12. Emanuele Zonzini Trident 1m28.459s 57 13. Carlos Sainz Jr MW Arden 1m28.485s 52 14. Nick Cassidy Manor 1m28.522s 74 15. Conor Daly ART 1m28.923s 63 16. Aaro Vainio Koiranen 1m29.044s 74 17. Ethan Ringel Bamboo 1m29.076s 42 18. Nick Yelloly Carlin 1m29.104s 56 19. Patrick Kujala Koiranen 1m29.335s 41 20. Luis Sa Silva Carlin 1m29.341s 75 21. Vicky Piria Manor 1m29.461s 54 22. Josh Webster Status 1m29.648s 52 23. Eric Lichtenstein Carlin 1m29.823s 69 24. Samin Gomez Jenzer 1m30.177s 77 25. Roberto La Rocca Bamboo 1m30.399s 29 26. Melville McKee Status 1m31.780s 37 27. Jimmy Eriksson Status 1m32.761s 38
© GP3 Media Services.
And just as the previous GP3 Series post (written at absurd o’clock last night) goes live, Alex Fontana is confirmed as the third driver with Jenzer Motorsport.
In the interest of ease, I will just repeat what was posted earlier:
Meanwhile, according to Autosport {note 2}, ex-Formula Two racer and European F3 Open champion Alex Fontana will also slot in at Jenzer this season.
Having competed with the Swiss squad at Spa-Francorchamps and the Hungaroring last year, Fontana told TheMotorsportArchive.com at the time that he was looking forward to make the switch to GP3 with Jenzer should the funding be secured. The addition of Fontana and Gomez to Jenzer means they are the third GP3 team behind MW Arden and Koiranen GP to secure a full line-up.
Fontana was also named as part of the Lotus F1 Junior Team, alongside Marco Sorensen (Denmark) and Marlon Stockinger (Philippines), both Formula Renault 3.5; Oscar Tunjo (Colombia), Esteban Ocon (France) and Alexander Albon (Thailand), all Eurocup Formula Renault; and Dorian Boccolacci (France) who is to compete in the KF category in Go Kart International.
{note 1}
“Regalia, Sá Silva and Gómez confirm GP3 Series programmes”
{note 2}
“Alex Fontana to contest 2013 GP3 Series with Jenzer” (Autosport; Jamie O’Leary)
TheMotorsportArchive.com 