|
Today will be a special day for
Jules Bianchi. At Jerez de
la Frontera, the young
French driver will make his debut at the wheel
of a Formula 1 car, driving a Ferrari F60. This
will also mark his track debut as a Scuderia
driver, as Bianchi is
tied to the Maranello squad
with a multi-year contract,
confirming Ferrari’s
commitment to young talent,
a policy of which Felipe
Massa is a prime example.
Further and more far
reaching initiatives will be
established in the near
future.
Bianchi is
just twenty years old, but
his track record is already
pretty impressive: French
Formula A karting champion
in 2006, winner of the
national Formula Renault
title in 2007, third in the
2008 Formula 3 Euroseries
and first in the Masters
category at Zolder, winner
of the Drivers’ and Teams’
championship with ART Grand
Prix in this year’s Formula
Euroseries. Racing is very
much in the blood of the
Bianchi family: his
grandfather Mauro was a
three time winner of the
world title in the GT
category, his great-uncle
Lucien had several
successes, including winning
Le Mans in 1969 in a Ford
and the 1962 12 Hours of
Sebring with Ferrari, as
well as competing in 19
Formula 1 Grands Prix.
Ferrari released this
interview with Bianchi made when he was in
Maranello recently to be
briefed by his engineers
ahead of the Jerez test.
How do
you feel going into this
test?
“I am more
than happy! It is difficult
for me to explain how I
feel, but it is something
special. I know this is the
first step on a journey that
could turn out very nicely,
but I’m equally aware that
there is still a long way to
go to get to Formula 1. In
fact, next year, I’m
competing in GP2 with ART
Grand Prix and that will be
the series in which I have
to prove my worth.”
What were
your first impressions of
Maranello?
“Before
coming to the Gestione
Sportiva, I had not yet
realised just what this
meant. I have to say it was
an absolutely fantastic
feeling, getting into the
F60 cockpit to prepare for
the Jerez test. I also had a
go on the simulator to get
my confidence up with the
steering wheel and all its
buttons and switches. It
will be important for me to
go well on track, to get to
know the car and, step by
step, to grow as a driver,
thanks to the support of the
team. Lap times definitely
won’t count for much…”
Where do
you see yourself in a year’s
time?
“I hope to
finish in the top three in
GP2 and to have shown my
talent so that I can move up
still further. If things
didn’t go that well, then it
would be further motivation
to do well the following
year. One thing’s for sure,
I’m not the sort to let
adversity get me down.”
Bianchi will
drive the F60 for two days,
before making way for three
very young colleagues. As in
2008, Ferrari, in
collaboration with the CSAI,
will give the top three
finishers in the Italian
Formula 3 Championship –
Italians Daniel Zampieri and
Marco Zipoli and the
Mexican, Pablo Sanchez Lopez
– the opportunity over the
course of the day, to take
turns at the wheel of the
car that competed in this
year’s Formula 1 world
championship.
|
