 |
|
The fifth and final Ferrari Driver
Academy course of the year has come to
an end; the programme’s aim is to help
talented youngsters involved in motorsport
around the world and at Fiorano it was
Sergio Perez (above), the Sauber F1 driver,
who was on track. |
|
Jules Bianchi |
 |
|
Sergio Perez |
|
|
|
|
|
Yesterday saw the fifth and final Ferrari Driver Academy
course of the year come to an end at the Fiorano
circuit. The programme’s aim is to help talented
youngsters involved in motorsport around the world and
on Wednesday it was Sergio Perez, the Sauber Formula 1
driver, who was on track, having joined the Maranello
nursery this year.
After a two day stint on the simulator, the Mexican got
behind the wheel of an F60, the Formula 1 car used by
the Scuderia back in 2009. Perez completed 46 laps with
a best time of 1.00.650. Next up in the cockpit was
Jules Bianchi, who joined the Academy in 2010: this year
he works with the Scuderia on car development. “Today,
we followed two different programmes with Perez and
Bianchi,” said Academy head, Luca Baldisserri. “Sergio
impressed, despite this being his first time at the
wheel of a Ferrari. He proved to be aggressive and quick
right from the start and was able to adapt to the car in
a very short space of time. He is very mature for his
age, displaying an understanding that goes beyond the
time he has spent driving single-seaters. With Bianchi,
who has been with us since last year, we used a car
fitted with special sensors to study the correlation
between the car on track and the simulator: many of his
laps were what I’d call ‘interlocutory’ because the main
aim of them was to acquire data.”
The Frenchman did 70 laps, the quickest being a
1.00.213. “We did a lot of laps and once again it was a
very useful experience for me,” said Bianchi. “These
laps all count a lot towards the future I’d like to have
in Formula 1. Now, I’m looking forward to the Young
Driver Test in Abu Dhabi and it will be very interesting
to go from the 2009 car to the 2011 one, as it will be a
good opportunity for me to try elements like DRS and
KERS for the very first time.” Sergio Perez was
naturally very enthusiastic about his first time in a
Ferrari. “This was a really special day for me,” said
the Mexican. “I want to thank Ferrari for giving me this
chance to improve and learn, given the limited number of
testing opportunities during the year. Driving a Ferrari
was a dream for me and it’s also important for my
career, learning with a team like this and experiencing
a different approach to the work.”
Asked about a possible future at Maranello, Sergio said
he still had a long way to go and was happy with his
current drive for Sauber. “I think there is room for me
to do well where I am and that’s my current target. It’s
impossible to say how things will go and my dream is to
become World Champion and it would be nice if it could
happen with a team like this one. I have got a lot out
of this time with the Ferrari Driver Academy. The work
on the simulator, the meetings with the engineers are
all things that will help me over the rest of the season
and in general in the future.”
|
|
|
