F1: Young Driver Test Gets Underway

Formula 1

F1: Young Driver Test Gets Underway

On a clear and crisp morning at Jerez Spain, F1's 'young driver' Formula One test kicked off Tuesday...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted December 01, 2009 Jerez, (ESP)

BMW is at Jerez to honor its promise to Alexander Rossi and Esteban Gutierrez. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Americans JR Hildebrand and Alexander Rossi were among a group of young hopefuls taking part in the first day of the unique ‘rookies only’ F1 test at Jerez, Spain Tuesday.

Nine F1 teams were in action in the only full test between the last race of 2009 in Abu Dhabi and the start of proper testing with 2010 machinery in February. What makes this week’s session interesting is that the FIA has restricted it to drivers who have started no more than two Grands Prix. In fact nobody taking part has started a race yet, and only Nico Hulkenberg of Williams has a guaranteed race seat.

Rossi appeared in a BMW Sauber (in the Swiss team’s final outing with a Munich powerplant), while Indy Lights champion Hildebrand is running with Force India this week. The latter only drove in the morning, and was fifth fastest when he had to hand the car to DTM racer Paul di Resta. He will have another half day on Wednesday.

“I was really impressed with the ability of the car,” said Hildebrand. “It is different in every way to what I'm used to, both in terms of the outright speed, but also in terms of the characteristics of the car and how it behaves, brakes and drives through corners. Having raced on ovals I'm used to a high top speed, so that wasn't too much of a shock, but the amount of load it runs and how much speed you can carry through the corner took some getting used to.

“The track was clearly improving throughout the morning, so based on the program we were running, in terms of relative pace we were doing pretty well. I felt I was getting there and was starting to get the most out of the car, particularly towards the end of the morning. I think we still had some free time in the car. I lost my best lap by using a bit too much of the road and on my last run I just flat spotted the tyres straight out of the pits, which made a drastic difference in how good the car was and I really couldn't get the ultimate lap time from it. It was a little bit frustrating from the standpoint of losing the last two runs, but we were fifth quickest when my day was effectively done so I was pretty happy with my first outing.”

Rossi won his ride by virtue of his success in last year’s BMW finals. The team was happy with his performance today, and his times reflected the fact that he did not go out with an ultra low fuel load. He finished the day seventh overall.

“I very much enjoyed this day,” he said. “It is impressive what the car does, how predictable and precise its reactions are, and how high the overall grip level is. But I have to admit I am also a little bit disappointed because being a racing driver you always want to be the fastest! I think in the afternoon we didn’t manage to find the perfect balance. Physically I have to say it was as demanding as I expected it would be. The power steering is a great help compared to GP2, but the g forces obviously are higher.”

18-year-old Mexican Esteban Gutierrez will replace Rossi on Wednesday. Other potential stars of the future running today included Andy Souckek (quickect for Williams), Jules Bianchi (Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Oliver Turvey (McLaren), Marcus Ericsson (Brawn) and Bertrand Baguette (Renault). IndyCar racer Mike Conway, a former Honda test driver, was in action for Brawn.

Unofficial times from Jerez Tuesday:

1. Andy Soucek, Williams, 1:19.158

2. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:19.369

3. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:19.426

4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:19.534

5. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1:19.626

6. Mike Conway, Brawn GP, 1:19.920

7. Alexander Rossi, BMW Sauber, 1:20.227

8. Marcus Ericsson, Brawn GP, 1:20.333

9. Bertrand Baguette, Renault, 1:20.511

10. JR Hildebrand, Force India, 1:20.537

11. Oliver Turvey, McLaren, 1:20.856

12. Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso, 1:21.325

Photos: 2009 Young Drivers Test At Jerez Spain