So as Formula 1 looks on to the first race of the season, there is still one race seat left to be decided.
This vacant drive currently dominates the talk, ahead of what looks to be a very exciting season ahead. Both Adrian Sutil and Jules Bianchi are in with a shot at the drive, so who will get it? Time will tell, but here I look at both drivers past careers and chances.
So Force India are leaving it pretty late to confirm their second driver, Paul Di Resta has done the bulk of the work and is sitting pretty. Whoever his team mate will be, Sutil and Bianchi have both only had around one day of running in the VJM06, immediate advantage to the Scot.
Numerous names have been linked with the drive. Bianchi has always been a strong contender, Sutil's name popped up soon after. Ex-Toro Rosso racer Jaime Alguersuari was also said to be in talks with the team, whilst Heikki Kovalainen and Narain Karthikeyan (I know! Madness!) were mentioned. However we are now down to two, a straight shoot out (not literally of course) for the drive.
On paper, Sutil seems to be the safe bet. He knows the Silverstone based team well, first driving for them when they were under ownership from Spyker. The German has been with them since the beginning, and whilst his career was slow to lift off by his last season in the car, he had improved immensely.
On the other hand, Jules Bianchi is no slouch. In the feeder series he has impressed, the Frenchman is a Formula Renault and Formula 3 champion. He was also runner up to Robin Frijns in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 championship, and has twice finished third in the GP2 championship. Pretty impressive stats, but in comparison to Sutil his F1 experience is significantly lower.
That is to say Bianchi has not had his fair share of F1 drives, just he has never raced in the sport. He has tested for Ferrari on four occasions, he was in their Ferrari Driver Academy alongside Sergio Perez. Bianchi also tested for Force India in nine FP1 sessions and the young driver test, held at the Magny Cours circuit.
The time just has not arrived yet for Bianchi. Twice a test and reserve driver, for Ferrari in 2011 and Force India in 2012, he is now looking at a full time drive. But the Sahara owned team have already made it known that their original plan was to keep him on as a test driver, but Nico Hulkenberg's departure took them somewhat by surprise.
So from experience in a Formula 1 car, Bianchi is realistically no rookie to a car of that calibre but Sutil has had the key race experience. He has scored 95 points so far in his F1 career, the majority of those coming in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The German has yet to stand on the podium and is hungry to try and get there, could his 90 race starts put the ball more in to his court?
They both drove the VJM06 at the second winter test, Sutil on the dry Thursday and Bianchi on a rather damp Friday. Both looked strong, Bianchi ended the day fourth fastest in the tricky conditions, a commendable effort. Sutil looked on it from the start, back at home. Despite the lowly eighth on the time sheets, it was like he had never been gone.
Force India have a tricky decision on their hands, the team may say it is more about the talent but if it was they would have come to a decision by now.
It is clear to me that money is one of the key factors. In Formula 1's current guise, it always is. There is also the future to look at, Mercedes look to be the more expensive engine manufacturer to go for in 2014 when the Turbo V6's come in to play.
Many are speculating that, should Bianchi get the role, the Force India squad will switch to Ferrari, whom Bianchi has strong ties with. This will save them money, as people expect Mercedes to have the more expensive engine, and will fill Ferrari's documented hunger to supply a third F1 team.
And then there is sponsorship, who will bring the most money? Whilst Vijay Mallya's other efforts are reportedly crumbling, the F1 team is said to be financially stable. This is made evident by the £50 million investment made by shareholders for 2013 and onwards. Sutil has strong sponsorship from electronics firm Medion, soft drinks producer Capri-Sonne among many others. Bianchi has backing from Ferrari, most notably clothing firm Puma and Oakley.
Of course the drivers have many more sponsors which bring their investment to the team in to the millions of pounds, but it is safe to say that both driver talent and money will be the main reasons. In my mind, I think Bianchi should get the chance. Sutil had his chance, kind of blew it with that night club incident and never really stood out that much, he was quick but not in the way Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso or even the likes of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, who look set to join them at the top in the near future.
Whilst Bianchi has no racing experience, he has proved himself in feeder series and has strong backing and the trust of Ferrari. That is a good point really. If Formula 1's most famous and respected squad have trust in him, shouldn't Force India too?
This story will play out over the next week or so, we will have to wait and see what the decision is.Whatever the outcome, it will be very interesting to see how they fare during the season.
This vacant drive currently dominates the talk, ahead of what looks to be a very exciting season ahead. Both Adrian Sutil and Jules Bianchi are in with a shot at the drive, so who will get it? Time will tell, but here I look at both drivers past careers and chances.
So Force India are leaving it pretty late to confirm their second driver, Paul Di Resta has done the bulk of the work and is sitting pretty. Whoever his team mate will be, Sutil and Bianchi have both only had around one day of running in the VJM06, immediate advantage to the Scot.
Numerous names have been linked with the drive. Bianchi has always been a strong contender, Sutil's name popped up soon after. Ex-Toro Rosso racer Jaime Alguersuari was also said to be in talks with the team, whilst Heikki Kovalainen and Narain Karthikeyan (I know! Madness!) were mentioned. However we are now down to two, a straight shoot out (not literally of course) for the drive.
 |
| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
On the other hand, Jules Bianchi is no slouch. In the feeder series he has impressed, the Frenchman is a Formula Renault and Formula 3 champion. He was also runner up to Robin Frijns in the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 championship, and has twice finished third in the GP2 championship. Pretty impressive stats, but in comparison to Sutil his F1 experience is significantly lower.
That is to say Bianchi has not had his fair share of F1 drives, just he has never raced in the sport. He has tested for Ferrari on four occasions, he was in their Ferrari Driver Academy alongside Sergio Perez. Bianchi also tested for Force India in nine FP1 sessions and the young driver test, held at the Magny Cours circuit.
The time just has not arrived yet for Bianchi. Twice a test and reserve driver, for Ferrari in 2011 and Force India in 2012, he is now looking at a full time drive. But the Sahara owned team have already made it known that their original plan was to keep him on as a test driver, but Nico Hulkenberg's departure took them somewhat by surprise.
So from experience in a Formula 1 car, Bianchi is realistically no rookie to a car of that calibre but Sutil has had the key race experience. He has scored 95 points so far in his F1 career, the majority of those coming in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The German has yet to stand on the podium and is hungry to try and get there, could his 90 race starts put the ball more in to his court?
They both drove the VJM06 at the second winter test, Sutil on the dry Thursday and Bianchi on a rather damp Friday. Both looked strong, Bianchi ended the day fourth fastest in the tricky conditions, a commendable effort. Sutil looked on it from the start, back at home. Despite the lowly eighth on the time sheets, it was like he had never been gone.
Force India have a tricky decision on their hands, the team may say it is more about the talent but if it was they would have come to a decision by now.
It is clear to me that money is one of the key factors. In Formula 1's current guise, it always is. There is also the future to look at, Mercedes look to be the more expensive engine manufacturer to go for in 2014 when the Turbo V6's come in to play.
 |
| (c) Force India F1 Team |
And then there is sponsorship, who will bring the most money? Whilst Vijay Mallya's other efforts are reportedly crumbling, the F1 team is said to be financially stable. This is made evident by the £50 million investment made by shareholders for 2013 and onwards. Sutil has strong sponsorship from electronics firm Medion, soft drinks producer Capri-Sonne among many others. Bianchi has backing from Ferrari, most notably clothing firm Puma and Oakley.
Of course the drivers have many more sponsors which bring their investment to the team in to the millions of pounds, but it is safe to say that both driver talent and money will be the main reasons. In my mind, I think Bianchi should get the chance. Sutil had his chance, kind of blew it with that night club incident and never really stood out that much, he was quick but not in the way Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso or even the likes of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, who look set to join them at the top in the near future.
Whilst Bianchi has no racing experience, he has proved himself in feeder series and has strong backing and the trust of Ferrari. That is a good point really. If Formula 1's most famous and respected squad have trust in him, shouldn't Force India too?
This story will play out over the next week or so, we will have to wait and see what the decision is.Whatever the outcome, it will be very interesting to see how they fare during the season.
No comments:
Post a Comment