Force India Announce drivers for December test.
By Force India Press
November 24 2009
The Force India Formula One Team is delighted to confirm a dynamic, exciting driver line-up for the young driver test from 1 - 3 December 2009. Upcoming British driver Paul di Resta and current Indy Lights champion American JR Hildebrand will share driving duties of the VJM02 for the test in Jerez, Spain next week.
Twenty-three year old Paul and 21-year old JR were selected after outstanding performances in the team's simulator last month.
Paul, from West Lothian, Scotland, is a Mercedes works driver in the German touring car series, the DTM, and finished third overall with one win in the 2009 championship.
He also has an impressive record in the junior formulae, winning the 2006 Formula 3 Euroseries against a field including current F1 race winner Sebastian Vettel.
In 2004 Paul was awarded the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award for upcoming, stand-out young British racing talent.
JR, from California, USA, has quickly risen to prominence on the American racing scene thanks to impressive results in the junior formula and, most recently, his victory in Indy Lights, the feeder series to the USA's premier racing championship.
In 2006 he secured the Formula Ford 2000 championship title and in 2007 was the top placed US rookie in the Atlantic championship.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal of Force India, commented, 'We are delighted to have Paul and JR join us for the young driver test. Both of their showings in the simulator were excellent and we had no hesitations in offering them some valuable testing. We will be looking at their performance on track very closely and should they perform well, as we are confident they will, we will look at a permanent role for one within the team in 2010, potentially as a test and reserve driver. As a young team we are looking for drivers who can grow with us. As we've always said, nationality isn't the primary selection criteria - it's talent and dedication to the cause and we have seen enough to know that these two have both.'
Paul di Resta added, 'I am thrilled to be joining Force India for this test. It's been a while since I last tested an F1 car but I've been working hard in the simulator and giving it my all in the DTM so I'm confident I'll be up to speed quickly. It's an exciting opportunity for me as F1 has always been my dream and I feel this is taking me one step closer to achieving it. I'm realistic that I've got a lot to prove and that I need a bit more experience of the cars and the F1 environment before getting a permanent seat but this is just the beginning of what I hope will be a very bright future with Force India. I'd like to thank Mercedes for giving me this opportunity and to Force India for being so supportive.'
JR Hildebrand said, 'I'm ecstatic to get my first taste of F1. I've heard so much about the performance of the cars and know this is going to be quicker and more responsive than anything I've ever sat in before. I know it's a big challenge but I feel ready to tackle it. The aim is to learn the track and the car and then hopefully show my potential. As an American we don't necessarily have the culture of F1 but anything that's so impressive and cutting-edge demands respect. I hope I can do the car and myself justice. Thanks to everyone for making this happen, I can't wait to get to Jerez.'
The testing programme will be as follows:
Day one: JR (morning) / Paul (afternoon)
Day two: Paul (morning) / JR (afternoon)
Day three: TBA (dependent on progress of test programme)
Quick Paul di Resta facts:
- Paul has been competing in the DTM championship for the past three years. He made his debut in a two year-old Mercedes C-Klasse in 2007 and finished fifth overall in the final standings. His performance earned him a full-time works Mercedes drive in 2008. That year he claimed two wins and second overall
- In 2004 Paul won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year, following in the footsteps of his cousin Dario Franchitti and fellow Scotsman David Coulthard
- Paul has tested a McLaren F1 chassis twice, the last occasion coming in October 2008
- Paul is still based in Bathgate, Scotland, where he grew up. He is part of a racing 'dynasty' with cousins Dario Franchitti the current IndyCar champion and Marino Franchitti an accomplished sportscar driver
Quick JR Hildebrand facts:
- JR will be the first American racing driver to sit in a Formula 1 car since Scott Speed raced for Toro Rosso in the early stages of 2007. Prior to that Michael Andretti was the last American to compete in F1, back in 1993
- JR is the reigning Indy Lights champion
- JR started karting at age 14 in the Jim Russell Arrive and Drive Championship in California. He won his first-ever race and went on to win the series championship with four wins out of six races. In 2003 he raced in the Jr. 80cc Shifter class, finishing a close second in the standings, and at the end of that year made the transition to cars by winning the Jim Russell Graduate Runoffs, thus earning a free year of racing in the SCCA Formula Russell Championship Series for 2004. In 2006 he moved to Formula Ford 2000 before graduating to Formula Atlantic in 2007
- JR also holds a place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been granted a two year deferral to pursue his career in racing
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I hope that it goes well for him.
Darwin was right!
Jordan > Midland > Spyker > Force India
Ive followed them since the jordan days but if they sign that disgrace Piquet my love for the team will have gone lol
I think that any driver in F1 has a duty to bring this sort of thing to the attention of the ruling body because it's reckless and potentially damaging to the sport.
Piquet was superb in A1 just didn't get a good car in F1 and really put his career on the line to expose these cheats.
Darwin was right!
Jordan > Midland > Spyker > Force India
Quote:Bigpip
I think that any driver in F1 has a duty to bring this sort of thing to the attention of the ruling body because it's reckless and potentially damaging to the sport.
Piquet should have refused to do what was asked of him from the start - maybe even refused to get into the car for that GP, irregardless of what it meant to his immediate employment future (I rather suspect that it would have been alot better for his long-term future) & gone directly to Max/Bernie/Charlie/whoever right then & there.
I don't have any respect for a driver who turns in his team bosses after he follows their dangerous/unsportsmanlike instructions.
As to Piquet, he should never be given a chance in F1 again.
How can one agree to do such a drastic thing like crashing on purpose, to save your own a$$, to stay in the team, putting a black mark on F1 and endangering other drivers on track?
He came out in open, not to do a good deed, but when he was sure he is gonna be kicked out of the team.
He should be banned for LIFE.
Flavio and Pat are equally to blame, but if people like Piquet are ready to do any $hit to get a drive, why to blame them?
Crash your car or you're out of here...
I'm sure that he's sorry for his actions on the track but the management were wrong for even contemplating it in the first place.
Darwin was right!
Jordan > Midland > Spyker > Force India
If people are ready to be bribed, how can the one who bribe be only punished? Both are equally at fault.
It also shows that FI is likely to retain Sutil and Luizzi, which means that probably they would want to experienced hands to go hunting next season. I just hope, they don't end up like Ralf Schumacher in Toyota.
As for Nelson Piquet, he was a great driver in A1GP and I think coming under Flavio Briatore's management was the worst thing to happen to him. We may despise him for what he has done, but think again, we also have former world champion in the story (Alonso) and he has been just promoted to better team. Throughout the investigation, he claimed he was not aware of the fixing.I don't believe this 'cock and bull' story.
If I were to quit following FI or F1 if Piquet is back, I can as well quit now, because that red car with Alonso is most likely to start right from the front row...
in fact, no one in F1 can say that he never knew anything what the team does, cuz every team once in a while were involved in questionable acts, which drivers get to know, earlier or later.
May be many years later Alonso will write a book on his life and confess!!!
![[:wor kid:]](/phorum-5.1.15/mods/smileys/images/13.gif "[:wor kid:]")
...wonder what will be title of the book!I KNEW IT ALREADY, My Biography - F. Alonso
Index
- What a dog of a car - Reno is
- Lewis was the favoured but the faster too
- Ron Dennis, was a nice guy
- My 6 tenths that were never there
- How $$$ kicks ice-men out
- How to win on other's crash
hahaha!