Driver Database News

Formula Renault Eurocup and NEC front-runner Adrian Quaife-Hobbs has successfully completed his first World Series by Renault test, the 18 year-old completing around 75 laps of the Motorland Aragon circuit. Last weekend the BRDC Rising Star brought his 2009 race season to a close in Spain, but stayed on to test a Comtec Racing Car in the first official WSR tests.

Adrian joined many of his Formula Renault rivals as well as several drivers who have previously contested the series, with Adrian only venturing out on track on the second of the two days. In Wednesday’s opening session of two, the Tonbridge teenager adapted quickly to the increased horsepower of the 3.5 litre car and he wound up a very impressive sixth quickest on his first ever time in the car.

The second session allowed Adrian to improve his lap times considerably and close down the gap to the quickest time, the former double T-Cars champion ending up fourth fastest, a little over three tenths off. In the session, he was beaten only by two drivers from the 2009 WSR championship and another driver, in his second full day in the car.

“It was a fantastic experience driving a World Series by Renault car and I’m very happy with how quickly I adapted,” said Adrian. “Comtec Racing was an excellent team and I think we worked together very well.

“To end the session fourth quickest, behind two drivers who have competed in the championship this season and another who had the benefit of another day under his belt, I feel is a good result. With more time in the car, I’m sure I could have gone even quicker.

“Now we have to consider our options for 2010. We tested British F3 last week with T-Sport and now this week in WSR and both the championships, teams and cars have their advantages. There are however lots of things to take into consideration before we decide, but hopefully it’s a decision we can make quite quickly.”

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Carlin team in Nuburgring this weekend, as the team’s Formula Renault 3.5 drivers Oliver Turvey and Jaime Alguersuari enjoyed strong races on Saturday, but mixed results on Sunday. Turvey made the most of his sixth place grid slot in race one to finish fourth, while Alguersuari was on a charge to finsh in fifth. Race two however was a different story, with Turvey retiring due to a mechanic problem and Alguersuari managing to cling on to sixth place.

Both drivers maintained a 100 per success rate in making it through to the Super Pole session on Saturday. With only the top 12 drivers making it through to the 10 minute Super Pole session, Turvey continued his good form to qualify third, while Alguersuari battled with understeer to qualify tenth.

The first race of the weekend kicked off on Saturday and saw the top eight qualifiers from Super Pole reversed. Turvey therefore lined up sixth with Alguersuari tenth. Turvey made a fantastic start and did well to make it round after being squeezed at the first corner. Alguerusari meanwhile had made a lightning start and had catapulted up to fifth place.

The Carlin duo both saw some scrappy racing as the race continued and did well to avoid any accidents as they were passed by John Lancaster and Fairuz Fauzy which pushed them down the order. However, Lancaster was later handed a 10 second penalty, which moved the Carlin racers back up a place. As the race came to a close Turvey and Alguersuari were line astern, with Turvey crossing the line in fourth place, and Alguersuari fifth.

As the drivers lined up for race two, Turvey took his third place grid slot with Alguersuari once again lining up in tenth. While Alguersuari managed to keep his tenth place, Turvey dropped to seventh after losing out at the start. Having dropped down the order, Turvey found himself in stuck in traffic, prompting the team to pit Turvey early to give him space on track. Following quick in and out laps and a fast stop by the Carlin team, the Racing Steps Foundation driver had made up one place by the time he returned to the track. Turvey’s fortunes changed on lap 16 however, when a mechanical problem put him into retirement.

Alguersauri meanwhile was moving gradually up the order. Following a quick pit stop, the F1 racer was sixth, the position he would retain to the chequered flag.

Alguersuari said, “I don’t think this weekend was one of our strongest of the season; I was suffering from understeer in qualifying and again in the races. We made a lot of changes to the car before the second race, and I think the car we had at the end was probably the best it had been all weekend. I think we should be fairly happy with the results this weekend, you have to have some difficult races and some good races to keep learning. I think we have to look forward to the next race at Motorland which will be tough as no-one knows the track, but at the same time it will be exciting.”

After all the setbacks of recent race-weekends in the Renault World Series 3.5, Chris van der Drift was hoping for a problem free time at the new circuit of Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal over the weekend. And it was looking very promising with a front row start in the weekend’s first scheduled race. However the satisfaction of starting on grid two turned quickly into disappointment when the Kiwi was hit from behind in turn one just after race start. Race two brought the New Zealander more fortune, with a seventh place finish, and four points in the championship.

After having to contend with brake issues in the Thursday testing session, the team renewed the complete system in readiness for Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions. Despite a small gearbox problem, and a driver on a slow down lap, the current Formula Master Champion ensured himself of a Row One start for the first race, and a grid eight start for the second race, also held on the Saturday.

A possible win, however, was not to be. A hit from behind by team-mate Dani Clos in the first corner made it impossible to continue racing, leaving the New Zealander with no choice but to park his car in pit-lane. It later transpired that Clos had a problem with his gearbox attributing to the collision between the two Euskadi Epsilon team drivers. “I had seen that Dani wasn’t that close to me after the race had started”, said Van der Drift. “I chose to tuck in behind the leader heading into the corner, and suddenly I had a hard hit from behind by my team-mate. I couldn’t believe it. It was just so disappointing; it was quite possible to finish in a podium position even to win the race. Again more trouble for me. And the thing is it must also be so disappointing for the team, we could have both finished with a great result.”

Due to the hot temperatures at the circuit, several of the 3.5litre Renault motors expired during testing and others were found to be damaged and needed replacing. After qualifying, it was also found that the New Zealander’s motor was damaged and needed replacement. Due to the collision in race one, it was only in race two that it could be seen that the setup of the new motor was not ideal. “The car seemed to feel ok, but I was lacking top end speed”, explained Van der Drift. “The car was good in the corners but trying to slipstream down the straight to make a pass was next to impossible”. The Kiwi finally finished the race in seventh position.

The following World Series by Renault races are scheduled for the weekend of 18 to 20 September at the German circuit of Nürburgring.

Van der Drift sincerely thanks his sponsors: Racing Pool, National Meats Ltd, BMW Ekris, Arai Helmet en Oakley.

Chris van der Drift is proud to be one of New Zealand motor racing’s Black Bullets. To find out more about our Black Bullets go to www.blackbullets.com

Results: Race 1 :World Series by Renault 3.5, Portimao, Portugal, Saturday 01 August:
1 Jon Lancaster (GBR), Comtec Racing, 21 laps in 36:45.926
2 Bertrand Baguette (BEL), International Draco Racing, +0.568
3 Jaime Alguersuari (ESP), Carlin Motorsport, +1.110
DNF Chris van der Drift (NZL), Epsilon Euskadi

Results: Race 2 :World Series by Renault 3.5, Portimao, Portugal, Saturday 01 August:
1 Jaime Alguersuari (ESP), Carlin Motorsport, 22 laps in 37:57.020
2 Charles Pic (FRA), Tech 1 Racing, +1.448
3 Guillaume Moreau (FRA), KMP Group, +1.848
7 Chris van der Drift (NZL), Epsilon Euskadi, +5.696

Championship Standings World Series by Renault 3.5 after 13 races:
1 Bertrand Baguette (BEL), International Draco Racing, 110 points
2 James Walker (GBR), P1 Motorsport, 79 points
3 Jaime Alguersuari (ESP), Carlin Motorsport, 74 points
11 Chris van der Drift (NZL), Epsilon Euskadi, 33 points

The pre-race expectations were respected at Portimao by Prema Powerteam, as the Italian squad finally made its way back to the points zone at Portimao. thanks to a great performance by Filip Salaquarda. The Czech driver ended up in 10th place after starting from 20th, winning several duels including a particularly hard one with Niebilitskiy, who closed the door towards the pit wall.

“Salaquarda has come to the World Series Renault later this season – told Team Manager René Rosin – and he had to adapt to this type of cars. Without the chance to test, he had a tough time in getting a good feeling, but he eventually made it on such a difficult racetrack”. On Race 2, Salaquarda ended up in 12th, at the end on another convincing performance.

Julian Leal’s weekend was way less lucky, as he was hit by Ricciardo after taking off from 20th, and eventually finished in the 18th spot as he lost ground to the pack. On Race 2, he improved slightly after starting from 23rd, and took 17th. “We’re sorry for what happened to our rookie driver – told Rosin – because he had a good chance to shine as well. Unfortunately, a contact compromised a weekend of work at its very start”.

After the summer break, the World Series Renault will be back running on September 20 at the Nurburgring.

The World Series Renault hit the track this morning at the wonderful Portimao Racetrack in Algarve. The venue, close to the Ocean Shore, is hosting the championship as a supporting event for the Le Mans Series. Unlike the other occasions the two races will be held on Saturday, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Prema Powerteam and its two drivers Filip Salaquarda and Julian Leal spent some time in trying to get a grip on the extremely tough Portugal racetrack, featuring huge hillclimbs, falls and fast corners. The on-track temperature of about 35 degrees was lightened by wind. The 24 cars of the field were divided in two groups, and the two Prema men were inserted in the A Group. After a really promising start, Filip Salaquarda lost progressively ground and ended up in 10th, right in front of Leal. The will start Race 1 from row 10 and row 11.

“Practice handed us some great impressions – expl ains Team Manager René Rosin – and this morning’s 5th time left us with a real hope for Qualifying. Unfortunately, the weather made for us difficult to find the best set-up and our drivers suffered from an huge oversteer. The race will be long, and heat will be part of the package too. We hope to climb up on Race 1 and play our best moves on Race 2″

On the last 19th of July, Prema Powerteam entered the 6th round of the 2009 World Series Renault 3.5. In front of an huge crowd, as reports talk about more than 110.000 spectators for the two days, the team founded by Angelo Rosin didn’t match the pre-race expectation in terms of results. After taking respectively 11th and 13th, both Filip Salaquarda and Julian Leal ended their Race 1 experience before the checkered flag. On race 2, Salaquarda ended up in 16th, while Leal had to stop into the pits due to a technical issues and was classified in 20th.

“We still have a lot of work to do – told Team Manager René Rosin – our margin is still quite high and we have to keep making steps forward in the last three round of the championship at Portimao, Nurburgring and Alcaniz to establish ourself in the middle of the pack.”

Carlin’s Formula Renault 3.5 racer Jaime Alguersuari was announced as F1 driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso this week and will take up his F1 duties at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend – becoming the youngest ever driver to take part in an F1 event. The Spanish racer has spent nearly two seasons with the British Carlin Motorsport team in preparation for his F1 opportunity. Here we talk to him about how that experience has helped prepare for the highest echelon of single seater motorsport………

Do you feel your seasons in F3 and World Series have helped prepare you for F1?

British F3 is a really nice championship, you find really nice and difficult tracks, and of course the weather is sometimes a challenge! So you learn a lot. It’s a long championship with lots of testing, so there’s a lot of track experience. You also learn a lot about developing a car in F3, which I think will be helpful. British F3 has been very important in my career and I will never forget that.

I think World Series is completely different – some of the drivers have been in the championship for many more years than I have and I think that gives them an added benefit. In the end I am a young driver always in the top five and pushing hard so I think we are doing ok for our first year.

Do you intend to continue with your Formula Renault 3.5 programme at the same time as racing in Formula1?

I think that is the aim; I am a young driver, so I need to do as many races as possible. I need to experience as many situations as possible. For me, for sure it would be good because it would give me more experience and of course there are no clashes with Formula 1, so there is not really a reason not to do it. If it becomes an issue, then obviously we may have to reconsider.

Do you think it will be an issue switching from one car to another?

Usually it is better to stick with one car, but in this instance it may be best for me to be in two cars, learning as much as possible, and I know Red Bull will make the decision that is best for me. The main thing is to learn.

Obviously F1 should be and will be your priority now, but what are your aims for the remaining World Series races?

I am a very young driver at only 19, so I still need to do lots of races. I am really aiming to win in World Series. What I need is some more races and more experience. Every session we improve and get better. For sure after three more races I will be better and know more than I do now – that is surely good for my driving in F1.

Did you think 18 months ago when you testing an F3 car week after week in the rain in Britain that you might be making your F1 debut so soon?!

No never! It’s a dream come true. What I have to do now is just enjoy the moment and work as hard as possible. It’s a fantastic opportunity that I have been given, so I must enjoy it and reward the faith that Red Bull have shown in me.

Yet another weekend full of issues for Kiwi race car driver Chris van der Drift, but more importantly the speed in his Formula Renault 3.5 car showed an obvious improvement in pace over that experienced in the season to date. The gap in lap times to that of the front runners closed over the weekend, the 23 year old New Zealander now hoping that he gets a bit more luck in the next event to be held in Portugal. At the French circuit of Le Mans, Van der Drift lost his front wing when an errant driver came back on track un-expectantly in his path in race one, and in race two he received a 10 second penalty which he felt was unwarranted.

The progress the team had made since the previous race weekend was highly noticeable. From the first moments of the Friday collective test, Van der Drift was able to push and this resulted in the seventh fastest time of the day. With a feeling of anticipation, the New Zealander began the Saturday qualifying session, hoping to finish at least sixth fastest to go through to the superpole. While the gap to the front runners had shrunk considerably, this was not to be. “It’s a real pity we came so close to making superpole, but at least it is now only some 4/10ths off the best time. Earlier this season it was a good second off”, said Van der Drift.

Starting from 14th grid, the 2008 Formula Master champion had a fantastic race one start climbing up to eighth position after a couple of corners, and challenging for seventh with Marcos Martinez. However this short conflict finished badly for both drivers and saw the opportunity for points vanish, Van der Drift having to seek the pits for a new front wing and Martinez with a flat tyre. “We both braked late, but he left the track in doing so. As he came back on track he caught my front wing damaging it”, said the disappointed driver. After pitting for the front wing, the New Zealander found himself completely at the back of the field, but after a solid drive in the remainder of the race finally finished in 15th position, with lap times being close to those running at the front of the field.

That gave hope for the second race over 44 minutes plus a lap, and a compulsory pitstop, to be raced on Sunday. At the start of that race the New Zealander promptly gained four positions moving up into twelfth spot. Until the pitstops began, the Kiwi held his own in this position, racing as high as fifth before pitting himself for the mandatory change of two tyres. Once clear of all the pitstops the Epsilon Euskadi driver was in tenth position, and shortly later had ninth position.  However a set back was to occur in this race also. A car exiting pitlane just in front of the Kiwi had both drivers braking heavily going into the first corner, both leaving the track and cutting through the chicane. “We both went straight through the chicane, but only I received a ten second penalty. Race control wasn’t consistent today as more drivers missed a part of the chicane and they only received a warning”.

At that particular moment a time penalty would make no difference as the gap between the Kiwi and the next driver was more than ten seconds. But Van der Drift, together with the driver in front of him, caught a small group of drivers whose pace was slower than their own, meaning that those following also had a chance to draw closer. Eventually the New Zealander crossed the line in ninth, but was relegated to eleventh due to the penalty.

Despite the problems he had, the New Zealander had a good feeling over what was achieved over the weekend. “As regards race speed we are much better. I need to thank the team for that, we are finally near the pace of the front guys and we will now take what has been learned with us to the new circuit in Portugal. We have had enough problems, now we need to qualify for the superpole so that we can begin races from more in the front of the field. That should improve our chances and avoid the sort of problems we had this weekend”, said Van der Drift.

The following World Series by Renault races are to be held over the weekend of 1-2 August at the circuit in Portimão, Portugal.

Van der Drift sincerely thanks his sponsors: Racing Pool, National Meats Ltd, BMW Ekris, Arai Helmet and Oakley.

Jaime Alguersuari and Oliver Turvey took a podium each for Carlin Motorsport this weekend, with two third places at the Le Mans round of the Formula Renault 3.5 championship. Alguersuari took third place in the second race today, while Turvey took his consecutive third place in race one yesterday. The Racing Steps Foundation driver had looked good for more solid points today, until a problem in his mandatory pit stop dropped him down the order.

With both Carlin drivers having made it through to Super Pole on Saturday, both Turvey and Alguersuari started in the top 12, Turvey qualifying third, with Alguersuari fifth.

With the top eight reversed for race one yesterday, Alguersuari lined up fourth, with Turvey sixth. Both drivers made a clean start despite a long wait for the lights to go out, although Alguersuari dropped to fourth, while Turvey moved up to fifth. Turvey stayed close to his Carlin team mate for duration of the race, keeping the Spanish racer under pressure until a locked brake on lap 23 caused Alguersuari to run wide, allowing Turvey to surge through to fourth. Unbeknown to Turvey, the British racer had just claimed the final podium spot, with second placed man Marco Barba having been handed a ten second time penalty for exceeding track limits, which also put Alguersuari fourth.

Lining up for race two today, Turvey was third with Alguersuari fifth. At the start Turvey dropped to sixth place, just behind team mate Alguersuari in fifth. With all drivers required to make a mandatory pit stop in today’s race, Alguersuari was the first Carlin driver to pit for new tyres on lap six, returning to the track following a quick stop by the Carlin crew. Team mate Turvey made his stop a few laps later, but a problem with the rear left wheel nut delayed his exit, meaning the British racer lost several places on track.

With all drivers having made their pit stop, Alguersuari had made up one place to lie third, while Turvey had dropped to 13th. Currently the top rookie in the series, Turvey pushed hard to make up for his misfortune in the pits and crossed the line in 11th place. Alguersuari meanwhile took his first Formula Renault 3.5 podium and finished as top rookie.

Commenting on his podium, Alguersuari said, “We had a good race, I think we are definitely making progress, so it was nice to see that rewarded with a third place today. For sure we still have a lot to do, in particular in improving front end grip. We need to focus now on raising our game and arriving at each race with the possibility to win.”

Speaking about his podium on Saturday Turvey said, “Qualifying went well, and we made a good improvement in Super Pole to qualify third. I got a good start and was able to overtake Charles Pic and got alongside Jaime but couldn’t get by. We had good pace and then Jaime made a mistake in turn four and I was able to get past him. I didn’t realise that we were competing for a podium, but it was great to finish third in the reverse grid race.”

Team principal added Trevor Carlin added, “With the quality of the drivers in the team this year, I’m not surprised to see both of them challenging for podiums and once again they have been consistently amongst the front runners all weekend. It’s a great shame that Oliver lost out on a probable fourth place today due to a problem in the pit stop, which wasn’t his fault at all, but he can be very proud of his pace and racing this weekend.”