Driver Database News

Andrea Caldarelli successfully completed his 2011 Formula Nippon season today at Fuji. After suffering from an unlucky break at Motegi last weekend, the Pescara-based Team Kondo racer rounded out a solid and highly-competitive weekend that brought him to a double 9th place in qualifying and at the end of the race. The final round of the season, named the Fuji Sprint Cup featured an unique qualifying format as well as a shortened race distance. Drivers run just a single qualifying lip in Super Pole style, then their position was determined by pairing their laptime with their top speed. While a third-row spot was definitely in his frame, Andrea settled for 9th and en-route to providing a really positive performance on Race Day. After being forced to lift the throttle at the first corner thus lifting three spots in avoidance of a contact, he made up all the ground lost finishing in the 9th position.

Andrea Caldarelli:
“I spent an incredibly beautiful year in Japan. I landed here in May, discovering a completely new reality for me, and it really became part of myself and my personality. Team Kondo have been really close to me and we truly helped each other to accomplish our common goals. At the start of the year, we were really far away from the top guys but with hard work now we’re battling in the middle of the pack.

“With wet weather I proved how fast can be both at Autopolis and Fuji. A lot of really important people in Japanese racing praised me and that’s been great. Now I’m set to be back in Europe to take part in the selections of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy where I hope not to suffer too much from the jet-lag and the huge physical effort of the last couple of weeks.”

The 5th round of the 2011 Formula Nippon, scheduled for this weekend at Suzuka, was canceled due to the adverse weather that plagued the Japanese venue. As a consequence, Andrea Caldarelli was forced to step off the cockpit, relinquishing what would have been a valuable chance to increase his experience in the series. The arrival of Cyclone Talas forced to reschedule all the racing activities before the races was eventually called off for good on Sunday. The promoter is now weighing the possibilities available to recover the round lost. The most likely scenario would see the Formula Nippon cars race in next November’s Sprint Cup at Fuji for points rather than just for exhibition purposes.

Andrea Caldarelli
“Losing the race at Suzuka has been a pity. First, I think it’s one of the best tracks in the World. Then, my season started there last May and it would have been great to check my progress on a circuit I already know in order to reduce my experience gap to the others. Despite this issue, the promoters did a fantastic job in creating a media event that established a great connection between drivers and fans. We were able to meet the fans and spend the day with them. The people here is great, so passionate. When the decision to cancel the weekend came, everybody was still on the grandstands under pouring rain just to wait if we would have started… they’ve been incredible. Now we’re already focusing on next round, set for September 25 at Sugo.”

Andrea Caldarelli was off to a really positive GP3 debut in the first round of the 2011 series at Istanbul park. The Abruzzo-based 21-year-old racer started from the front row, before ending up on the podium and scoring the fastest lap of race 1. After a great run in practice despite the wet asphalt, he clocked the fourth fastest lap in qualifying, before being promoted to second place due to a couple of post-session penalties. At the start of race 1, Caldarelli cruised to the lead but had to yeld in order to avoid a first-lap contact. He then held second place through the finish and scored an additional point for having clocked the fastest lap. On race 2, he didn’t make mistakes at the start as he recovered up to 5th place. On his path to a valuable top-5 finish, he provided some exciting duels and completed a sensational outside move at the first corner.

Andrea Caldarelli
“Fair play has been important since qualifying, and it’s great to see that’s normal in an international environment, and that drivers are actually penalized for breaking the rules. I was promoted from 4th to 2nd place and thanks to a good start I found myself in the lead. At the end of lap1 Melker moved on me, and I decided not to block him in order to avoid putting our results in jeopardy. I lost my chance for win at the re-start after the safety-car which went on-track for just two corners. We didn’t expect it to come back to the pits so early. I recovered the gap I had towards the lead as I also clocked the fastest lap of the race, but it hasn’t been enough. On race 2 I just got back all the spots I could in order to score the highest possible amount points. I want to thank all the Tech 1 team for their great support. We worked hard and developed a winning racecar in just one month…”

Andrea Caldarelli experienced the best weekend of his career in the Formula 3 Euro Series, ending up on the podium on Race 1, after taking of from the front row. The driver from Pescara, part of the Toyota Driver Program, overcame a technical issue suffered in Practice by his SG Formula Dallara-Mercedes, cruising to a stunning 2nd place at the end of Qualifying. Aware that his racer was capable to fight at the top, Caldarelli clocked his best lap ending up 65 thousands of a second off Jules Bianchi’s pole.

“It’s been fantastic for me to be back at the top of the charts after so many troubles – told Caldarelli – I could have even tackled to the pole, but I lost time for the yellow flags due to a spin by Vietoris”

After being moved on by Alexandre Sims, Caldarelli kept third place until checkered. “We’ve been waiting for so long, an the team put on-track a perfect car here at Barcelona. I was certain that the development was following a right path and it definitely paid off.”

On Race 2, Caldarelli took off from Row 4 but lost one spot after being blocked hard by Waldschmidt. He then caught the slipstream of Tiago Geronimi, who defended himself roughly, causing the Italian to brake and let Esteban Gutierrez go.

“I tried to do my race but when you’re blocked so hard at the first corner there’s nothing to be done. Tenth place is ok at the end of such a positive weekend…”

The seventh round of the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series was held this weekend over the Channel, at the short Brands Hatch Indy configuration. On the British racetrack, Toyota Driver Program’s Andrea Caldarelli had still to fight bad luck driving the Mercedes-powered Dallara fielded by French outfit SG Formula.

“In Formula 3, the most decisive moment is Qualifying. In 30 minutes, it all needs to work perfectly to nail a spot in one of the front rows. At Brands Hatch we were split in two groups due to the circuit’s reduced length. With no traffic to slow me down, everything seemed set for a really fast lap, until I started experiencing brake problems. We lost time, got a little nervous and ended up with the 11th time”.

Andrea was then forced to start from the back, on Row 11. The first race proved really dramatic due to a huge contact between Bianchi and Geronimi. As the series’ organization decided to continue after a long stop, ending the remaining 18 minutes, Caldarelli ended up in 18th. On Race 2, he kept fighting back.

“The car handled well, and I clocked some good laptimes. I ended up in 14th, just one spot behind my team-mate Henki Waldschmidt, but I can’t be satisfied with that. I hoped to inch closer to the points zone…”.

Andrea Caldarelli continued to face hard luck in the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series. The driver from Pescara, part of the Toyota Driver Program, entered the Oschersleben round of the championship with his regular team, SG Formula, showing good skills in practice and qualifying.

On Race 1, he was forced to take off at the back after stalling on the grid. In the meantime the car’s overall performance started to fade dramatically and, after starting from the last spot on Race 2, he came home 4 laps down. The next round of the Formula 3 Euro Series will be once again hosted in Germany, at the Nurburgring.

“The race at Oschersleben didnt’ go as we expected. Until Qualifying, we thought we could really make a difference. I managed to hit a spot on row 5, and I was really looking forward to improve further during the race. After I stalled on the grid of Race 1, we elected to use Race 2 as a test, but as track groove increased, our car started to drive worse. Now we’ll have a test session in order to find new solutions before the race at the Nurburgring”.

Andrea Caldarelli had to face another tough challenge at Zandvoort, in the fourth round of the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series. On the Dutch track though, the Italian, part of the Toyota Driver Program, and SG Formula showed further improvements, finally clinching a top-10 spot after the disappointing outings encountered at Hockenheim, Lausitzring e Norisring. “Not bad at all – tells Caldarelli – the top-10 was our goal and we made it. You have to be patient to improve and keep your focus steady”.

Unfortunately, Race 1 brought him to an early stop that conditioned the chance to score points also in the second race of the weekend. “I was caught in a contact between Geronimi and Maki, ending up with a bent suspension that cost me a lot of time in the pits. As we replaced it, there was time just for a couple of laps. At that point, we elected to start Race 2 from the pits and take it like a test, in order to evaluate the car’s true potential”.

In the end, marks were positive for Caldarelli, as he kept the fastest lap until midpoint and showed to have the same pace of the leading pack. As the series approaches the next round at Oschersleben, Andrea will try to take another step forward. “We have to stay calm and concentrated. We’ll come to Oschersleben with some new solutions, and we’ll have two and a half hours to learn the track and continue the car’s development”.