Driver Database News

Carlin’s GP2 driver Max Chilton got his first taste of F1 machinery this week when he took part in a straight-line aerodynamic test for the Force India F1 team. The 20 year-old Briton impressed the team with his mature attitude during the test at Kemble
yesterday.

Standing in for the team’s race drivers who were otherwise engaged, Chilton helped the team carry out much of its programme and gathered valuable data which will be used in Singapore, although the day was cut short due to an exhaust problem.

Force India’s Oliver Knighton, who is race support engineer said, “We were able to record the important aero data, which we will analyse over the next few days.

“I’d like to say a special ‘thank you’ to Max, who enjoyed his first taste of an F1 car today. He prepared himself very well and adapted quickly to the procedures and systems on the car, all of which allowed us to make good progress with the programme.”

Chilton was delighted to have been given his first taste of F1, adding, “It was an amazing experience and I’d like to thank Force India for giving me the opportunity and for making me feel so comfortable in the car. I think I was able to help the team gather some good data – which of course was the priority. Getting any amount of seat time in an F1 car is a privilege and I’m extremely grateful for the experience.”

Photo by GP3 Media Services.

Carlin’s Max Chilton finished in a very strong seventh place in the GP2 Monaco Feature race today, following a chaotic race around the Principality. Team mate Oliver Turvey finished seventh on the road, but was later handed a 30 second penalty for not having taken a drive-through penalty. Turvey’s penalty meant he was classified 15th, the position he will take on the grid tomorrow. Chilton will line up second in tomorrow’s reverse grid race, taking Carlin’s first front row start in GP2.

A brief rain shower a few minutes before the race this morning caused a few moments of concern for the GP2 drivers, but the sky soon cleared and the sun emerged. Lining up on the grid for race one, Chilton was seventh, while Turvey was 15th.

As the lights went out the stalled car of pole sitter Sam Bird provided an immediate obstacle for Chilton, who was forced to swerve to the left to avoid him. In the melee both Jules Bianchi and Esteban Gutierrez managed to get through. In the run down to the first corner Chilton was wheel to wheel with Jonny Cecotto, but the young Brit held his ground and kept the position. At the end of the first lap Chilton was eighth.

After a compromised qualifying session yesterday, Turvey started in the middle of the field and was boxed in at the start. The Racing Steps graduate lost out to Luiz Razia and Dani Clos and by the end of the first lap was 17th, just ahead of Romain Grojean.

By lap seven, Chilton was still eighth behind Gutierrez and holding a comfortable two second gap from Cecotto in ninth. Turvey meanwhile was 15th.

Chilton pitted from eighth on lap nine, the Carlin team changed both rear tyres, with the 20 year-old returning to the track in 14th, just behind Bird and in front of Charles Pic. Bird pitted a lap later elevating Chilton to 13th.

By lap 14, Chilton had cleared both Bianchi and Gutierrez during the pit stop window and was 10th. Turvey meanwhile was making his way through the field and had climbed to third when he made an unexpected pit stop on lap 16. With his radio broken, Turvey was unable to tell his team he was pitting, but the Carlin mechanics did well to return Turvey to the track in a promising ninth place. Almost immediately the team were notified of a drive through penalty for Turvey who was deemed to have jumped the start.

With no radio contact with his team, Turvey was unaware of the penalty and continued to race, and was running seventh on lap 24, with Chilton just behind him in eighth.

The safety car was deployed on lap 34 to clear away debris following an accident between Marcus Ericsson and Sam Bird, with Ericsson’s rear wing lying on the exit of the tunnel. The racing resumed on lap 36, with both Turvey and Chilton still holding onto position in seventh and eighth respectively.

At the chequered flag Turvey was seventh with Chilton eighth, which would effectively have given Carlin a front row lock out in tomorrow’s reverse grid race. However, Turvey was handed a 30 second penalty for not having taken his drive through and was finally classified 15th . That elevated Chilton to a very strong seventh place, which will give him a front row start on the grid tomorrow.

Speaking about his race, Chilton said, “It was a great race, although it felt quite long! I made a good start but had to find a way past Bird and Bianchi made a good start and got past me. In the early stages I had a good pace and was able to stay quite comfortably ahead of Cecotto. In the second half of the race, the team had told me that Oliver had a drive though, so I didn’t want to risk anything trying to pass him, especially as he is my team mate. Then the safety car closed us all up again, but I held my place at the restart. I think we did a good job as a team today, I’m pleased to have taken some points and we’re in a great position on the grid tomorrow.”

“It was a very exciting and challenging race for the team and drivers with a major element of confusion thrown in due to radio failure on Oliver’s car. This affected our ability to inform him of his drive through penalty and as importantly to notify him when to pit. Under the circumstances the mechanics did a fantastic job. Max drove a faultless race and richly deserved to score points this morning. Oliver was unlucky in that his car moved slightly when he put it into gear on the grid and it wasn’t a jump start as such, but rules are rules.”

Max Chilton qualified in a competitive seventh place in Monaco today, following a chaotic GP2 session around the principality this afternoon. Team mate Oliver Turvey was 16th quickest, having been taken out mid way through the session by eventual pole man Giedo van der Garde.

A 30 minute practice session this morning allowed the GP2 drivers to familiarise themselves with the Monaco circuit. Predictably, it was a session filled with disruptions, with several yellow flags and one red flag period. Chilton was on the pace in the early stages; the 20 year-old was fourth quickest with ten minutes to go while Turvey was 11th.

The main interruption came with 13 minutes to go, when a red flag was needed to clear debris at turn 16. Heading back out on track after the interruption, Chilton was 12th while Turvey was 19th. Chilton would improve in his final laps to finish inside the top ten in ninth.

If this morning’s practice session was eventful, this afternoon’s qualifying session was chaotic. Several drivers were involved in collisions on track and as the pressure mounted, driving standards seemed to suffer.

Both Carlin drivers were on the pace in the first half of the session and were both in the top ten, with Turvey seventh and Chilton ninth. Turvey was soon the innocent victim of an accident however which effectively ended his session. Giedo van der Garde closed in on the Carlin driver through the swimming pool complex and rammed Turvey off the track, bending his front right track rod in the process.

Several red and yellow flags disrupted proceedings with seemingly an accident every lap at Rascasse. With three minutes remaining on the clock Chilton was 10th while Turvey was 12th, but the times soon started to tumble as drivers tried to make the most of new tyres.

Having been forced to pit for repairs, Turvey saw his qualifying session seriously compromised. With no time to make a full repair, the Racing Steps Foundation graduate returned to the track still with a damaged front right corner and wasn’t able to complete a flying lap on his new tyres and finished the session 16th.

Chilton meanwhile found space on his final lap and improved to 8th, which becomes 7th when Jules Bianchi’s five place grid penalty from Barcelona is taken into account.

Speaking about his qualifying session, Chilton said, “Today’s qualifying session was a really good performance by the whole team. I was well within my target to qualify within the top ten and was able to get a couple of clear laps and push really hard with a good car. It sounds like I was pretty fortunate and missed a lot of incidents this afternoon. There was more and more debris on track with every lap but I managed to stay out of trouble and push when the circuit was green. I’m really looking forward to the first race tomorrow.”

The GP2 drivers will take to the track again at 11.15 local time tomorrow for Race 1.

Max Chilton and Mikhail Aleshin completed another competitive round of the 2011 GP2 Series, following yesterday’s Sprint race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Chilton fought hard but was held up in the final stages of the race and crossed the line 11th while his team mate recovered from stall on the grid to finish 18th.

With finishing positions from Saturday’s Feature race setting the grid positions for Sunday’s Sprint, Chilton lined up 12th, with Aleshin 16th on the grid. Chilton made a good start while Aleshin made an uncharacteristic mistake and stalled on the grid. Chilton soon found himself in the middle of the action as he drove into a collection of debris following an accident between front runners Jules Bianchi and Geido van der Garde. With carbon fragments entering the cockpit and Chilton’s helmet, the Carlin driver backed off and lost a couple of places in the run to the second corner.

The inevitable safety car bunched up the pack at the end of lap one, and stayed out for five laps while marshals cleared the track. In contrast to the last races in Istanbul, it was rather a processional race, until the final five laps when the action kicked off again.

Chilton had done well to preserve his tyres in the early part of the race and soon found himself considerably quicker than tenth placed man Rodolfo Gonzalez. Chilton looked threatening on several occasions and tried a move around the outside of turn 1. The move didn’t quite come off however, as Gonzalez squeezed the Carlin man, with Chilton forced to back off to avoid an accident. That allowed two other cars past, but Chilton wasn’t about to settle for 13th.

The British racer kept fighting and passed Julian Leal and Jonny Cecotto to take back 11th and began closing in again on Gonzalez. However, with only a few laps left, Chilton ran out of time and had to settle for 11th place. Team mate Aleshin meanwhile had had his work cut out following his difficult start and crossed the line 18th.

Speaking about this race, Chilton said, “The car felt awesome in race two. It was really good, but unfortunately I got held up by traffic. We were able to manage the tyre wear a lot better in race two which gave me quite a bit of pace towards the end of the race. Pace wise we’re really making good progress as a team and I’m already looking forward to the next round at Monaco this weekend which will be a different kind of challenge.”

Carlin’s Max Chilton had an action packed race in Turkey today, in round two of the 2011 GP2 Series. The British driver started 23rd having been taken out of the race on lap one yesterday, and enjoyed an eventful race to cross the line 17th.

With team mate Mikhail Aleshin not in the running this weekend following an accident in qualifying that left him with a fractured left hand, there was just one Carlin car on the grid this afternoon as Chilton lined up 23rd.

The Carlin man made a good start from 23rd on the grid and by the end of lap one was already up to 18th. A few laps later Chilton was 16th. The 20 year-old continued to make progress and was 14th by lap ten in an eventful race around the Istanbul Park circuit.

As the race entered the middle stages, Chilton began to pay the price for his attacking drive through the field as tyre wear became an issue. Fighting hard against Lotus ART’s Esteban Gutierrez, Chilton was never out of the action in a chaotic race.

Chilton did well to avoid a nasty accident involving Davide Rigon and Julian Leal in the final stages of the race, as the rear wing of Rigon lay stranded in the middle of the track. That incident brought out the safety car, as marshals recovered the two cars and assisted the injured Rigon.

The safety car came in with just one lap of racing action to go – making it a sprint to the flag. Chilton did will at the restart, passing Luca Filippi into the last corner and was briefly 14th, but lost out at the final corner of the final lap as Luiz Razia and Filippi squeezed the Carlin car, leaving Chilton to cross the line 17th.

Reflecting on his race, Chilton said, “Today was a good opportunity to try some things out that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise, as there wasn’t much to race for today. We’ve definitely learnt from a couple of things that we tried, so we can take some positives away with us. Our pace at the start of the weekend was also really impressive, but unfortunately our races were ruined by an accident yesterday.

“We had really good pace in the first half of the race and gained nearly 10 places, but then a couple of things didn’t go my way and the tyres started to drop away in the second half of the race so I wasn’t able to fight quite so hard. We’ve got a great pace in qualifying, but we still need to work a little on our race pace and I think the work we did today definitely helped with that.”

British F3 champions Carlin join F3 teams from across the world this week, as the British squad make preparations ahead of the 56th Macau Grand Prix this weekend. Racing with Carlin in the most prestigious and challenging F3 race in the world, will be current British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo, Max Chilton, Brendon Hartley and Henry Arundel.

The four drivers follow in the footsteps of F1 racers Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastian Vettel, Sebastien Buemi, Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg who have all competed with Carlin in the Chinese enclave in recent years.

After an eventful race in Macau in 2008, Hartley took a podium finish for Carlin, despite having started from 20th position after an incident in the Qualification race. Chilton also benefits from knowledge of the Guia circuit, having raced here last year. This year’s Macau Grand Prix will be a new experience for reigning British F3 champion Ricciardo and also his first taste of a street circuit, while Arundel also make his Macau debut this year.

2008 third place man Brendon Hartley said, “I’m happy to be back in Macau after a podium last year. We had really good pace then, so I’m expecting that to continue this year. There’s always a bit of luck involved in getting a good result in Macau, its easy to get caught up in other people’s accidents, but then you have to create your own luck as well. I started at the back of the grid last year and finished on the podium but I think if you want to have a chance of winning, you need to qualify well here.”

British racer Max Chilton makes his second visit to Macau after a successful debut last year. “Macau is a fantastic circuit; it’s just so tight there isn’t any room for error. It’s great to come back here already knowing what to expect and knowing the circuit. I’m feeling confident after a strong finish to the British F3 season and I feel as though I’ve developed a lot as a driver since I was here last year. I’m aiming to finish my F3 career on a high with a strong result here this weekend.”

Having had his first look at the Guia circuit, British F3 champion Daniel Ricciardo commented, “The circuit looks incredible. It looks really challenging so I think it will be important to build up to it. Everyone says you need as much track time as possible to get the most out of the circuit and have the confidence to push to the limit. It’s tempting to just go all out and see what I can do, but I’ll have to just take it easy and build up to the ultimate pace. I can tell already that I’m going to love the circuit. ”

Also making his first trip to Macau, Henry Arundel added, “The circuit looks really fun but also a big challenge. We’ve seen in the past that anything can happen here, but I think the important thing will be to improve with every session. It looks like it could be the best circuit I’ve ever driven and certainly the most challenging. I can’t wait for the first session to get underway so I can see what it’s really like.”

The first practice session for the F3 drivers will take place at 10.30 local time on Thursday, followed by first qualifying at 14.00. Second practice and second qualifying will take place on Friday, with the qualification race on Saturday culminating in the 56th Macau Grand Prix on Sunday.

2009 British F3 champions Carlin Motorsport dominated the final round of the season this weekend at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. Daniel Ricciardo took a dominant win in the first race of the day, while Max Chilton drove a flawless race to take victory in the final race of the 2009 season.

The drama started before the racing even got underway for Chilton this morning, who lined up second on the grid with a smoking front left brake disk. As race officials kept the field on the grid to assess Chilton’s car, the smoke and fire continued to increase until the field moved off the grid to complete an additional formation lap. Despite the early drama, both Ricciardo and Chilton made the perfect start, with Ricciardo leading the field into the first corner.

While Chilton struggled with a slightly unbalanced car following his brake disk problem, Ricciardo was building up a sizeable lead. Philip Major suffered an excursion into the gravel on lap four as he battled for position, which unfortunately ended his race. Arundel meanwhile was tucked behind Carlos Huertas in sixth. In a rather uneventful race the order remained unchanged to the chequered flag, as Chilton fought well to maintain his second place and Ricciardo took a dominant victory. Joe Ghanem added to his trophy collection with a third place in the National Class.

As the lights went out for the start of race two, Chilton beat Ricciardo off the line and led the field into Paddock Hill Bend and from the on the British racer looked unchallenged. A safety car period on lap five bunched up the field again, but Chilton controlled the restart perfectly to pull away and drive to his first overall victory in British F3 and his second British F3 International Class victory in a week.

Behind Chilton, team mate Ricciardo was unable to replicate his earlier pace and was fourth on track, with Arundel just behind in fifth. Unfortunately Major didn’t see his luck change in the second race, the young Canadian lost out at the start and from then on Major found himself battling with back markers around the notoriously difficult to overtake circuit. With third place man Marcus Ericsson racing in the Invitation Class, Ricciardo was the third of the British F3 racers to cross the line and joined team mate Chilton on the podium, while Arundel was classified fourth. Ghanem meanwhile did the double with another third place National Class trophy.

Speaking about his victory, Chilton said, “I can’t say it was the best start in the world, but somehow it felt like it! I could see Dan wasn’t directly behind me and I was able to pull a fairly big lead early on. When I saw the safety car was going to come out I thought just my luck – that something that was going to go wrong. But I did a really good restart and I just kept my cool and kept going. I had a problem with my radio so I had to unplug it, so I didn’t even know when the last lap was! It feels great though to win the last race of the season.”

Race one winner Ricciardo added, “I wanted to show what we were capable of this weekend and I was just out to enjoy myself in the first race. I knew I didn’t have to back off, so I just kept pushing. In my mind I wanted to get the gap to 10 seconds and I managed that a few laps before the end. It might have been a bit of a boring race for the spectators, but I loved it! It was a great way to end the season for me.”

Trevor Carlin team principal added, “This has been a great finale to the year and a great team effort; yet again we’re proud to have numerous race wins in our team. We knew that Max’s win in Portugal would give him a confidence boost but he pulled a very mature and dominant race win out of the bag today. To see two cars win at Brands and control the race as they did is a testament to the hard work the entire team have put in this season. We’ve had fantastic support from Volkswagen to win the championship on their first attempt in numerous years and we hope this level of success will continue for many seasons to come.”

Max Chilton took a dominant pole position in Portimao today, ahead of round 18 of the 2009 British F3 International Series. The Carlin racer took provisional pole on his first flying lap this afternoon only to go quicker again and seal his fourth pole position of the season. Championship leader Daniel Ricciardo was also on the pace to qualify second, making it a Volkswagen powered Carlin front row lock out.

Having set the second quickest time in first qualifying, Chilton was one to watch as the drivers took to the track to set the grid for race two tomorrow. As the session got underway, it was the visiting F3 Euro Series drivers that held the top of the timesheets, but Chilton immediately showed his true speed, setting the quickest time on his first flying lap and pushing the F3 Euro Series racers down the order. Chilton went even quicker on his next lap to confirm his position at the top of the time sheets.

One of the last to leave the pits, Ricciardo was also immediately on the pace with his first flying lap putting his second only to Chilton. A red flag with only four and half minutes to go disrupted proceedings, but once the session went live again Ricciardo couldn’t match Chilton’s time.

Philip Major meanwhile couldn’t quite replicate his position in the first qualifying session and will line up 10th in the British F3 International Class, with team mate Henry Arundel just behind in 11th. Carlin’s new National Class driver Joe Ghanem repeated his first qualifying performance to take a competitive third place on the National Class grid for race two tomorrow.

Race two pole sitter Chilton said, “I was so pleased with that session; the car felt very good and I think I really got everything together on my best lap. It was a really good feeling. We’re in a great position now for the races, with two opportunities to go for a race win, so I’m feeling confident about some strong results tomorrow.”

Team principal Trevor Carlin added, “Max delivered his best performance of the season today, he totally outclassed the field and even Daniel struggled to match him in the second session. Daniel is of course in a great position ahead of tomorrow’s races where the championship is clearly his focus. The team have done a great job so far.”

Carlin driver Max Chilton will line up second for round 17 of the 2009 British F3 International Series tomorrow, at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. The 18 year-old racer looked to have claimed pole with a stunning lap in the first half of the session and was the first driver to dip below 1m38s on his third lap. In the end, Chilton was just edged out into second place, while team mate and championship leader Daniel Ricciardo claimed a comfortable fourth place on the grid for the first race tomorrow.

With Ricciardo having topped the timesheets in yesterday’s practice session and Chilton close behind, both Carlin drivers were among the possible pole sitters ahead of today’s first qualifying session. Chilton proved the predictions true when he became the first of the front runners to take the track. His third lap of 1.37.892 was the quickest ever time set by a British F3 car around the Portimao circuit up until that point, and it was only in the dying minutes of the session that Renger van der Zande went quicker thanks to a tow.

Red Bull racer Ricciardo will line up fourth for tomorrow’s race, just behind F3 Euro Series points leader Jules Bianchi, but is in a strong position to maintain a comfortable cushion in the championship standings.

Philip Major continued to make his way up the time sheets following a strong performance this morning. The Canadian qualified 12th for round 17 of the season, but actually lies seventh in the International Class – made up of the regular British F3 racers. Henry Arundel meanwhile endured a tough session having been caught up in traffic after a red flag half way through the session, and lies 19th overall and 12th in the International class.

Lebanese racer Joe Ghanem made an impressive debut in his first official F3 session, putting his Carlin National Class car third on the grid in his class.

Speaking about the first qualifying session of the day, Chilton said, “I was pretty surprised when I saw the time to be honest, as I didn’t think it was going to be that quick. The tyres came in very quickly, so I’ll be ready for that in the second session. I don’t think it was a perfect lap and it feels as though there’s still more to come from the car, so I think we can do even better in second qualifying this afternoon.”

Qualifying for round 18 will take place at 15.35 local time.

After a four week break, Carlin’s British F3 team head overseas to Portugal this week, for the penultimate round of the 2009 Cooper Tires British F3 Series. The championship winning squad are aiming for the top again at the new Portimao circuit, where current championship leader Daniel Ricciardo could take the 2009 title. Racing alongside Ricciardo will be regular front runner Max Chilton, Henry Arundel and Philip Major. Joining Carlin’s British F3 team for the final two races of the season will be Lebanese driver Joe Ghanem who will compete in the National Class.

Ghanem returns to Carlin having made his European racing debut with the team in 2007 in the competitive Formula Renault Eurocup championship. Ghanem also raced for the team in the Formula Renault UK Winter Cup alongside Henry Surtees in October 2007. The 19 year-old racer will make his debut in British F3 in Alvaro Parente’s 2005 championship winning car when he joins the National Class grid in Portugal.

Last time out at Silverstone, Australian racer Ricciardo extended his lead in the championship standings to 45 points, with only four races remaining. If Ricciardo scores more or equal points to his championship rivals, the 20 year-old racer could wrap up the championship in Portugal.

However, championship contender Ricciardo is staying calm ahead of the Portimao race saying, “I’m not changing anything about my approach this weekend. I feel confident, but mainly I’m just looking forward to racing on a great track, with the added challenge of racing against some of the F3 Euro Series drivers. I think I respond well to pressure and a challenge, so I’m looking forward to racing against new drivers this weekend. It’s the kind of track that should suit my driving style and our car well.”

Speaking about his F3 debut, Ghanem said, “I’m really excited to be back with Carlin and racing again in the UK. The F3 car is such a nice car and I think the British F3 Series can prepare a driver for anything. These two races will be a learning ground for me and training for my 2010 season. Hopefully I can be fighting at the front of the National Class, but it is most important get race miles and learn a lot.”

Carlin team boss Trevor Carlin added, “Portimao will be a new experience for most of the British F3 teams, so it’s going to be important to get to grips with the circuit as soon as possible. In theory it is possible for Daniel to win the championship in Portugal, but we will approach the weekend the same as any other, with the aim to provide all the drivers with a car capable of winning. Joe makes a welcome return to the team, racing our National Class F3 car for the remaining two events. It will be a steep learning curve for him, but we believe he’ll do a good job for us.”