12-Dec-07: Fisichella Hopes for Force India Drive
Today is the 12th December 2007, I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute.
Giancarlo Fisichella has said that he definitely has his hopes on a drive for Force India, saying he wouldn’t have gone through the shoot-out at Jerez if he didn’t want the seat. He won’t have long to wait, as Force India are expected to announce who will be joining Adrian Sutil at the end of December.
Team boss Vijay Mallya has given an interview to the official Formula1.com website, with some notable insights. About the driver choice, he said: “In the past the team was looking for money, so money was the prime motivating factor for the driver line-up. Now that has changed. For me the prime factors are performance and the ability to give feedback to the engineers.” He also mentioned that Indian driver Karun Chandhok is like a son to him, but will need to prove himself in GP2 before he gets a seat in Force India.
Mallya is very focused on bringing the team up to scratch, saying they have no excuses now that the budget isn’t a problem. As encouragement, he tells the engineers that they will have to be on the podium for the Indian GP in 2010.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
06-Nov-07: Michael Schumacher to Test for Ferrari
Hello everyone, welcome to F1 Minute. I’m Christine and these are your top headlines for today, 6th November 2007.
Michael Schumacher is to test for Ferrari at the upcoming session in Barcelona. Next week will see the seven times world champion returning to the track for the first time – if you don’t count demos – since retiring last year. Ferrari will be testing out the new regulations for 2008, including no traction control, and wanted Schumacher drafted in for his experience under such conditions. Schumacher’s spokes person is keen to point out that he has no plans to return to racing, though.
In other testing news, Karun Chandhok from India will join the Red Bull team for two days of the session, after his success in GP2 this year. Chandhok won his first race in the series in Belgium and would like to take the next step.
And finally, Williams have been testing over a two week period in Gloucestershire, and allowed British driver Sam Bird to have a go behind the wheel. The F3 driver helped the team complete their aerodynamic program, had a great time, and according to Frank Williams, was very valuable during the course of the test.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.