Photo: Penske Entertainment / Lisa Hurley

AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci claimed his first IndyCar podium in last month’s Indianapolis 500, and is now targeting a victory this season.

The 25-year-old waited 49 races for his third place finish, in what is his third full-time IndyCar campaign but sixth year in the series.

He joined IndyCar part-time in 2018 while racing in Formula 2, a programme which ended controversially with a two-round ban, being dropped by Trident and then being taken to court by the team.

Formula Scout asked Ferrucci after the Indy 500 how he has progressed since his primarily Europe-based junior career.

“First, Europe, they don’t change the car. I mean, you show up in a team and they say ‘hey, go drive this’. Like we’ll change the front sway [anti-roll] bar a little bit and that’s really it,” he replied.

“So they don’t really adapt anything to your driving style, which is really annoying. And it was kind of tough for me as a driver because I like a very loose race car.

“Now going through all the different teams in IndyCar has definitely helped me. Being part-time for a couple of years definitely hurt a little bit. With the full-time, compared to [how] some of the full-time drivers have been progressed, we were really starting to become a good racer during the Rahal [Letterman Lanigan Racing] year, and I think a lot of things just started to click for me in my third season.”

Ferrucci did five races for RLLR in 2021 and came sixth in the Indy 500, and drove three races with three different teams last year.

“To have another full-time season [this year], it was a bit off the back foot to start, but I’m definitely getting back to where I was really comfortable like I was in 2021. And I’m driving a lot better.

“I think I make a lot of good decisions on track to finish these races. My rookie year I did have three fourth place finishes, so I’ve been really close to the podium a bunch of times.

“So to finally check that off the list, especially at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was huge. Next one’s the win for me and I think, continuing on the trajectory that I am, I’ll definitely be able to accomplish that this year.

“Just hoping to be in the right place at the right time because it’s just one of those things where the series is so competitive that even though we were really good at the 500, we ran up front all day, you still don’t win the race. You still need to remember that you have to do the same type of race at every other track. Because they’re all very long, all very tough, and there’s always about 10 or 12 cars that can show up to win.”

Ferrucci also told media his podium “was something that we really needed to see for the sponsors”, and his “opportunities to win” this year will most likely be at “Iowa and Gateway” as AJ Foyt has “a solid oval programme”.

The post Ferrucci reflects on junior career as he eyes maiden IndyCar win in 2023 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: IndyCar

It’s harder than people think to land an IndyCar seat, even for a one-off, and it’s rare that drivers from the junior ranks can get themselves onto the grid mid-season. So is there a precedent for Lundgaard’s move?

After rumours of a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last month, it was revealed on Monday that Alpine Formula 1 junior and Formula 2 race-winner Christian Lundgaard would be debuting in IndyCar in just a matter of days.

The Dane, with one day of experience in the 2021-spec version of the Dallara DW12 car (which has an aeroscreen as cockpit protection rather than a halo), will take the place of Santino Ferrucci in RLLR’s #45 car for this weekend’s race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course as the team tries to build up entrant’s points. It will run the car full-time in 2022, and there is a financial boost if the combined inputs of Ferrucci and Lundgaard make the #45 entry one of this year’s top 22 scoring cars.

The other contributing factor at RLLR’s end for having a driver in the car this weekend, as Ferrucci doesn’t bring money to fill the seat, is to evaluate who should be the primary occupant of the #45 next season. It’s believed that the two existing full-time entries have already been locked down for next year, leaving Ferrucci and Lundgaard as leading contenders for car three.

And is Lundgaard a genuine contender? It seems so, as the 20-year-old has already been linked to being in the car again this year and he has no F1 seat beckoning for 2022. He could spend a third year in F2, and while that isn’t yet under negotiation there are moves being made to keep Lundgaard in Alpine’s books for another year regardless of what race programme he ends up in. That’s important given his IndyCar debut in a Honda-powered car is coming with Alpine’s blessing.

But that can all depend on how Lundgaard performs on the day, so who can he look to previously who has jumped into the DW12 to race it during a season spent primarily racing in junior categories?

Santino Ferrucci USA 20y/o
2018: Racing in F2 (4 points)   IndyCar debut: Ret and 20th in Detroit   Junior return: F2 (3 points)

Photo: Joe Slibinski

It’s fair to say Ferrucci was a midfielder in every car he raced in until making it to the pinnacle of American single-seater racing. At that point, his elbows-out style, almost motorcycling-esque, gelled finely with a car known for its physicality.

After a half-season in F2 with Trident in 2017, Ferrucci stayed on in the championship and with the team for the year after as the current Dallara F2 2018 car was introduced. He and team-mate Arjun Maini, like Ferrucci a Haas junior, looked like they had reason to smile after encouraging pre-season tests but that was the last time there was much good feeling in the team.

The pair benefited from the usual Baku chaos to bag points there but were otherwise struggling to be competitive when not combating engine issues. After being thoroughly bettered by Maini in Monaco, Ferrucci spotted an avenue of redemption in IndyCar when Pietro Fittipaldi’s double leg-break in a sportscar crash opened up a seat at Dale Coyne Racing for the Detroit double-header.

Ferrucci found the money to fill the car and returned to America for his first race on home soil in almost five years. Straight away he turned heads by going sixth fastest in the first free practice session, on one of IndyCar’s trickiest circuits, then was 18th fastest and second-best rookie in the faster FP2. He qualified down the order and was running in 14th in the final stint before being nerfed out at high-speed.

The next day he fared better in a very wet qualifying session, meaning he started ahead of team-mate Sebastien Bourdais, and ran as high as seventh before his first pitstop but crashed immediately as he exited the pits, requiring another stop and putting him down a lap that he wouldn’t reclaim.

He then returned to F2, where things got worse as tensions reached boiling point at Trident. Maini let out his frustrations on the radio at Paul Ricard, while Ferrucci did it by hitting his team-mate on track at Silverstone and earning a two-round ban in a weekend where he was also fined for using his phone while driving to the grid. Trident then terminated Ferrucci’s contract and took court action against him for unpaid racing fees.

Despite being unable to pay for his F2 ride, he was back in IndyCar with Dale Coyne for the final two rounds and starting a partnership with four-time champion Bourdais that led to him being called ‘Dad’ as they became consistent frontrunners. From his five-race 2021 campaign at RLLR, Ferrucci has the sixth-highest finishing average of everyone with more than one start.

Alfonso Celis Jr MEXICO 21y/o
2018: Racing in Indy Lights (27 points)   IndyCar debut: 20th at Road America

Photo: Chris Jones

The end results may not have been great for Ferrucci, but he introduced himself to the IndyCar paddock in a timely fashion as it was before his F2 antics and at a track known for really testing drivers so crashes were almost expected.

The same couldn’t be said three weeks later when former Force India development driver Celis Jr made his IndyCar debut.

The Mexican had claimed his first single-seater racing win on the way to third in the Formula V8 3.5 points the year before and felt ready to go straight into IndyCar at the start of 2018. However, he was quick to realise he wasn’t as prepared as he thought – and nor was the Juncos Racing team he was going to sign with as it had only one series start to its name.

So instead Celis headed to Indy Lights to get an idea of the American circuits as well as the Latin American setup of the Juncos team he had last tested for in 2013 in its Pro Mazda car.

However, Celis was absent from Indy Lights’ St. Petersburg season opener and instead debuted at Barber. He was the last-placed finisher in both races and didn’t return for the Indianapolis rounds as he asked Juncos for an IndyCar seat instead.

The IndyCar debut came at Road America, and Celis didn’t embarrass himself in FP1 as Juncos’s sole driver. However, he only got three laps in during FP2 after pushing too hard at turn 13 and crashing in a way that ripped off his rear wing and damaged the car’s suspension. He was slowest in qualifying, and in a caution-free 55-lap race on IndyCar’s longest circuit, he picked up early front wing damage and was then lapped on pace. He returned for Portland but hasn’t been seen since.

RC Enerson USA 19y/o
2016: Racing in Indy Lights (111 points)   IndyCar debut: 19th at Mid-Ohio

Photo: Chris Owens

Enerson was no stranger to big career jumps by the time he reached IndyCar, having gone from USF2000 straight to Indy Lights and been a winner in his rookie season with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

His sophomore campaign with SPM wasn’t quite as rewarding, and after one podium in the opening eight races, he stopped his season to instead search for sponsors to fund a step up to IndyCar the next year. A month later, he was announced by Dale Coyne as one of its drivers for the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio after doing a one-day private test at the circuit with the team.

Fairly promptly, SPM sued Enerson and his father for breach of contract given he was still signed to the Indy Lights team and had declared no interest in solving the matter outside of court.

That didn’t stop Enerson from making his IndyCar debut, and he adapted quickly to the high-downforce machinery. Across the three practice sessions he was 15th fastest, a few tenths of a second up on team-mate Conor Daly who was new to the undulating circuit. He also qualified ahead of him and ran as high as sixth before his second pitstop, but he was lapped shortly after due to his car not starting again while in the pitlane. That setback seemed to motivate him to go on a charge in the race’s second half, consistently being one of the quickest and taking back one of the laps he lost to finish a once-lapped 19th.

Dale Coyne thought he was a safe enough pair of hands after that to put him back in the car for the remaining non-oval races and Enerson finished ninth and 19th in those two starts.

A good impression on track wasn’t enough though, and he’d burned his chance to really return to Indy Lights, so Enerson spent most of the next four years on the sidelines when it came to top-line racing opportunities as he established himself as an instructor at the Lucas Oil School of Racing. He made his IndyCar return at Mid-Ohio with Carlin in 2019, failed to qualify for this year’s Indianapolis 500 with newcomer Top Gun Racing and is now preparing for his debut in the NASCAR Cup series.

Conor Daly USA 21y/o
2013: Racing in GP2 (2pts), GP3 (1 podium, 21pts)   IndyCar debut: 22nd in Indy 500   Junior return: GP3 (1 win, 1 pole, 4 podiums, 105pts), Indy Lights (1 podium, 35pts)

Photo: Mike Young

Daly is the son of former F1 and IndyCar racer Derek, who later became a broadcaster for IndyCar coverage, so his name was well known long before he even got near racing in the series himself.

He carved his way up the Road to Indy as a youngster, taking the Indy Pro 2000 title in 2010 and then winning on his third start in Indy Lights the year after at Long Beach. He actually turned up to Long Beach late due to GP3 testing in Spain, and soon switched his focus primarily to his maiden European racing campaign.

Daly came a distant 17th in the points, but on his Indy Lights return later in the year earned a pole position. For 2012 he would race solely in Europe, and a switch to ART Grand Prix led to early success as a win came in the second race of the season. That increased expectations that he couldn’t deliver on, and it wasn’t until his third campaign did he piece things together.

He ended 2012 by testing in IndyCar with AJ Foyt Enterprises, then won the MRF Challenge title and debuted in GP2 before his next GP3 season even began. The gears were already in motion to make an IndyCar debut happen, and Foyt signed Daly for the Indy 500. He missed the initial rookie test running due to GP3, and at turn one on Thursday practice had a huge crash.

Daly was uninjured but out of Friday’s action, and qualified 31st. He turned that into a twice-lapped 22nd place in the race, then headed back to GP3. He moved into the points lead on his return, but ended the season in third and even had time for an Indy Lights cameo. After a failed GP2 campaign in 2014, he’s been knocking about IndyCar ever since, taking one podium and giving Carlin its maiden series pole.

Carlos Munoz COLOMBIA 21y/o
2013: Racing in Indy Lights (2 wins, 3 poles, 3 fastest laps, 2 podiums, 167pts)   IndyCar debut: 2nd in Indy 500   Junior return: Indy Lights (2 wins, 2 poles, 2 fastest laps, 3 podiums, 274pts)

In contrast to Daly’s messy route through the Month of May in 2013, fellow rookie Munoz had possibly the smoothest transition to IndyCar ever seen and nearly stunned on his debut.

The Colombian was the Indy Lights points leader after the opening four races, and early in the season had snuck in an IndyCar test at the Texas oval as his Andretti Autosport team had been all-but-signed Munoz in late 2012 for the next year’s Indy 500.

So he went into the season knowing he would also be making his IndyCar debut, and when it came to it he was immediately on the pace. He was fastest in rookie practice and then Sunday practice in week one, was fastest again the next Thursday and was third on ‘Fast Friday’ before qualifying as Andretti dominated.

Such was his speed and style in his first outing, regularly driving underneath the white line and as close to the kerb as possible, Munoz is often credited with setting the standard for all drivers – experienced and new – at the Speedway ever since.

In his maiden IndyCar qualifying session he was third quickest, then in the ‘Fast Nine’ shootout put himself second on the grid. There was a record 68 lead changes in the race, including five occasions where he got to the front, and Munoz kept it clean to finish second as the race ended under caution. Had it not, he may well have passed Tony Kanaan to win.

Munoz seamlessly adapted back to Indy Lights afterwards, but two retirements late in the season cost him the title and the two other IndyCar appearances he earned that year he struggled as he was on double duty with the two series. However his performances had already secured him a healthy IndyCar future, unlike the others on this list, and he spent the next three years driving for Andretti with highlights including a Detroit win and another Indy 500 runner-up finish.

How will Lundgaard fare?

By Craig Woollard

To America-based readers, Lundgaard may be an unfamiliar name. He’s the son of European Rally champion Henrik Lundgaard and has been an Alpine (nee Renault) junior since he entered car racing. That shouldn’t be overlooked.

But on paper Lundgaard’s 2021 has looked rather abysmal. He’s the first to admit that a few mistakes are partly why an F2 title push has fallen spectacularly flat early on, but the majority of the reasoning is some abysmal luck he has been hit with.

Lundgaard is the sort of character who will slot in nicely in the IndyCar world. He’s laid-back, humorous and straightforward. At the same time, he has shown superb pace in everything he has raced in, including F2.

His driving style, which is very precise but can also be aggressive, should suit the Dallara DW12 and the nuances of IndyCar nicely. What will be interesting to see, however, is how he adapts to an American team. He’s spent his whole career racing in western Europe team, so the philosophy and way the RLLR team operates will likely be wildly different to his familiarities.

Regardless, Lundgaard has always come across as the kind of character who could grasp that challenge and thrive as a result (a trait Alpine Academy director Mia Sharizman has often pointed out). He came sixth in his rookie F2 season last year, and had some outstanding drives including two wins, which was a properly fine effort in a bizarre 2020 given the pandemic.

But upon his F2 return, the first time he’s spent a second year in a car racing series, he’s only mustered two podiums so far.

A clean weekend where he’s able to build up and get on the pace of the main pack of cars would be a solid return on his IndyCar debut. Displacing the likes of Dalton Kellett and Jimmie Johnson and being consistently within a couple of tenths of team-mates Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato, two vastly experienced drivers he can learn plenty from, would be a realistic target. Anything more than that would be a bonus.

The post The young drivers whose mid-season IndyCar debuts Lundgaard follows appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: GP2 Media Service / LAT Images

Giacomo Ricci has been a presence in GP2 since 2008, and he racked up two wins in 46 starts across four years of racing. He’s been behind the pitwall in the seasons since, and added wins in GP3 and FIA F3 too

Just over a decade ago, there was an air of confidence in Italy about its Formula 1 prospects. Ferrari had signed Fernando Alonso, Toro Rosso was on the up as a constructor team, Vitantonio Liuzzi was at an improving Force India and Jarno Trulli had joined returning legendary name of Lotus and was sure to score.

A few of those hopes were debunked in the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, but there was encouragement in the support paddock as an Italian trio completed their domination of the GP2 Asia season.

Davide Valsecchi won a comfortable title ahead of compatriots Luca Filippi and Giacomo Ricci. It proved a false dawn as none of them made it to F1, but instead became three of the biggest names in GP2 and its successor F2 over the next decade.

Valsecchi won the main series title in 2012 and went on to become the series’ television commentator, Filippi was 2011 runner-up and then became its development driver through Pirelli (tasked most recently with the new 18-inch wheels), while Ricci won one race before also working with the Pirelli and being hired as Trident’s team manager.

Ricci started karting in Italy in the 1990s, and his name first cropped up when he was beaten by Lewis Hamilton to the historic Torneo Industrie title in 1999. Ricci, now 35, remembers being ‘inconsistent’ in karts.

In 2001 he turned 16 and immediately moved to single-seaters, having an underwhelming year in Formula BMW ADAC until a late-season change to a frontrunning team propelled him to podiums and then wins.

There was no follow-up season, as Ricci’s 2002 budget only covered the first three rounds before he switched his efforts to disappointing part-time Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Germany campaigns without testing. The next year was even further under the radar, as he stepped down to FR1.6 Spain. Surprisingly, this ultimately saved his career.

“Because I was winning in FR1.6 Spain, I also did some races in the French series,” Ricci recalls to Formula Scout.

“The person behind it was Andre Herck. He was the boss of the [Becker] team his son Michael was racing for. I was hired by him in order to set up the car and in order to help Michael perform. It was a great opportunity because I got a free drive.”

This money-saving opportunity enabled Ricci to then race part-time in FR3.5 (while it was still backed by Nissan) in 2004 without testing and start a long association with Auto GP.

“My only chance was to arrive on track and drive and show my best, and that was what I was trying to do. I joined Vergani Racing and I felt immediately comfortable within the team and the [FR3.5] car, and I was able to do quite a good job.”

Ricci entered four rounds and took a best finish of seventh, with identical form in his four Auto GP races with Power Tech. At season’s end, Ricci almost quit racing before a sponsor arrived that funded him in Auto GP for the next two seasons. With International Formula 3000 being replaced by GP2 for 2005, the 470bhp Lola B02/50 was inherited by the Italy-based series and Ricci joined Astromega.

Four podiums in eight races put him third in the points, and enabled him to then move to Giancarlo Fisichella-branded top team Scuderia Coloni for the pan-European 2006 season.

“2006 was a fantastic season. I have many nice memories. Of course first of all being with a top team, that helped me massively because they had a very good understanding about the car. Plus I had a very strong team-mate in Marco Bonanonomi, we?re still very good friends today. It was a great fight between me and him.

“He was faster in qualifying, but then during the races – especially with the reversed grid – I was able most of the time to recover positions. And I?ve always been really strong in the races, especially in the wet. This meant I won the title in the last round at Misano, where I remember it was super tricky because we started with the slick tyres and it was a damp track.

“I?d been very aggressive with the set-up and the tyre pressure, which allowed me to make a massive advantage at the start of the race. But then the track dried up and in the last seven laps I was panicking because I was losing six tenths per lap. The car was going everywhere, but I was able to manage it and win that race.”

In the years after, Ricci’s services were called upon again and again in Auto GP due to his experience. Two wins in six races he was paid to do by ELK Motorsport in 2007 puts him fifth in the points, and he also cameoed in 2010, ’12 and ’13.

“The car was extremely heavy to drive [sans power steering]. It?s not like today where we have paddle shift, we had a sequential lever to use on the bottom of the monocoque. It was very tricky to drive.

“After I won the 2006 title the budget to step up to GP2 was crazy high, and even F1 opportunities were limited. So I gambled on moving to the USA in Atlantics. With the help of Max Papis, I did a shootout with Team Forsythe, one of the best teams.

“There was eight drivers for four seats. I did a good job so got the fourth seat for 2007. But at the last moment the team became Red Bull, and they kept only the two Red Bull juniors. The team had sent me a draft contract, and I was very excited to drive for Forsythe but unfortunately there was no place. [Afterwards] we chose to go to Conquest Racing.

“I was very disappointed I lost the opportunity to compete in one of the best teams. I took an opportunity that for me was not the greatest [instead]. I was able to finish the championship in sixth and third in the rookie standings so it was still a positive season, but I didn?t score any podiums. On a couple of occasions I was on the podium but then for a mechanical failure I was not able to reach this kind of result. The best I got was two fourth places.

“America was a great experience for me. Generally speaking, the level of driver there was very high. They were used to the street circuits and the airport circuits, whereas a driver coming over from Europe is not – so it was not easy.

“I remember the emotion, the experience, the drivers parade before every race which was fantastic. The contact you have with the fans, sponsors, with everyone was great. There was still Champ Car and the Indy Racing League at the time. At the end of the year Champ Car went bankrupt, and my goal was to move there. I had already signed [a deal], but unfortunately due to this problem the only chance was to start from zero again in Indy Lights and then try to move to IndyCar. The budget was not there any more for me, so that was my last chance in single-seaters basically with budget.

“In 2008 I returned to Europe and raced almost everywhere. I did some sportscar races, and then I was also driving in single-seaters in [Italian Formula 3, International Formula Master and] Auto GP with ELK. It was not the greatest way to spend a year, but for me it was important to keep racing in order to keep myself at a good level. And I was able to – even in the sportscars – show my potential and ability.”

Ricci’s first encounter with GP2 came at the start of the year with David Price Racing, a title-winning outfit in British F3 but a struggler in GP2, the team principal of which was the same Andre Herck who had helped him half a decade prior.

“Thanks to this relationship that started in 2002, Mr Herck again gave me this chance to do some races, two in 2008, then the [2008-09] Asia series, and then some 2009 races in the main series. At the time the team wasn?t great. We were struggling to go forward with the car, and it was difficult to understand the situation because there was already a bit of a fight inside the team. Even for me it was tough, and most of the time were at the back of the field.”

In both years, Ricci’s services were halted once Michael Herck was up to speed and DPR had found a paying driver. For the GP2 Asia season opener at Shanghai he actually drove for Trident, and he seemingly remained long in the team’s memory.

“At the end of 2009, DPR moved from England to Italy. It kept its name but the organisation was completely different. The car then became a rocket. It started being extremely competitive, and this enabled me to finish third in GP2 Asia. Unbelievable considering I did not compete in the first races because of mechanical issues. In total I did nine laps over the weekend. But in all the other races I was always able to finish top five in race one, and on the podium in race two. I have great memories because all of the top drivers were there: Sergio Perez, Sam Bird, Jules Bianchi, Valsecchi and so on. For me, with such a small team, it was unbelievable to reach that kind of result.?

“Then I was hired by the team at the last moment for 2010, and every race I didn?t know if I was competing in the next one, as nothing was related to my performance. The goal for me was to provide the best result, and at the same time respect team orders and the agreement I had with the team boss.

“I was also the test driver of the team, that?s why results were up and down, because I was testing different things in order to discover some positive things about the set-up. As you can imagine, most of the time when you try something it doesn?t work.”

The results really were up and down, as Ricci’s 14-race stint was bookended by a second place and win.

“I started 2010 very well, again I didn?t have the chance to do any private testing. But at the same time I’m grateful forever to Mr Herck because he was the only one who gave me a chance to prove myself. I have nothing to regret and I’m very happy about what I achieved in those two seasons, because when I had the opportunity I used it in the best way possible.”

Ricci was 12th on the grid for the Barcelona season opener, and a crash at the start enabled him to leap up the order.

“I saw everybody get a little bit confused, so I took the opportunity. I was in third after the first corner, and I thought: this is my one opportunity, it?s now or never. I did all the race behind Charles Pic, and I was able to get close to him in the last sector, but never really had the chance to overtake him so I finished second.”

At the Hungaroring he finished eighth in race one, his next points finish, and from reversed grid pole in race two he took DPR’s first main series win since 2005. That result made his car attractive to paying drivers, and his drive ended there.

By this point Ricci had been working as a development driver, driver coach or instructor for eight years, and any cost of racing beyond the running of the car itself at DPR had been covered by these jobs. These financial skills were put to further use when he joined MLR71 in Auto GP at the end of 2012 as a test driver and coach to team owner/team-mate Michele la Rosa.

Ricci wanted to revive his single-seater career, but by the time of the 2013 season opener he was already organising and hiring mechanics and he only raced for two rounds before becoming manager and searching for a driver to replace himself.

After a season of that, continuing work as a coach and with Pirelli in its two-seater F1 car, and a Nurburgring 24 Hours win as a factory Peugeot driver, Ricci received a surprise call from Trident founder Maurizio Salvadori in early 2014.

“It was a very very last-minute call. I remembered that when I signed the contract, the day after they sent me to Abu Dhabi [pre-season testing] to manage the GP2 team, with not so much experience.”

Ricci was now managing former on-track rival Johnny Cecotto Jr, and his experience was also useful for the struggling team.

“The GP3 team was absolutely not performing, and the GP2 team had better potential in comparison. So if you look at 2014 with Cecotto in GP2, and also with Sergio Canamasas, we were able to get some very good results immediately. Johnny had been fighting most of the season to finish top three in the points and ended up fifth.

“One of the best results as a team manager was the first race that I won, with Cecotto at Barcelona. We gambled a little bit with the strategy and we did a mega job with a great pitstop. It was a great drive for him, he started 16th and finished P1.

“I was lucky in that position, having the opportunity to work with Cecotto who was a super experienced driver. It was making my job easier because he knew exactly how to drive the car. After that we made some changes in the team, especially in GP3, and the year after with Luca Ghiotto we almost won the title. From that moment, we are the Trident of today. We are considered one of the best teams in the FIA F3 Championship.”

The biggest change in Ricci’s mind was his driver recruitment strategy, which he describes as a compromise between what a driver brings in performance versus what they bring in budget that then allows the team to improve the package it provides.

“Sometimes it?s difficult to find the best compromise, because sometimes for a team you have to lead on the budget,” concedes Ricci, whose F2 hires have yet to win races.

The first example of his preferred strategy was Ghiotto, who Ricci “pushed like crazy” to sign for the GP3 in 2015 and then GP2 in 2016. The Italian took pole on his GP3 debut at Spa-Francorchamps in 2014, but a team strategy error undid his race.

An engineer with previous working experience with Ghiotto was hired to convince him to join for 2015, and the team went from last in the standings with one points finish to six wins and second in both classifications. From then on, Trident was the only team other than ART Grand Prix able to fill all four of its GP3 cars.

“One of the best satisfactions in GP3 was when David Beckmann swapped from Jenzer Motorsport to Trident in 2018 [and won three races]. From that moment on we?ve been able to prove that our car package was as strong as ART too.”

Ricci also worked with the Ferrari Driver Academy to sign Raffaele Marciello to its GP2 team for ’15, and Trident’s relationship with the F1 manufacturer continued all the way through to last year.

Tyre degradation issues hampered Marciello’s year with the team, and he was dropped by Ferrari at the end of it. Ghiotto took the team’s next, and most recent, GP2/F2 win in 2016.

After its rebrand, F2 introduced a new car in 2018, which Ricci considers a “huge technological jump” from its predecessor. Its increased weight made the issue of tyre degradation even greater, and there’s even more to learn in 2020 with the larger 18-inch wheels being brought in. It’s a challenge for Ricci, but is increasing his love of the series as it gets “more interesting” and the standard of competition gets “higher and higher” as F2 adds complexities and drivers come ever more prepared with “personal trainers, mental coaches, driver coaches, their own karting sessions and sim sessions with the team”. Ricci says it bares no relation to the GP2 of just a decade ago.

He also says this is necessary, given one of his hardest tasks is educating drivers – especially stand-ins – about the Pirelli tyres’ unique characteristics that allow for one push lap and can drop off a cliff many laps before a scheduled pitstop when a driver pushes too hard early on. “The driver needs to adapt their driving style in each moment of the race,” he summarises.

The other big headache Ricci has had as team manager was in 2018, when a fall-out between his F2 drivers Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini resulted in Ferrucci deliberately colliding into his team-mate and having a public spact, then receiving a two-round ban, being dropped by Trident and getting taken to court by the team for ?502,000.

“It was a very difficult situation to manage inside the team. Two different drivers with two completely different characters were the result and the whinging about what happened at Silverstone was brought on by himself. When Santino Ferrucci left and Alessio Lorandi replaced him, the ambience changed completely in the team and it was more relaxed. There was more collaboration between both team-mates – as it should be.”

The post Giacomo Ricci: The GP2 underdog leading F2’s dark horse appeared first on Formula Scout.

Every year, a selection of junior single-seaters’ top drivers are handed professional opportunities. Some lead to long-term careers in series such as the DTM or World Endurance Championship, while others take the enviable risk of trying to prove themselves in the more cut-throat world of Formula 1 or IndyCar.

Having annually ranked the top 50 drivers in junior single-seater racing since 2011, Formula Scout is now also recognising the achievements of the very best of those who ‘graduate’ into the world of professional racing each year.

Here is Formula Scout’s Class of 2018…

11. Patricio O’Ward MEXICO 20y/o
18th in Super Formula, 26th in IndyCar? ?2018: Indy Lights champion (9 wins, 9 poles, 4 fastest laps), 31st in IndyCar

After a year out of single-seaters, Patricio O’Ward took an impressive Indy Lights title in 2018 and was immediately invited to make his IndyCar debut at Sonoma with Harding Racing – a team that had finished no higher than 13th that season.

He qualified a stunning fifth and finished ninth, having to learn how to manage IndyCar’s Firestone tyres during the race as he had no previous car experience. That prompted the team to sign him for 2019, but the deal fell apart pre-season.

Carlin, with similar form to Harding, saved O’Ward’s IndyCar ambitions and he thanked the team by qualifying and finishing eighth on his return at Circuit of the Americas. Once again it was the tyres that he had to get a handle on, having not done any testing, but his pace and racecraft – including a classy pass on Graham Rahal – served him well enough for a strong result.

A free practice crash meant O’Ward failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, but he had already been signed to Red Bull’s Junior Team by then. His new F1 connections led to him making a Formula 2 cameo and then a move to Super Formula, both without any prior car, circuit or tyre experience.

The Pirelli rubber proved particularly troublesome on his F2 debut, but his rate of learning was evident, while his SF move highlighted how difficult that championship is to master. He did finish sixth at the end of his three-race stint, before Red Bull released him so he could sign the contract that will bring him back to IndyCar in 2020 with McLaren Schmidt Peterson.

10. Sho Tsuboi JAPAN 24y/o
11th in Super Formula, 11th in Super GT? ?2018: Japanese F3 champion (17 wins, 14 poles, 16 fastest laps), 16th in Super GT

It required patience for Sho Tsuboi to follow up his 2015 Japanese Formula 4 title with equivalent success in Formula 3, but his three years there led to him becoming the most successful driver in championship history and a Japanese circuit expert.

During 2017 and ’18 he also raced in Super GT300, picking up two wins, and got his first taste of professional top tier racing when partnered with former F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen for last year’s Fuji 500km and finished second.

After a bruising end to his F3 career in the Macau Grand Prix, Toyota hired Tsuboi as early as it could for SF and Super GT this year, disposing 2016 SF champion Yuji Kunimoto of a seat in the former to do so.

Two-time champion Hiroaki Ishiura partnered Tsuboi at INGING in SF, and they were usually closely matched. Tsuboi often pushed too early in qualifying and was down the order as a result – although that approach did earn him a front-row start for his second ever race – and had to depend on his circuit knowledge to better his rookie rivals during the races.

Fifth on his debut and second place at Fuji brought in an impressive amount of points, but there was clearly far more he could have achieved – not least when he caught himself out accelerating on a safety car restart at Sugo and spun out.

In Super GT, it was clear that Toyota was not the strongest but Tsuboi still took a podium alongside Kunimoto.

9. Jonathan Aberdein SOUTH AFRICA 21y/o
10th in DTM? ?2018: 12th in European F3 (1 fastest lap)? ?2017: 9th in ADAC F4 (1 fastest lap)? ?2016-17: F4 UAE champion

Jonathan Aberdein, son of former South African Touring Car driver Chris, failed to translate his F4 United Arab Emirates title-winning form into results in ADAC F4, and for his third season in single-seaters he stepped up to FIA European F3.

Remarkably, Aberdein didn’t look out of touch in the championship. He was unsurprisingly not in the same league as his fellow rookie team-mates Dan Ticktum and Juri Vips at Motopark, but at Silverstone he did pick up two podiums.

A final position of 12th in the standings, sandwiched between 2019 Japanese F3 champion Sacha Fenestraz and DTM rival Ferdinand Habsburg, was respectable, and he scored more points than his three other full-time team-mates combined.

His subsequent promotion to an Audi DTM seat with the debuting WRT was arguably a surprise based solely on his record, but he had long been impressing in tests, and he rewarded the Belgian squad’s faith by making the top 10 in the standings as the top rookie.

On four occasions he qualified in the top three, and was just 0.068 seconds off pole in just his fifth race. He was foiled by similar margins the two other times he made the front row, both on circuits he was completely new to.

8. Gabriel Aubry FRANCE 21y/o
2nd in 2018-19 WEC LMP2 (3 wins, 3 poles), 4th in IMSA LMP2 (1 win, 1 pole, 3 fastest laps)? ?2018: 18th in GP3

At the end of 2017, Formula Renault Eurocup race-winner Gabriel Aubry got his first taste of LMP2 prototypes in the WEC rookie test under the eye of world champion Nicolas Lapierre and two of his early career mentors.

The 19-year-old?set an impression on the paddock and was immediately linked to a race seat. Aubry denied the speculation at the time, especially after signing for Arden’s GP3 squad for the next season.

At the same time, he made his sportscar debut in a LMP3 car with Arden’s partner team Jackie Chan DC Racing in Asia. In March 2018, DC Racing signed him to drive its lead 2018-19 WEC LMP2 car. With such a high-profile opportunity to focus on, it’s unsurprising that Aubry’s GP3 season was a disappointment with the struggling Arden; he scored just five points.

The Aubry/Stephane Richelmi/Ho-Pin Tung car finished 10th overall in WEC, but its three class wins weren’t enough for the LMP2 title after a morning puncture meant Signatech Alpine beat it to victory and title honours in the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours.

To add to his stellar 2019, the highlight of which was probably winning the Shanghai 6 Hours on intermediate tyres in dire conditions,?Aubry won in an IMSA LMP2 cameo and is currently sixth overall in the 2019-20 WEC season.

7. Santino Ferrucci USA 21y/o
13th in IndyCar? ?2018: 19th in F2? ?2017: 22nd in F2? ?2016: 12th in GP3? ?2015: 3rd in TRS (1 win, 2 fastest laps)

Santio Ferrucci’s reputation was in tatters last year, following on from behaviour in F2 that was deemed totally unacceptable.

He was setting a good impression in his IndyCar cameos with Dale Coyne Racing though, and was signed up full-time for 2019. Since then he has unapologetically established himself as one of IndyCar’s future stars.

With what has felt like a totally fresh start, he worked very well with four-time champion Sebastien Bourdais and was consistently able to just plug away and finish races ? until the final two rounds. Reliability hurt him at Portland, and he made his only major rookie error at Laguna Seca with an overambitious pass on a restart.

The ovals, somewhat surprisingly given his primarily European racing experience, was where he made the biggest impact. A fully deserving Rookie of the Year at this year?s Indianapolis 500, Ferrucci?s strongest results came in the form of a trio of fourth places with immensely impressive drives at the speedways of Texas, Pocono and Gateway.

He was more than solid on street courses too, and is set to stay with Coyne for 2020, possibly in the Vasser-Sullivan co-entry now “dad” Bourdais is gone. IndyCar may be the only place where he can rebuild his career, but he’s making the most of it.

6. Alex Palou SPAIN 22y/o
3rd in Super Formula (1 win, 3 poles, 2 fastest laps), 15th in Super GT300 (1 pole)? ?2018: 7th in European F3 (2 fastest laps)

While he started his car racing career at the same time as Lando Norris and George Russell, the lack of titles compared to his contemporaries meant Alex Palou never received the patronage that was going to launch him to F1 in the same way.

In 2017, Palou raced in Japanese F3 with underdog team ThreeBond Drago Corse, and bagged a trio of wins as well as a double pole on his debut. While he made headlines by winning in just his second Formula V8 3.5 race, it was the impression he left in Japan that meant after two test appearances he was eagerly signed up by Nakajima Racing for SF two years later.

The driving style that had rewarded Palou in F3 and FV8 3.5 worked wonders with SF’s all-new car and tyres for 2019. He broke track records in pre-season testing, and it was a surprise when fellow rookie team-mate Tadasuke Makino pipped him to pole at the Suzuka season opener by 0.029s. He ran behind his team-mate until serving a penalty earned from a team-induced error, but was still in victory contention until a wheel failure.

Palou finished no lower than sixth on-track in the next five races, including two poles and a dominant first win in extremely wet conditions at Fuji. He went into the Suzuka title decider three points from the front after taking pole, but as favourite to win.

A damaged air intake led to extreme tyre degradation and he finished last, leaving him third in the points. Honda and Satoru Nakajima want to retain Palou, but he’s already aiming for IndyCar with Coyne after an impressive debut test.

Like most in Japan, Palou also doubled up in Super GT this year. He took longer to fight at the front in the GT300 class McLaren he drove with Le Mans winners Team Goh and Seiji Ara, but ended the season on a high with a podium and a pole.

5. Colton Herta USA 19y/o
7th in IndyCar (2 wins, 3 poles, 2 fastest laps)? ?2018: 2nd in Indy Lights (4 wins, 3 poles, 7 fastest laps), 37th in IndyCar

Second-generation talent Colton Herta erupted onto the IndyCar stage with the small Harding Steinbrenner Racing team and became a record breaker almost immediately by winning on just his third start at debuting track COTA.

The teenager proved that this was no fluke by backing this up with three pole positions and crushing the opposition at the Laguna Seca season finale to emulate his father Bryan’s 1998 & ’19 successes.

Harding’s one-car operation was assisted by juggernaut Andretti Autosport, but by no means should that take anything away from Herta. There were regular occurrences where he was faster than all four Andretti cars.

Herta did make the occasional rookie error, but the predominant reason he narrowly missed out on winning the Rookie of the Year honours was through misfortune. A run of three races in which he was classified last ? including the double points-awarding Indianapolis 500 where his car gave way after a handful of laps ? made a considerable dent in his points tally.

It?s little surprise that Herta (and Harding) will be fully integrated into Andretti’s line-up in 2020, a deal that was announced a year to the day after Herta was beaten to the Indy Lights title as an Andretti driver by O’Ward.

In addition to his newfound IndyCar fame, Herta won the hotly contested GTLM class in the Daytona 24 Hours at the star of the year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in a BMW.

4. Maximilian Gunther GERMANY 22y/o
17th in 2018-19 FE? ?2018: 14th in F2 (1 win)? ?2017: 3rd in European F3 (5 wins, 3 poles, 2 fastest laps), 5th in Macau GP

Every expectation of Maximilian Gunther was surpassed in 2019, although it shouldn’t be surprising for those who have watched him race over the last few years.

His final F3 campaign with Prema in 2017 was one where he matured significantly, although results trailed off when his long-term future was weakened by Mercedes-Benz announcing its DTM departure. He gained enough sponsorship to step up to F2 with Arden last year, where he then had to handle the challenge of having inferior equipment to his opposition.

He joined Formula E team Dragon Racing as reserve driver during his F2 campaign, and was promoted to a race seat for the 2018-19 FE season, meaning he had to handle racing with an uncertain future and with inferior equipment at the same time.

Despite being demoted back into a reserve role for three races, and then driving on a race-by-race basis for the rest of the season, Gunther outclassed world championship-winning team-mate Jose Maria Lopez and outscored him 20 points to three.

He had several memorable moments, not least saving an incredible slide on his Rome return, and qualified or finished in the top five on multiple occasions. In the off-season a vacancy at BMW Andretti opened, and he was snapped up by his local brand.

Gunther topped pre-season testing, and completed a team one-two in the second Diriyah E-Prix before a penalty for overtaking behind the safety car. The 22-year-old, while still in need of some more professionalism, could be FE’s latest winner in 2020.

3. George Russell BRITAIN 21y/o
20th in F1? ?2018: F2 champion (7 wins, 5 poles, 6 fastest laps)? ?2017: GP3 champion (4 wins, 4 poles, 5 fastest laps)

The record books will say that George Russell finished dead last in the 2019 F1 season and without a single point to his name. What they won’t mention is that it was exceptional rookie campaign for the Williams driver.

The situation that the 2018 F2 champion was given was a far from ideal one. His perseverance and demeanour helped him secure his drive, albeit at the very back of the grid. It was clear that the Williams FW42 was a hopeless car – evident straight from its late arrival to pre-season testing – and, to Russell?s credit, he delivered some absolutely mighty performances with it.

His leadership qualities and occasional nipping of the heels of the tight midfield were rare highlights for the struggling team ? and what he has showed this season highlights how big a star Williams has on its hands.

The team has helped him to come out of his shell, and the uncompetitiveness of the car has cut some of the pressure his rookie peers have faced. This has allowed him to start build Williams around him and to adapt to F1 at his own pace.

Had he not made a small error in the German Grand Prix’s tricky conditions, or had his call to pit at the right time been adhered to, he would have taken the point for 10th place (or maybe higher) that ended up going to team-mate Robert Kubica.

To compare with his team-mate has been difficult. Spare parts have been scarce at Williams, especially late-season. The Kubica of 2019, making his F1 return after his life-changing 2011 rally crash, was clearly not the same driver that threatened for wins in the fifth-fastest car in 2010. But that should not take away from the fact that Russell has comprehensively got the best out of his machinery and placed it in positions it does not deserve to be.

=1. Lando Norris BRITAIN?19y/o
11th in F1? ?2018: 2nd in F2 (1 win, 1 pole, 1 fastest lap)? ?2017: European F3 champion (9 wins, 8 poles, 8 fastest laps)

Lando Norris entered F1 as McLaren?s youngest ever driver, as part of an energetic duo with Carlos Sainz Jr, and impressed immensely both on and off the track. Ferociously fast in qualifying, he was more than a match for his more experienced team-mate ? who by many has been considered the driver of the season along with champion Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Norris initially looked somewhat hesitant in combat, which does go against him. But by the end of the year, his racecraft was earning the plaudits of his peers and was consistently translating into points. A brace of sixths early in the season were his strongest results ? both times benefiting from issues for Sainz but finishing ahead of Pierre Gasly?s vastly superior Red Bull.

But it was the more frequent point-scoring after the summer break that was more impressive, finishing six of the final nine races in the top 10. His points tally was just over half of Sainz?s, but Norris was blighted by issues beyond his control on a number of occasions ? fire in Canada, engine trouble in Germany and Belgium, and a botched pitstop in Mexico.

The impact he has had off-track has also been exceptional. He is one of a new era of drivers ? one who is very proactive on social media, incredibly fun, and comes across as very genuine. He was unfortunate to a degree to finish outside the top 10 in the standings, a position lost when his lack of aggression allowed Racing Point rival Sergio Perez past in the Abu Dhabi GP.

The raw speed is certainly there, and it’s easy to pinpoint the rooms for improvement in a driver who is very much the antithesis of McLaren drivers of the past, and the model for its future.

=1. Alex Albon THAILAND 23y/o
8th in F1? ?2018: 3rd in F2 (4 wins, 3 poles)? ?2017: 10th in F2 (1 fastest lap)? ?2016: 2nd in GP3 (4 wins, 3 poles, 3 fastest laps)

An insane 18 months for Alex Albon started with a race-by-race F2 deal and ended with one of the most coveted seats in motorsport. Formula Scout revealed the inside story of how the London-born Thai came to be in that position earlier this year.

The humility that Albon shows has served him well, and unlike Gasly ? the man he replaced first at Toro Rosso and then at Red Bull Racing ? he has not been quite so fazed at the seemingly impossible task of walking into Verstappen?s team.

Unlike his fellow rookies, Albon was not groomed for an F1 seat, and his first ever lap in pre-season testing concluded after three corners with a spin. There was also a hefty shunt in China early in the year, but the underlying talent was raising eyebrows and with good reason. He was able to keep up with a rejuvenated Daniil Kvyat, and his performance in the wet in Germany was worthy of the podium that went to his team-mate.

That was his strongest drive of the year with Toro Rosso, and came in the first time he had ever raced an F1 car in the wet. While Verstappen was far from reach in the second half of the season, especially in qualifying, he did the job that Red Bull requested of him effectively and secured his future with the squad for another year.

His nine-race scoring run was only bettered in-season by the dominant Mercedes duo and Verstappen, and had Hamilton not spun him around at the end of the Brazilian GP he would’ve been a clear sixth in the standings.

The mid-season switch into a car difficult to drive, but believed to be attuned closer to his driving style, makes it difficult to judge exactly just how well Albon has performed, but how he has approached his rookie season and its hurdles considering has been admirable. There is, however, the question mark of how well he can do, with full preparations, in 2020.

Written by Elliot Wood and Craig Woollard

The post Formula Scout’s Class of 2018 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: F2 Media Service

Trident is set to take court action against its dropped Formula 2 driver Santino Ferrucci, who left the team after a on-track dispute with team-mate Arjun Maini at Silverstone.

The Court of Milan has issued an order of payment for an amount of??502,000 from Haas Formula 1 junior Ferrucci, having been considering legal action since terminating the American’s contract in July.

Prior to his two round F2 ban for colliding with Maini and ?66,000 fine for driving his car in the paddock sans gloves and while using a phone, Ferrucci had made his IndyCar debut with Dale Coyne Racing, despite a lack of payment to Trident from his sponsors.

He’s returned to IndyCar since, competing in the last two races of the season with a best of 11th, and is in contention to drive with Dale Coyne again next year. Haas has yet to drop Ferrucci from his role, though has said it could if he remains in IndyCar.

• Feature: Ten American drivers Haas should be supporting

Alessio Lorandi has replaced Ferrucci at Trident, and has a best finish of seventh in six races.

Trident’s full public statement regarding the matter said:

“Trident Motorsport informs to have obtained by the Court of Milan an order of payment for an amount of Euro 502.000, plus interest and legal fees, against Mr. Santino Ferrucci and its guarantor, an American company represented by Mr. Michael Ferrucci, in relation to the driver?s failure to pay the amounts due under the contract.

“Trident Motorsport confirms its intention to proceed with any legal action in order to obtain compensation for all damages suffered, well above the amount so far retained, as interim measure, by the Court.”

The post Trident to take court action against Santino Ferrucci appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Zak Mauger / FIA Formula 2

The Trident Formula 2 team has terminated Santino Ferrucci’s contract after the American driver earned a two-round ban for deliberately crashing into team-mate Arjun Maini at Silverstone.

As well as the contact with Maini on the cool-down lap following the sprint race in Britain, Ferrucci was also sanctioned for using a phone while driving between the F2 paddock and the Formula 1 pit-lane, and declined to attend when summoned by the stewards.

After his ban was announced, Trident came out in support of Maini and his family after “the unsportsmanlike and above all uncivilised behaviour that he was forced to endure not only during this last weekend by Santino Ferrucci and father, who accompanied him.”

Trident has now confirmed that Ferrucci will not return to the team once he has served his ban, citing not only the incidents at Silverstone but also a failure to pay the team.

The team highlighted that Ferrucci blamed the non-payment on his sponsors despite being able to make his IndyCar debut in Detroit in June with Dale Coyne Racing.

In a statement, it said: “Trident Motorsport informs to have communicated to Santino Ferrucci and to its guarantor, a company represented by [his father] Mr. Michael Ferrucci, the termination of the contract with the Team.

“This decision was motivated by the events – which are now of public domain – occurred at Silverstone, as well as by the serious breach of Driver?s payment obligations.

“Since the beginning of the championship, the Driver justified its payments? default with alleged failure by his sponsors to fulfil their obligations.

“It seems weird that, despite such kind of issues, Santino Ferrucci had the resources needed to enter the Detroit Indy race from June 1st to 3rd while, at the same time, he was not honouring his agreement with Trident Motorsport.

“Trident gave mandate to its lawyers in order to activate all the procedures needed to fully recover its credits towards the driver.”

Trident has yet to announce a replacement for Ferrucci for the next round of the F2 season at the Hungaroring next weekend.

The Haas Formula 1 team has yet to make a statement on whether Ferrucci will continue as a junior driver with the outfit.

The post Trident F2 team terminates Santino Ferrucci’s contract appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Joe Portlock / FIA Formula 2

Santino Ferrucci has been banned from taking part in the next two Formula 2 rounds after making deliberate contact with Trident team-mate Arjun Maini after the end of the Silverstone sprint race.

Ferrucci ran into the back of fellow Haas Formula 1 junior Maini’s car on the cool-down lap, prompting Maini to say on the radio that “there’s something wrong with [Ferrucci]’s brain” and that he should be banned.

Stewards summoned Ferrucci to a hearing after the race but he declined to attend, and was suspended for the events at the Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps and fined ?60,000 for the incident.

The two Trident drivers had first clashed in Saturday’s feature race when Ferrucci forced Maini off track while attempting to defend position, which earned him a time penalty.

In the sprint race they made contact when Maini tried to overtake, with Ferrucci again being judged to have forced Maini off track. For this, he was excluded from the sprint race results, having finished 14th.

In addition, Ferrucci was seen to be driving between the F2 paddock and the F1 pitlane wearing only one glove whilst holding a phone, earning him a further ?6000 in fines.

Trident voices support for Maini

Trident took to social media on Sunday evening to voice its support for Maini in the light of Ferrucci’s ‘uncivilised behaviour’.

“Trident intends to show their solidarity and support to Arjun Maini?and his family, for the unsportsmanlike and above all uncivilised behaviour that he was forced to endure not only during this last weekend by Santino Ferrucci and father, who accompanied him.

“The contractual implications of what has happened will be dealt with by our lawyers. Never in these 12 years of sporting activity has anything even close to this ever occurred. We apologise for the show that we have regretfully offered.”

The post Santino Ferrucci banned for two F2 rounds after post-race clash with team-mate Arjun Maini appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Malcolm Griffiths/FIA Formula 2

Trident topped both sessions on day two of the second Formula 2 pre-season test in Bahrain thanks to its Haas Formula 1 juniors Arjun Maini and Santino Ferrucci.

Maini achieved the best lap of the day, a 1m42.779s, inside the first hour of running.

Ferrucci led a much slower afternoon session with a time nearly three seconds slower, as race simulations took priority.

In the morning, Jack Aitken was second quickest for ART Grand Prix, 0.224 seconds adrift, with day one pace-setter Nyck de Vries in third for Prema.

Luca Ghiotto took fourth in front of Louis Deletraz, with George Russell edging Lando Norris for sixth.

Arden duo Maximilian Gunther and Nirei Fukuzumi were both in the top 10, separated by Fukuzumi’s fellow Honda protege Tadasuke Makino of Russian Time.

Ferrucci, who was 17th in the morning, out-paced Ralph Boschung by 0.142s to top the afternoon session late on, with Maini in third.

Day two times

The post Haas juniors Maini and Ferrucci put Trident on top in F2 testing appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2

Trident will run Haas Formula 1 junior drivers Santino Ferrucci and Arjun Maini in Formula 2 this year.

Ferrucci continues with the team after stepping up from GP3 in the middle of 2017, taking best finishes of ninth in his first two feature races at the Hungaroring and Spa.

Maini moves up from GP3 after coming ninth in the standings last year, winning the reversed-grid race at Barcelona.

Both drivers sampled the new F2 car with the team in last week’s shakedown at Magny-Cours.

“I’m extremely satisfied and motivated by our 2018 line-up which is a highly competitive and challenging one,” team manager Giacomo Ricci said.

“We will be able to rely on two undoubtedly talented drivers in order to build a prestigious future together.

“Santino Ferrucci merged with our team in perfect fashion last season and really impressed our engineers for his speed, driving skills and commitment. We hope to see him bring home solid results over the course of the season.

“On the other hand, we have been following Arjun Maini for a while. He showed great driving skills and race conduct which are going to be some really important aspects in a demanding series like Formula 2.”

Ferrucci said:?”I am very proud to be back at Trident for my first full season of F2.

“I think I fit extremely well in the team and we have strong potential this season to fight for a championship. I cannot wait to get back behind the wheel for our first pre-season test.”

Maini ran with both Trident and Russian Time in his maiden F2 test in Abu Dhabi in December, topping two sessions with the latter.

“I?m very excited to be competing in F2 with Team Trident,” said the Indian racer.

“I felt we were quite competitive during the post-season test and given that the series is using all new cars for the coming year, I?m quite excited for the year ahead.

“Trident is a very strong team and I?m sure that if we work hard we?ll be in for some strong results during the course of the coming season.”

The post Trident signs Haas juniors Ferrucci and Maini for F2 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service

Haas Formula 1 protege Santino Ferrucci will stay with DAMS in GP3 this year, with new Sauber development driver Tatiana Calderon and Brazilian Formula Renault graduate Bruno Baptista joining him as team-mates.

Eighteen-year-old American Ferrucci came 12th in the GP3 standings in 2016 after switching from European Formula 3, with one podium finish coming in race two at Spa.

Colombia’s Calderon came 21st after making a similar move, with two 10th places her best finishes. The 23-year-old has also been announced as a Sauber development driver.

Baptista steps up after two seasons in Formula Renault following his South American Formula 4 title of 2014, achieving 14th in the Eurocup standings with Fortec last year.

All three drivers ran with DAMS in the Abu Dhabi test in December.

“2016 was our first year in GP3 and we achieved some very strong results, confirming our potential and improving throughout the season,” team boss Jean-Paul Driot said.

“We are delighted to have such a strong line-up this year. Santino showed incredible pace during his first season and we gained vital experience that will see us regularly fight for wins this year.

“We have known Tatiana for some time and followed her progress throughout 2016. She?s very focused and dedicated, so we are confident of achieving some good results together.

“Bruno will be the rookie in the team, this will be a good chance for him to learn from the team?s experience. He performed very well in the test and I?m sure he will be competitive from the start.”

The post Ferrucci joined at DAMS GP3 team by Calderon and Baptista appeared first on Formula Scout.