All the attention yesterday was on the new Ferrari F10 and so there was not much coverage of the Ferrari Drivers Academy – a programme that Ferrari says will be “a new and very important initiative for young drivers”
The project is headed by Luca Baldisserri, who has a long career with the team, dating back to 1989 when the then 24-year-old joined the team, two years after finishing an engineering degree, specialising in electronic control systems. He began work as a development engineer on the team’s semi-automatic gearbox, which has been introduced that year and then in the mid-1990s he was promoted to become a race engineer, working initially with Gerhard Berger, but later with Eddie Irvine and ultimately with Michael Schumacher. Three years of success led to a promotion to the role of technical coordinator but he seen returned to the race team as the chief race engineer and strategist. The departure of Ross Brawn at the end of 2006 led to a promotion and he was named Head of Track Operations and in 2008 he became Team Manager/Sporting Director of the team. He left that role in April last year and went back to a technical coordinator role and overseeing the development of the new driver development programme.
“For the first time Ferrari is concentrated on the precise goal of looking for new talents,” he said. “The programme, which will start this year, includes several activities – from scouting to training to a driving school, to find new talents and let them grow to be part of Formula 1 with Ferrari one day. At the moment we have 12 young drivers and a further selection will follow. We’re starting with karts and then other formulas such as Abarth, Formula 3, GP3, but also Formula 2, GP2 and the World Series.”
The scheme will involve a close collaboration with the Italian national sporting authority – the CSAI.
“We are also relying on many prestigious consultations,” Baldisserri said, “such as Minardi, Andrea Bertolini in the area of karts and other professionals in Italy and abroad. Ferrari is the last team taking part in projects dedicated to young drivers and I really believe in this project, because the drivers’ motivation is fundamental as of the start of the career. It’s worth a lot that the drivers not only learn how to drive but also how to talk to the sponsors, to the press and that they know several languages. The programme for professional drivers also includes five training periods during the year in Fiorano, Mugello and Vallelunga as well as a final event of the season and an evaluation at the end of the year.”
At the moment Ferrari is mentioning only one name – Jules Bianchi – but Baldisserri says that there are “several drivers we’re looking at and not only in Italy”.
If they are looking for someone outside Italy, two words…Alexander Rossi
Gabriel Chaves
It is almost a Ferrari tradition to be last to realise that they need to do something. Last to put the engine behind the driver. Last to do ground effect etc etc. Now once it has been made completely clear to them by the Badoer farce they realise they need a young driver program. Surely Lewis Hamilton turning up in a McLaren and being instantly competitive was the last clue anyone needed on this subject.
Not too sure how I found this blog but glad I did find it. Think I was looking for something else on google. Not sure I agree 100% with what you say, but have bookmaked and will pop back to read to see if you add any more posts. Keep up the good work.
[...] Saward touched on the importance of Ferrari’s young driver program and hinted that it could really take off in the coming years under the guidance of Luca [...]