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Jules Bianchi tests for Scuderia Ferrari - Click above for high-res image gallery

Ferrari got seriously caught with its pants down last year in Formula One. When Felipe Massa was sidelined with a head injury halfway through the season, the Scuderia found itself without a viable replacement after Michael Schumacher proved unfit to take his place, veteran test driver Luca Badoer failed to rise to the challenge and Giancarlo Fisichella didn't manage to score a single point. But the venerable F1 team is learning from its mistakes with the launch of the Ferrari Driving Academy.

Similar to the programs run by Red Bull and Renault, the Ferrari Driving Academy was established to foster young talent along the ladder to Formula One, starting way down in karting. The program is run by Luca Baldisserri, the strategist who replaced Ross Brawn during his sabbatical and who currently serves as the team's track manager.

The first pupil selected for the program is Jules Bianchi. The young French driver, managed by former Ferrari CEO Jean Todt's son Nicholas, is the scion of a successful racing family: his grandfather Mauro Biachi won the FIA GT Championship three times, and his great uncle won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed in nineteen grands prix. Jules himself won the French Formula Renault 2.0 title in 2007 and the F3 Euroseries in 2009, and following his test for Ferrari in December, has scored a podium finish in his debut in the GP2 Asia series. Not a bad start, so we'd better keep our eyes open for Bianchi and future Ferrari Driver Academy pupils making their way up the ladder. Press releases after the jump.


Gallery: F1 Young Driver Test, Jerez, December 2009


[Source: Ferrari | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

Continue reading Ferrari Driving Academy already yielding results

Ferrari Driving Academy already yielding results originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So what does a former F1 pilot do during retirement? Keep on truck-- err, driving.

According to an article in Sporting Life, Ferrari's engineers are concerned about Kimi Raikkonen's capacity to develop and test their vehicle at the same level Schumacher did during his tenure with the team. Raikkonen will be taking over driving duties for Michael Schumacher, who announced his retirement last week. Although Schumacher has confirmed that he'll be staying with the team for an undisclosed period of time, it was not assumed that the former world champion would fill the test driver position.

Ferrari's chief race engineer, Luca Baldisserri put it best, saying, "After all, driving is the thing [Schumacher] loves most."

[Source: Sporting Life]

The Schu may take test driver position originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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