Rookie drivers are different from each other
Alongside the already-known F.1 drivers, 5 new drivers entered the 2013 F.1 Championship. Their faces are not completely unknown to the world of motorsport, as they’ve previously drawn attention on themselves in the most important preparatory Championships.
Three of the five rookies run for the two so-called “Cinderella” teams, the Marussia and Caterham. The Frenchman Bianchi is getting the better of his team mate Chilton and the duo Pic/Van Der Garde. The 24-year-old rookie driver who is also a Ferrari Driver Academy member is proving to deserve his position as a F.1 driver, despite his car is not competitive at all.
Williams and Sauber, the two teams which are not as performing as expected, have put the Finnish GP3 racer Valtteri Bottas and the Mexican Esteban Gutierrez alongside the two official racers Pastor Maldonado and Nico Hulkenberg. These two rookies took a great start of the season, supported by a more performing car. It was just in the Canadian GP that the Finn managed to bring his Williams to the top positions of the standing, getting a second-row start. He also finished ahead of his team mate in many GP.
We’re only at the beginning of the season; the rookies will have to demonstrate to deserve to be F.1 drivers. Their teams will have to help them improving without putting them under pressure. Unfortunately, because of these silly regulations, young drivers don’t have enough experience at the wheel of a F.1 driver when they get into the top category. “A drivers has to run at least 5000 km before being evaluated” says Gian Carlo Minardi “I think that the Friday morning practice session is fundamental for a driver’s professional path, as through it he has not only the opportunity to become familiar with the tracks he has to run on, but also to gain experience alongside top drivers”, explains the manager from Faenza.