After competing in GP2 for four seasons and regularly testing for Renault, Lucas Di Grassi has been a familiar face in the Formula One paddock for a number of years. In fact, ever since he won the prestigious Formula Three Macau Grand Prix back in 2005, Di Grassi has been on the radar of many team principals as a young talent to watch. It may have been a long wait but next season the Brazilian will finally make it onto the Formula One grid, racing for the newly launched Virgin team alongside former Toyota driver Timo Glock. Here the 25 year-old discusses his new team, his new team mate Glock and his prospects for 2010…

Q: Finally you are a Formula One driver…
Lucas di Grassi: Yes! There has been a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work over the past years and to finally get a race seat this year is a dream come true. It is amazing. I’ve been in GP2 for a lot of seasons, have had good results and have also tested for Renault for two years. And now I think I am at the best point in my career. At least as best prepared as I can be. So I think to start in such a solid team and with such a good team mate in F1 is a great opportunity for me.

Q: Did you ever doubt this day would come? You were in the Renault family for such a long time…
LG: I think the opportunity slipped away a couple of times. I think sometimes for good reasons and I think sometimes for bad reasons. I don’t think ‘doubt’ is the word. I have always worked as hard as I could in every single aspect of my career to try to get the best chance for this day to happen. I always believed. I never stopped pushing. So it has finally arrived. Now it’s just at the start of a new challenge for me. So I’m going to be even more motivated and will work even harder to try to cope with F1. Formula One is a different level to GP2. It’s a different level from F1 testing. So I have to adapt and I’ll have to prepare myself as best as I can to have a long and successful career in F1. That’s what I’m aiming for.

Q: Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, has said he doesn’t want to spend too much money. Does that make you a bit nervous?
LG: From my perspective, Formula One is getting to a different stage, where a lot of private teams and new teams are coming into F1. And there’s the idea of limiting the budget. Also I don’t think money and success are completely related. We have seen many teams spend an awful lot of money in F1 and have no results. And at the same time we have seen teams with less money have great results, like last year. And now the regulations are little bit tighter, making parts a little bit more standardised and making the cars a little bit more equal, I think the difference between teams will be smaller between the first and the last place.

Q: What do you think Richard’s hopes are for next year? Is he expecting Virgin could come in and do a Brawn?
LG: Richard knows what he’s doing, and we know it is a big challenge to build a Formula One car from scratch. I think Richard’s plans are to enjoy huge success in F1 in the medium to long term. But to be realistic and to be optimistic are two different things. So I think Richard is very realistic on what we can achieve next year. It’s very difficult to know until we put the car on track, but to have a huge success in the first year is going to be very difficult.

Q: There are 13 teams in Formula One racing next year, what convinced you to choose Virgin?
LG: Firstly, I think that Virgin is a very solid, multinational company that’s not going to come in to the sport to do a bad job. They are entering the sport to do a good job in the medium to long term and they have a solid background. They have built a solid relationship with John (Booth) and with Nick (Wirth). But it’s not only on the technical side, in every area the team is very, very well structured. So that was the main reason, as well as knowing John for a long time, and knowing Nick. That is the main reason why I chose to come to Virgin, and I hope my relationship with them goes as well as it has already started.

Q: How do you think you will perform against the other new teams next year?
LG: I think our biggest reference for next year will be the new teams that are also building their cars from scratch. But as I said, we have to put the car on track to have an exact measure of where we are. But I’m very confident that Nick can deliver very high standard work.

Q: What’s your reference in terms of your driving ability for next year? We had lots of rookies last year - Sebastien Buemi, Romain Grosjean and Jaime Alguersuari - and now you’re going to be one. Did you speak to them at all in the paddock?
LG: I’ve had quite a few team mates, and also people I was fighting with, that have succeeded in F1. I had Buemi as my team mate at ART in 2007, I fought for the title in 2007 with Glock, I fought with Kubica and Vettel in Formula Three in 2005, I fought with Kobayashi in GP2, and I fought with Lewis Hamilton and with Rosberg in F3. So for many years I have at least been at the same level, or had better results, than the guys who are in F1 now. If I had been in Formula One maybe five or four years ago, I would not have had the same chance to have a long career in F1 as I have now, because I’m much more experienced and much more mature than I was three or four years ago. An example of this is Massa, who is a great talent and a great driver. He came into F1 very young and he almost lost his seat in F1 after a year. He went back to be a test driver and after getting more prepared, more mature and more experienced, he came back to be one of the top drivers today. So my aim is to take my career in Formula One step by step, independent of which team I’m with. I think I’m starting in a good position to do so.

Q: Have you had to bring backing with you to get this drive?
LG: No. It was never about backing. I’m trying, of course, to bring more companies from Brazil, because as I said the sport is entering a new era. It’s an era less about manufacturers and more about companies. So the marketing side is very important. I already have one company coming with me next year - Unilever’s Clear. I’ll be their ambassador in Brazil. We are working very hard to get as many companies as possible. I still have to do a good job. I’ll be in F1 because of my results.

Q: You will be paid a salary?
LG: Yes. I have been hired by Virgin.

Q: You fought against Timo on the track in GP2, how do you feel about working with him now?
LG: Timo finished in the top ten in the championship last year, he’s had great results in the past and he is considered a good driver in F1. So he’ll be a good reference to have. It’s much better to me to have a team mate who is considered more experienced than I am in F1, so I can learn from him and I can push myself to try to beat him all the time. I will try to take time to improve the team and to work as a team mate, and I will try to beat him every time we are on the track. So I think it will be a healthy relationship. We will push each other and together we will push the team forward.

Q: Do you think Virgin has a chance if Michael Schumacher comes back next year?
LG: I don’t think it has anything to do with Michael coming back or not. I think there are teams that have been there for 50 years building Formula One cars. It’s going to be a great challenge to build a car that is very competitive. To build a Formula One car is very, very difficult. And at the same time it is completely relative to what the others are doing. So it’s very difficult to know at this stage how the car is going to behave next year. I know the chances of Virgin Racing succeeding will be in a medium to long time, so maybe in three to five years. I think that’s the timeframe for a new team to start winning races but we never know. Next year could be a surprise and the best we can do is to prepare ourselves in the best way possible.

Q: How big a risk is it building a completely digitally-designed car?
LG: It is hard for me to say anything. From what I’ve seen the car looks really good and I hope it’s as fast as it looks. But it’s difficult to tell until we put the car on track. I believe Nick has done a great job with the LMP1 car that he designed. He produced a very competitive car. F1 is a different level but I think, with the experience and effort he is putting in, he will be able to produce a good car.

Q: You have talked about the team’s goals, but what are your personal goals?
LG: As I said, I have a very good team mate. So I will work as hard as I can to match his results. That will be a baseline for me. I will try to improve myself as a driver and learn as best as I can.

Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi will partner Toyota refugee Timo Glock at Virgin Racing next season as the all-new team tackle their first Formula One campaign. Portugal’s Alvaro Parente and Brazil’s Luiz Razia will serve as test drivers.

The signing of Di Grassi, Renault’s third driver for the past two seasons, was confirmed in London on Tuesday as Virgin officially unveiled their team identity, by their own admission ‘the worst kept secret in F1’.

Glock was confirmed several weeks ago by British squad Manor GP, who had their 2010 entry accepted by the FIA prior to finalising their deal with Virgin. Di Grassi, 25, has spent the past four seasons competing in GP2, finishing runner-up in 2007, and tested for Renault at the recent young driver session at Jerez.

“I could never have imagined a debut as perfect as this one,” said the Brazilian. “And I believe I am ready for F1. I have worked a lot over the years to get here and I believe it happened just in time. Being here with them makes more sense to me than to be with a veteran organisation. We will debut together, and that detail makes for a special bond too. I am ready to work 24/7 and I am sure I will be able to contribute to the team’s efforts in every stage of our evolution in 2010.”

Glock added: “I think it is a great opportunity for me. It is different to everything that I have done before but in a fun and positive way. I think everyone knows that Virgin Racing is a serious team. They want to be in F1, they want to succeed in the future and I am happy to be on board.”

Parente, 25, is another GP2 veteran, with two wins in the last two seasons, and a former British F3 champion. He tested for the Renault Formula One team after winning the 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 series. Razia, 20, also raced in GP2 in 2009.

Virgin also confirmed the team’s management line-up on Tuesday. Team principal is Alex Tai, who has worked closely with Virgin boss Richard Branson since 1997, his most recent post being chief operating officer of Virgin Galactic, the company’s commercial space flight wing.

“At Virgin Racing we have a remarkable group of experienced people who have come together to make the impossible possible,” commented Tai. “Virgin Racing is a real racing team founded by real racer which has a clearly defined path towards achieving success. This will be our core focus, but at the same time we intend to be a team with great spirit.”

Sporting director is Englishman John Booth, former racer and the man behind Manor Motorsport, who lodged the team’s original entry as Manor GP. Founded in 1990 and based in South Yorkshire in the UK, Manor have become a major force in national and international motorsport, winning in Formula Renault and Formula Three with the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton.

“In 2010 my idea of success is to run reliably, safely and efficiently and earn the respect of our peers in the paddock,” said Booth. “We need to perform well as a team. Then we can start carrying that through into car performance. Our clear objective is to end the season as the best of the new teams.”

In 2009 Booth teamed up with fellow Briton Nick Wirth, the man behind Wirth Research and now technical director of Virgin Racing. Wirth, former boss of the Simtek Formula One team, has a wealth of F1 experience. He is a former chief designer for Benetton and his first all-digital F1 car design - the Virgin-Cosworth VR-01 - will break cover in February 2010.

“This is an incredible day for everyone involved with Virgin Racing,” said Wirth. “The past year has been something of a rollercoaster ride as we first conceived the idea of entering Formula One and then navigated the route to our launch today in 12 very busy but rewarding months. I am immensely proud to be part of a team that isn’t simply ‘making it to the grid’, but which has surpassed even our wildest expectations - technically, in our racing operation and also commercially.”

Speaking at the team launch Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, who sponsored world champions Brawn in 2009, said: “We have had a fantastic first year in Formula One and it was incredible to be sponsoring a team that fought so hard to win both championships. We are huge fans of the sport and we spent a lot of time exploring all the options for a longer-term involvement.

“Over the last four decades Virgin has invested in and supported incredible engineering minds who have literally been pushing the technological boundaries of what man previously believed was possible: boats capable of smashing world records, balloons that captured the imagination of millions around the globe, a plane built purely from carbon composite that flew around the world not once, but 2.5 times without refuelling, and with Virgin Galactic we are investing in technology that will literally push the boundaries off our planet! Virgin Racing will be no different.

“We knew there was an extremely successful designer out there who could bring something different to the sport with his all-digital approach to designing racing cars. So we thought ‘why not back a new British team?’ I believe that with the right bunch of people you can achieve anything. It might take a while to get there, but I believe with this team of people on board, Virgin Racing can go all the way.”

The final day of the young driver test got underway in Jerez this morning. American JR Hildebrand was back in the Force India VJM02 for his final runs of the three-day test, before Paul di Resta takes over for this afternoon.

With heavy cloudy cover interspersed with light rain showers, JR was only able to complete 41 laps with a best time of 1min 19.873 as his programme focussed on evaluating different aerodynamic and mechanical set ups.

Paul will continue the programme this afternoon to bring the test to its end.

Morning times (at 13:00hrs)

1. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), 1:17.418
2. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams), 1:19.226
3. Oliver Turvey (McLaren), 1:19.358
4. Mike Conway (Brawn-Mercedes), 1:19.413
5. JR Hildebrand (Force India), 1:19.873
6. Lucas di Grassi (Renault), 1:20.687
7. Bertrand Baguette (BMW), 1:20.991
8. Marco Zipoli (Ferrari), 1:21.725
9. Mirko Bortolotti (Toro Rosso), 1:23.271

How many Grands Prix did Ayrton Senna win? How many piercings does the world’s most pierced woman have? How many windmills are there on the Greek island of Mykonos? How many F1 wins have been scored by Italian drivers? Which famous Italian poet was born in Pescara? These are just some of the questions we thought Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi would take in his stride after he agreed to participate in our personal trivia test, ‘Ask the Expert’…

Q: You were born in Locorotondo. Which Italian noble family ruled the city until the early 19th century?
Vitantonio Liuzzi: Not a clue.
Incorrect - it was the Caracciolo family.

Q: You replaced Giancarlo Fisichella at Force India after he departed for Ferrari. How many world championship points has he scored during his Formula One career?
VL: I would guess about 250.
Incorrect - it’s actually 275.

Q: If he hadn’t become a racing driver, your team mate Adrian Sutil could have been a…
VL: A pianist.
Correct

Q: Like many of your rivals, your biggest racing hero is Ayrton Senna. How many Grands Prix did the Brazilian win during his career?
VL: 50? He won many.
Incorrect - Senna won 41.

Q: Your team principal Dr Vijay Mallya has many business interests. Can you name one of the two Calcutta football teams his United Breweries sponsors?
VL: No, I cannot. If it would have had something to do with Kingfisher then I would know.
Incorrect - it’s the East Bengal or Mohun Bagan.

Q: You are a fan of R ‘n’ B music. In what year is the term believed to have been coined?
VL: In the 1970s?
Incorrect - it was in 1948 by Billboard magazine writer Jerry Wexler.

Q: You like to holiday on Mykonos, but how many windmills are there on the Greek island?
VL: Around 15 I would guess.
Close enough - it’s actually 16

Q: You were crowned the 2004 Formula 3000 champion, but which of your Formula One rivals claimed the replacement GP2 championship a year later?
VL: Nico Rosberg.
Correct

Q: Some of your favourite clothes are from Moncler. What French mountain village inspired the name?
VL: I have no idea.
Incorrect - Monastier de Clermont.

Q: Your team mate Sutil was questioned recently about his favourite music. Which artist was he the biggest fan of?
VL: Mozart?
Incorrect - it seems Sutil’s tastes are a little more contemporary as it’s actually Phil Collins.

Q: You live in Pescara. Which famous Italian poet was born in the Italian town?
VL: Gabriele D’Annunzio
Correct

Q: Your manager is former Lotus boss Peter Collins. How many constructors’ championships did Lotus win?
VL: Seven. He told me this many times.
Correct

Q: Can you guess - to the nearest five - how many Formula One wins have been scored by Italian drivers since 1950?
VL: 40.
Correct - it was 43

Q: How many wins has your former Toro Rosso team mate Scott Speed taken since shifting his focus back to Stateside racing?
VL: Three maybe.
Generous but incorrect - he’s won one, racing in the 2008 Nascar Camping World Truck championship.

Q: You finished third in last year’s Speedcar Series, racing against some rather famous F1 veterans. In terms of Grand Prix starts, which of them was the most experienced and where did he finish in the ’08 Speedcar table?
VL: Jean Alesi, and I think he finished fourth.
One point from a possible two - it was Frenchman Alesi with 201 starts. He finished fifth, however.

Q: In 2002 you finished eighth in the prestigious F3 Masters event. Which other current F1 driver took part in that race and where did he finish?
VL: Heikki Kovalainen.
One point from a possible two - it was Kovalainen, who finished fourth.

Q: You have owned at least one road car made by Maserati, a famous name from Formula One’s past. How many Grands Prix did the works Maserati team win?
VL: That’s too difficult. I don’t know.
Incorrect - Nine, between 1953 and 1957.

Q: Vijay Mallya has said he will consider Indian driver Karun Chandok for a possible testing seat for next season. To date, Narain Karthikeyan is the only Indian to have competed in Formula One racing. How many points did he score in his 19-race career?
VL: That must have been in Indianapolis. And he must have scored five points.
Correct - all of them for Jordan at the ill-fated 2005 US Grand Prix, where only the six Bridgestone-shod cars raced.

After guiding McLaren from the midfield back to winning ways in his first season as team principal, Martin Whitmarsh looks to have an even bigger challenge awaiting him for 2010. Not only will he face a works team fielded by long-term engine partners Mercedes, he will also have to keep two world champions happy. Some have questioned the wisdom of pairing Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, especially after the fireworks that ensued during Fernando Alonso’s brief stay at the team, but Whitmarsh insists both men are old enough and wise enough to avoid any collateral damage, as he explained in an exclusive interview with Formula1.com…

Q: Martin, after the Mercedes GP announcement, Ron Dennis said that both McLaren and Mercedes will still work closely together, but do you expect anything to change for 2010?
Martin Whitmarsh: For next year, you’ll see that, outwardly, very little will change at McLaren Mercedes. The team will still have the same name, the cars will still be the same colour and the vast majority of familiar faces will remain. That’s because, naturally, both Mercedes-Benz and ourselves have clear long-term objectives - and we’ll still be completely involved for many years to come. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Mercedes has been a partner of this team for 15 seasons and we’ve developed a very strong professional relationship as well as some very close personal ties over that length of time. We implicitly understand and trust the way that Mercedes goes racing - and I think that trust goes both ways - hence there was very little need for deliberation over our joint decision to remain in partnership for many seasons to come. Obviously, Mercedes-Benz will come to Formula One next year with its own team. We have a huge amount of respect for the management and engineers at Mercedes GP, and everybody at McLaren Mercedes wishes them well and will treat them as very serious competitors indeed.

Q: The announcement that you’d signed reigning world champion Jenson Button came as a surprise to many. What made you look at Jenson, and how will the relationship work?
MW: At McLaren we’ve always been very direct in our approach to hiring drivers: we’ve always signed the two very best drivers available - and we make no concessions in that approach. Clearly, with Lewis already under contract, we were looking for a team mate who we felt could not only complement the job that Lewis is already doing but who would also be able to challenge individually for the world championship as well as bolstering our efforts to win the constructors’ title. Simply put, in Jenson we think we have the perfect package. We’re incredibly positive about his arrival, we feel he will be a great addition to our team and in turn, we hope he’ll feel at home here and really fit in at McLaren.

Q: Daimler AG Boss Dr Dieter Zetsche was recently spotted at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Had the decision already been taken to form Mercedes GP, or were the talks at Abu Dhabi instrumental in the decision?
MW: Like I say, it’s a long-term strategy for both parties - and one that we’re both extremely satisfied with.

Q: You face the enviable prospect of looking after two British world champions under one roof - how do you expect that to work?
MW: My job will be to make sure that both Jenson and Lewis not only have the very best tools to do the job, but can also prosper and flourish in an environment that supports them both equally. Is that an additional challenge for the management in this team? Yes. Do we anticipate it providing us with an additional workload in order for us to successfully achieve equality for two very demanding racers? Inevitably, yes. Are we anticipating any difficulties or frustrations from either party? No - because we’re confident that we can build a team that will support both drivers equally. And, while we’re very proud to have the two British world champions onboard, we’re not billing this team as a British ‘superteam’ - we’re proud to represent Great Britain, but we’ve always strongly supported drivers of other nationalities, and we simply picked the two best available drivers - who both happen to be British.

Q: It’s a sizzling line-up. What do you anticipate your role will be in overseeing the drivers next year?
MW: As team principal, inevitably it will be my role to harness both drivers’ competitive instinct for productive means. Racing drivers by their nature are hugely competitive individuals - they want to win all the time. But I think Jenson and Lewis are mature enough and responsible enough to understand the bigger picture: we go racing as a team, and it’s the successes we achieve together that build the foundations for any assault on the world championship. I feel confident that you’ll see a very solid and responsible driver pairing next year.

Q: McLaren Mercedes will race in 2010 with two British drivers. Meanwhile, Mercedes GP could opt for an all-German line-up. Is Formula One racing now looking more closely at national teams?
MW: Our reasons for choosing two British drivers were based on issues of performance, not nationality. And I’m sure those are the same criteria that Mercedes GP are looking at when they make their driver selection. Formula One is too big, and too international a sport for driver choice to be dominated by nationality. Of course, it can sometimes help, but I’d like to think that we’ve never chosen drivers for their nationality, but solely because we believe they are the fastest.

Q: After your first season as team principal, how do you look back on 2009? Is the team different without Ron Dennis in charge?
MW: Looking back at my first season as team principal, I think the most important attribution of merit and praise ought to be directed towards our engineers, who quite simply performed miracles to turn around the fortunes of the MP4-24. And while I think everybody in this organisation is indebted to Ron for his leadership and visionary prowess, I also think it’s apparent that the team has started to acquire a slightly different style and personality over the last 12 months. Of course, there is still a huge amount of ‘Ron’ in McLaren - and that’s only natural and it’s hugely important and beneficial too - but the most important thing I want people to recognise is that the successes achieved by McLaren come from us being a team, not from any one individual.

This week’s young driver test at Jerez has given teams the opportunity to carry out some all-important out of season work whilst still observing the FIA’s winter ban, but it’s also allowed a troupe of young hopefuls to live out their Formula One dreams for a few days. One of those currently on cloud nine is DTM driver Paul di Resta, who has been charged with driving Force India’s VJM02. After impressing during the opening two days of the session, and with the team hinting that there is a permanent reserve role up for grabs, could Di Resta’s F1 fantasy become a reality?

Q: What are your impressions of the VJM02?
Paul di Resta: It’s a very different sensation to anything else I’ve driven. You think you will be prepared for how fast the car is but really there’s no preparation for it. The more you push these cars, the more you get out of them so you need to get out of your comfort zone. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of, from the noise to the speed, and it’s what I’ve waited all my life for. I want to enjoy every moment.

Q: This is now your third separate test in a Formula One car - does any of your previous experience help you?
PdR: I did a run with McLaren at Silverstone National almost a year ago, but it was really just system checks that time. I haven’t been in a single-seater for about 13 months now and the car this year is very different to last year - there’s a lot less downforce, and there are the slick tyres. It has helped a bit but this is also my first time on a longer track so I’ve had to learn something new again.

Q: Is there any similarity to the DTM car you’ve been used to driving?
PdR: A lot of people say that I am a touring car driver, but the DTM car is not really a touring car, it’s more of a single-seater with a body on it. These cars have a lot of downforce, they are very technical and I would say that it’s probably the next best thing to F1 in terms of development and the rate of progress. That said, the VJM02 feels very different to the DTM car. The C-Klasse has good brakes and good stability, but the F1 car is in a world of its own. Getting used to this and getting outside your comfort zone is when you achieve results in this car.

Q: You had a further morning in the car on Wednesday - what was your programme and what are your feelings after this?
PdR: On Tuesday the programme was to get comfortable in the car and to see how everything worked. I was able to get to a reasonable level quite quickly after one run so I felt prepared and had progressed enough for the team to be able to use me to test some development items, which will of course help in 2010. We had quite a structured programme on Wednesday morning of running back to back set-up for 2009 and 2010 and both long and short runs, but it went pretty well.

Q: Does the approach to the test differ in any way to what you have been used to in DTM?
PdR: There are a lot of people in the garage but everyone has a job to do, me included. I’m used to testing and trying to get some extra performance, and it’s important to be comfortable and confident with the car. I’m up to speed now and I understand what I can do to improve my own performance. Equally each run we are doing something different so I need to keep learning and giving feedback so the team can get the information they need too. I hope they feel they can use me now.

Q: What are your long term goals for after this test?
PdR: The goal was to get this test done and then see. I don’t have any concrete plans for next year but I hope that I can build a solid relationship with Force India for the future off the back of this test. For sure there is a lot of potential in the DTM and after this test I need to sit down and look at what I want to do and where I want to go.

Bridgestone’s 2009 specification Formula One tyres got their final test outing last week as 20 up-and-coming young drivers covered 2,602 laps at Jerez. The next group test will be at the beginning of February at Valencia, where the teams will get to sample the Japanese company’s 2010 spec rubber. So what did Bridgestone learn in Spain and what will change next year when refuelling is banned? Jun Matsuzaki, Bridgestone Motorsport’s chief engineer, explains…

Q: What was learnt from this test?
Jun Matsuzaki: This was an interesting test as we had many different drivers, most of whom had little or no experience of Formula One cars. The teams all had different programmes, and all four 2009 dry compounds were available to them. There was a lot of running with heavy cars to simulate the heavier fuel loads of next season so we gained useful data from this.

Q: How was the feedback from the young drivers?
JM: It was good to see so many young drivers here at the same test, and there were more experienced F1 test drivers in action too, so we had a good benchmark. We could see some of these names again in the future and our current F1 drivers will always need to keep looking over their shoulders because of these youngsters.

Q: What will be the changes to the tyres for the next test?
JM: Our 2010 tyres are designed for the requirements of the heavier fuel loads in next year’s cars and also for the potential different pit stop strategies we could see without refuelling. The construction is more durable, and the compounds have also been modified. A narrower front tyre will also be introduced to adjust the basic balance of the cars. As tyre characteristics will be changed due to the modifications, we are now working very hard with all teams to enhance their understanding of this. We are very looking forward to seeing how quickly the teams maximise tyre performance within the new regulations of 2010.

Ask anyone in Formula One racing and they’ll tell you Peter Sauber’s a real gentleman, even in the heat of competition. For the last four years he’s taken a back seat after BMW purchased a controlling share in the team he founded. But following the German carmaker’s withdrawal from the sport, he’s returned to the spotlight after buying it back. Though widely welcomed, the move has come as a surprise to many, not least Sauber himself. They may not yet have a confirmed grid slot for 2010, but Sauber is confident about stepping into the breach once more, with the Ferrari-powered C29 very much on schedule…

Q: Peter, what does the agreement with BMW really mean? Is it true to say that both parties wouldn’t have reached an agreement if there hadn’t been strong signals that the team had a slot on the 2010 grid…
Peter Sauber: This agreement means that the future of the team and the location in Hinwil are secured. I am very relieved about that development. It would have been a crying shame had one of the best Formula One factories closed down. Regarding the slot on the grid I am very confident that we will be given a final confirmation very shortly.

Q: Do you expect the confirmation to come during next month’s FIA meeting in Monaco?
PS: I am pretty confident that there will be a decision before that date.

Q: Did you feel obligated to keep the team alive?
PS: I was strongly focused on that topic before I made the decision to acquire the team. Now the responsibility rests solely on my shoulders, but be sure that I will do everything in my power to secure a positive future for the team.

Q: How have you got the finances in place? Will Qadbak, the investment group that had planned the original deal with BMW, get involved now? Or do you envisage something similar to what happened between Honda and Brawn last year?
PS: I have obtained the financial resources for the acquisition by myself. No other backers are involved.

Q: There was always an air of mystery surrounding Qadbak, with some suggesting the name was a composition of the initials of Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Can you shed a bit more light on it now?
PS: I have not made any comments on Qadbak in the last two months and I want to keep it that way.

Q: You faced a difficult task to reduce the number of staff by around 130 to reach the agreed headcount of 250. The Hinwil workforce was a perfectly functioning unit. How have you tried to avoid slumps in quality?
PS: That was indeed a very painful procedure. In my 40-year career as an entrepreneur I have never before had to lay off staff on financial grounds. All departments were equally affected by the cutbacks and there is a hope that no quality issues will arise. Regarding performance, we will try to compensate for the lower headcount through efficiency.

Q: You could benefit from Toyota’s withdrawal. Without it, would you have to have waited for one of the new entrants to falter?
PS: The FIA had already promised us the 14th slot on the grid. Under that circumstance it would have been our obligation to persuade the one team that had voted against us to accept our entry.

Q: From your position as a minority stakeholder you have been propelled back into the team principal’s role…
PS: It was truly never my desire to return to the pit wall. But once I decide for myself to get involved with something, then I am fully committed and do it with all my passion.

Q: It seems as though the development of the 2010 car has not been affected by BMW’s withdrawal. What is the state of affairs?
PS: Our 2010 car is perfectly on schedule. The development and fabrication have been unaffected by the situation. Having been able to proceed with uninterrupted development was also possible thanks to excellent cooperation with Ferrari, who submitted all the relevant data very early. Regarding the performance of the C29 we are all very confident. Two months before the first tests, we have already reached a very good basis for further development.

Q: So after four years of racing a BMW engine, you’re back using a Ferrari engine…
PS: That was one of the fixtures very early on. Shortly after BMW announced its withdrawal at the end of July I talked to (Ferrari chairman) Luca di Montezemolo and in a very short time - and without any bureaucracy - we received an okay. We will use a Ferrari engine and drive train.

Q: How about the driver line-up? Is the market for good drivers already swept clean?
PS: No, definitely not. And we have two very attractive cockpits to offer.

Q: How is your schedule looking for the coming weeks?
PS: On my personal list there are two priorities - the slot on the grid and the Concorde Agreement. Then I will look for drivers. My guess is that a lot of time will be consumed by the restructuring from 380 employees to 250.

Although frustrated he only finished tenth for Force India on the Jerez timesheets, 21 year-old American JR Hildebrand was pleased with his progress during the opening day of this week’s young driver test. Here Indy Lights champion Hildebrand relives his first taste of Formula One power and looks ahead to getting back in the car on Wednesday afternoon…

Q: JR, you’ve had your first taste of a Formula One car. What were your first impressions the VJM02?
JR Hildebrand: I was really impressed with the ability of the car. It is different in every way to what I’m used to, both in terms of the outright speed, but also in terms of the characteristics of the car and how it behaves, brakes and drives through corners. Having raced on ovals I’m used to a high top speed, so that wasn’t too much of a shock, but the amount of load it runs and how much speed you can carry through the corner took some getting used to. I felt I was getting there and was starting to get the most out of the car, particularly towards the end of the morning.

Q: Did the work you have done in the simulator help you?
JH: I’ve been in the ‘sim’ two times and it definitely helped to understand the basics of what to expect and at least know the track layout. Having never driven the circuit before and also having no prior experience of a car like this, it still took a couple of runs to get used to everything, but as the track improved over the morning we were right there, so I felt as prepared as I could have been. We’ll look at the data now and see what I can do to get better.

Q: What did your programme involve on Tuesday?
JH: It was a little bit tough initially. The track was clearly improving throughout the morning, so based on the program we were running, in terms of relative pace we were doing pretty well. I think we still had some free time in the car. We ran through the different tyre compounds and I felt I could still get quite a bit of time from the car. I lost my best lap by using a bit too much of the road and on my last run I just flat spotted the tyres straight out of the pits, which made a drastic difference in how good the car was and I really couldn’t get the ultimate lap time from it.

Q: Were you pleased with how it went though?
JH: It was a little bit frustrating from the standpoint of losing the last two runs, but we were fifth quickest when my day was effectively done so I was pretty happy with my first outing. I was able to improve throughout the morning and up at the top of the charts at points so it gives me a lot to work to be getting on with in the next couple of days.

Q: And physically how was it? A lot of new drivers often take some time to get up to full fitness, particularly in the neck.
JH: Driving definitely gives a bit of pain in the neck, but I didn’t have any major issues. My neck was a little bit sore but I’m not sure that anyone else here is going to be able to say much different! It’s just something that I will look to work on in the future but I am not sure I could have done anything else to help with the fitness. I felt quite prepared.

Q: And what are the goals for Wednesday and the rest of the test?
JH: We have a pretty structured test programme. Everyone is on different run programmes throughout the week, with different tyres and weights and also some 2010 preparation so it is hard to tell where we are relative to other teams. I will just try to focus on what we are doing and not worry too much about anyone else. I’ll also try to give the engineers as much feedback as I can as this is what they are looking for in the long term, while trying to wrap my head around what I need to do to get the most out of the car.

Q: Have you approached the test any differently to an IndyCar or Indy Lights test?
JH: It is roughly the same process but, just because of the nature of the car, we are talking about different things and about making different changes. I’ve had to learn what’s more critical to report back and what the team needs to know from me. I’ve found that transition to be fairly seamless.

Q: What’s been the most challenging aspect?
JH: The high speed cornering of the car is just phenomenal so getting used to the speed and how much I can carry into the corner, specifically into the high speed corners, is probably where I can improve the most. I looked at the data throughout the day and I’ve picked up some time so far and have just started to be in a pretty good range. I feel in terms of braking and low speed, technical parts of the circuit, I will also find some speed now, especially with the track improving. I’m looking forward to getting back into the car.

Andy Soucek led the times at Jerez on Tuesday, as this week’s three-day young driver test got underway at the Spanish circuit. Soucek, testing for Williams as a prize for winning this year’s Formula Two championship, clocked a best time of 1m 19.158s to finish two-tenths ahead of Paul di Resta in the Force India.

With dry and sunny conditions, Spaniard Soucek was able to cover almost 90 laps, while Scotsman Di Resta completed 46 during his afternoon outing.

“Today was very constructive and we achieved what we wanted to achieve, which was to get familiar with the car and build up to speed slowly to fully prepare for the rest of the test,” said Di Resta, who has previously tested with McLaren.

“We tried a few different things, worked on a few set-up items and certainly went forward. That was the main goal, just building up on my side, learning more and moving forward together with the team. The VJM02 is certainly impressive and although I am still learning, I felt I could get to grips with it fairly quickly.”

Gary Paffett finished third for McLaren, conducting a number of aero configuration evaluations before focusing on tyres, and how they will perform in 2010 with higher fuel loads. Mid afternoon the team switched the MP4-24 over to McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver prize-winner Oliver Turvey. The afternoon run was primarily acclimatisation for the 22-year-old, who will undertake a longer stint on Thursday.

British Formula Three Champion Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Red Bull, despite an early spin. “I don’t think I stopped smiling all day,” said the Australian. “Working with the team was great and they let me go at my own pace until I built up some confidence. After that, we began working on things that will be useful for next season. This was the first time I’ve ever driven a Formula One car round corners, having previously only done a straight line test and I have to say, it’s got more grip than anything else I’ve ever driven.”

Fifth fastest was Jules Bianchi, who made his Formula One test debut for Ferrari. Frenchman Bianchi, who recently clinched the Formula Three Euroseries title, completed 91 laps in the F60 . The 20 year-old will continue to test on Wednesday, before handing over the car to a trio of Italian F3 series drivers on the final day.

“I am really proud to have made my Formula One debut at the wheel of a Ferrari, for the greatest team in the world,” said Bianchi. “At the start, I was being careful not to make any mistakes, then once I felt confident, I pushed harder. The team spirit here is incredible and I hope I have made a positive impression on them and I want to do even better tomorrow.”

Former British F3 champion, and former Honda tester, Mike Conway finished sixth for Brawn. Conway covered 58 laps in the BGP-001 as he acclimatised himself to the car and worked through an aerodynamic evaluation. Also in action for the world champions was 19-year-old Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson, who took over from Conway after lunch. The reigning Japanese F3 champion finished his first Formula One test eighth in the times after 50 laps.

Alexander Rossi was in action for BMW Sauber, having been awarded his F1 chance after winning the Formula BMW World Final event late last year. Eighteen year-old Rossi, who also clinched the 2008 Formula BMW Americas championship, focused on familiarising himself with the track and the car. Although he wasn’t sent out on a low-fuel run, he was charged with carrying out some set-up tests.

“I very much enjoyed this day,” said the Californian, who finished seventh. “It is impressive what the car does, how predictable and precise its reactions are, and how high the overall grip level is. But I have to admit I am also a little bit disappointed because being a racing driver you always want to be the fastest! I think in the afternoon we didn’t manage to find the perfect balance.

“Physically I have to say it was as demanding as I expected it would be. The power steering is a great help compared to GP2, but the G forces obviously are higher.”

Belgian driver Bertrand Baguette began Renault’s session with a full day in the car as his prize for winning the World Series by Renault 3.5 category earlier this season. The programme focussed mainly on evaluating Bertrand, but the team also tried some new development items in preparation for 2010. The 23-year-old covered 105 laps behind the wheel of the R29 as he completed a trouble-free first day in an F1 car.

“This was my first time in an F1 car and I really enjoyed it,” said Baguette. “There’s a huge difference between the F1 car and a World Series car, especially the efficiency of the brakes, which is incredible, and the speed you can carry through the quick corners. Also, it’s a completely different world and I’ve been getting used to working with five or six engineers instead of just one. We started the day with a long run so that I could get used to the car and then we started the technical programme as I worked on improving the set-up of the car. It was an amazing experience for me and I hope to do this again in the future.”

American driver JR Hildebrand finished tenth on the back of his morning outing with Force India. “I was really impressed with the ability of the car,” said the 21 year-old Indy Lights champion. “It is different in every way to what I’m used to, both in terms of the outright speed, but also in terms of the characteristics of the car and how it behaves, brakes and drives through corners. Having raced on ovals I’m used to a high top speed, so that wasn’t too much of a shock, but the amount of load it runs and how much speed you can carry through the corner took some getting used to.

“The track was clearly improving throughout the morning, so based on the program we were running, in terms of relative pace we were doing pretty well. I felt I was getting there and was starting to get the most out of the car, particularly towards the end.”

Brendon Hartley completed the timesheets at the wheel of Toro Rosso’s STR4. His programme did not get off to the best of starts, as he spun at the fast right hander, following the chicane, having just switched to different aero settings on the car. The damage was repaired in time for the New Zealander to get back on track by the end of the morning. His programme had three main elements: aero measurement testing in view of 2010, running the car with ballast to simulate the weight of next year’s cars on full tanks, as refuelling is banned, and carrying out some brake testing.

“Apart from going off the track early on, I was generally happy with the way the day went, as I had not driven an F1 car for a while, so now I’m looking forward to making the best of Thursday when I get another run,” said Hartley.

Testing continues at Jerez on Wednesday.

Unofficial Tuesday times from Jerez:
1. Andy Soucek, Williams, 1:19.158
2. Paul Di Resta, Force India, 1:19.369
3. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:19.426
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:19.534
5. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1:19.626
6. Mike Conway, Brawn GP, 1:19.920
7. Alexander Rossi, BMW Sauber, 1:20.227
8. Marcus Ericsson, Brawn GP, 1:20.333
9. Bertrand Baguette, Renault, 1:20.511
10. JR Hildebrand, Force India, 1:20.537
11. Oliver Turvey, McLaren, 1:20.856
12. Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso, 1:21.325