44 replies to this topic

[HistoryFan]

Good news: There will be a new team: ThreeBond/Drago

 

http://www.formulasc...r-formula/56068

 

Any information about who will test at the post season rookie test?

[ezequiel]

Fenestraz is aiming at a seat in SF but I don't know if he'd participate in the test

[maximilian]

Good news: There will be a new team: ThreeBond/Drago

 

 

Pretty kickass team, of you ask me! 

Edited by maximilian, 30 October 2019 - 19:32.

[HistoryFan]

test entry list:

 

https://superformula...test-entrylist/

 

No suprises...

[HistoryFan]

Now, all drivers confirmed for the test. Again: now surprises, what is a bit sad...

 

https://superformula...test-entrylist/

[BlackCat]

"Day one of rookie tests come to a close. In session 2, it was Juri Vips, Nirei Fukuzumi, Koudai Tsukakoshi in the top 3 spots. Japanese F3 2019 Champion Sacha Fenestraz finished this session in 5th."

[William Hunt]

https://superformula...esults-overall/

[HistoryFan]

First driver confirmed: Pietro Fittipaldi returns to Super Formula, with team BMax/Motopark. Harrison Newey unlikely to return.

 

Possible Super Formula grid 2020:

TOM's-Toyota: Nick Cassidy (?), Kazuki Nakajima (?)

Dandelion-Honda: Naoki Yamamoto (?), Nirei Fukuzmi (?)

Nakajima-Honda: Tadasuke Makino (?), Toshiki Oyu (?)

Impul-Toyota: Yuji Sekiguchi (?), Ryo Hirakawa (?)

Mugen-Honda: Jüri Vips (?), Tomoki Nojiri (?)

Kondo-Toyota: Kenta Yamashita (?), Sacha Fenestraz (?)

Cerumo-Toyota: Sho Tsuboi (?), Hiroaki Ishiura (?)

BMax/Motopark-Honda: Pietro Fittipaldi, Lucas Auer (?)

KCMG-Toyota: Kamui Kobayashi (?)

Le Mans-Toyota: Ritomo Miyata (?), Yoshiaki Katayama (?)

Real-Honda: Koudai Tsukakoshi (?)

ThreeBond/Drago-Honda: Nobuharu Matsushita (?), Charles Milesi (?)

[messy]

Newey actually did a bit better than I expected given his modest record to that point - but clearly no world-beater.

[Silberpfeil]

Elsewhere, in an interview with Christian Nimmervoll, Helmut Marko has hinted at a DTM return for Lucas Auer, who was dropped from the RB programme after one year for SL points reasons. (As an aside, with all due respect for Luggi as a driver, how he got on the programme in the first place is still a bit of a mystery to me – I suspect the good Doctor owed Gerhard Berger a favour. )

Crossposted from the DTM thread, since it also might be of interest here. I was actually a bit surprised how well Auer did last season, considering his decent, but hardly outstanding record in DTM. I'd have thought a second year in Super Formula, in a frontrunning team, would have been perfect for him.

[Risil]

Drago sounds like a proper early 1990s F3000 team name.

[Anja]

Most of Honda's lineup now confirmed, notably including Vips and Calderon and missing Matsushita.

 

TOM's-Toyota: Nick Cassidy (?), Kazuki Nakajima (?)

Dandelion-Honda: Naoki Yamamoto, Nirei Fukuzumi

Nakajima-Honda: Tadasuke Makino, Toshiki Oyu

Impul-Toyota: Yuji Sekiguchi (?), Ryo Hirakawa (?)

Mugen-Honda: Jüri Vips, Tomoki Nojiri

Kondo-Toyota: Kenta Yamashita (?), Sacha Fenestraz (?)

Cerumo-Toyota: Sho Tsuboi (?), Hiroaki Ishiura (?)

BMax/Motopark-Honda: Pietro Fittipaldi, Charles Milesi

KCMG-Toyota: Kamui Kobayashi (?)

Le Mans-Toyota: Ritomo Miyata (?), Yoshiaki Katayama (?)

Real-Honda: Koudai Tsukakoshi (?)

ThreeBond/Drago-Honda: Tatiana Calderon

[HistoryFan]

Calderón is the second female driver in the series after Sarah Kavanagh who drive 2 races for Cerumo in 1997.

[messy]

Sorry to say it, but if Calderon was two seconds a lap off the pace in F2 then I'm not sure SF is going to be any better. 

 

I think it's a shame that Red Bull send their juniors here - I love SF, but this isn't a junior single seater feeder series and shouldn't be treated as such IMO. Any wonder some of them have struggled? Some of these local drivers (thinking Yamashita and Yamamoto especially) are brilliant.

[HistoryFan]

Toyota's line-up for Super Formula with just one non-Japanese driver (Fenestraz)

Team Le Mans withdraws with one car goes to KCMG and a third one to Cerumo

Real Racing (Honda) and TOM's with still one car to confirm each. Real Racing could be Nobuharu Matsushita and TOM's could promote Ritomo Miyata if Nick Cassidy won't return.

 

TOM's-Toyota: Nick Cassidy (?), Kazuki Nakajima

Dandelion-Honda: Naoki Yamamoto, Nirei Fukuzumi

Nakajima-Honda: Tadasuke Makino, Toshiki Oyu

Impul-Toyota: Yuji Sekiguchi, Ryo Hirakawa

Mugen-Honda: Jüri Vips, Tomoki Nojiri

Kondo-Toyota: Kenta Yamashita, Sacha Fenestraz

Cerumo-Toyota: Sho Tsuboi, Hiroaki Ishiura, Kazuya Oshima

BMax/Motopark-Honda: Pietro Fittipaldi, Charles Milesi

KCMG-Toyota: Kamui Kobayashi, Yuji Kunimoto

Real-Honda: Nobuharu Matsuhita (?)

ThreeBond/Drago-Honda: Tatiana Calderon

[balage06]

Cassidy has better options or what?

[Anja]

It's even more weird since he's confirmed in Super GT with Toyota. Not sure what's going on here. 

[Dolph]

It's even more weird since he's confirmed in Super GT with Toyota. Not sure what's going on here. 

 

Negotiation of some terms in the contract perhaps.

[BRG]

Cassidy has better options or what?

He ought to have better options, if there was any justice.  He has been the stand-out driver of the series, yet the rest of the world ignores him.  Even the wretched Ticktum gets another chance after failing miserably in Japan while the guy who handed him his arse is in limbo.

[maximilian]

So true, you'd think Cassidy would be popping up in Formula E or IndyCar somehow... seems too big of a talent to just stay in Japan.

[HistoryFan]

Real Racing out of Super Formula. They hope to be back in 2021.

Cassidy confirmed at TOM's:

 

20 drivers for 2020:

 

TOM's-Toyota: Nick Cassidy, Kazuki Nakajima

Dandelion-Honda: Naoki Yamamoto, Nirei Fukuzumi

Nakajima-Honda: Tadasuke Makino, Toshiki Oyu

Impul-Toyota: Yuji Sekiguchi, Ryo Hirakawa

Mugen-Honda: Jüri Vips, Tomoki Nojiri

Kondo-Toyota: Kenta Yamashita, Sacha Fenestraz

Cerumo-Toyota: Sho Tsuboi, Hiroaki Ishiura, Kazuya Oshima

BMax/Motopark-Honda: Pietro Fittipaldi, Charles Milesi

KCMG-Toyota: Kamui Kobayashi, Yuji Kunimoto

ThreeBond/Drago-Honda: Tatiana Calderon

[HistoryFan]

Sergio Sette Câmara replaces Pietro Fittipaldi:

 

TOM's-Toyota: Nick Cassidy, Kazuki Nakajima

Dandelion-Honda: Naoki Yamamoto, Nirei Fukuzumi

Nakajima-Honda: Tadasuke Makino, Toshiki Oyu

Impul-Toyota: Yuji Sekiguchi, Ryo Hirakawa

Mugen-Honda: Jüri Vips, Tomoki Nojiri

Kondo-Toyota: Kenta Yamashita, Sacha Fenestraz

Cerumo-Toyota: Sho Tsuboi, Hiroaki Ishiura, Kazuya Oshima

BMax/Motopark-Honda: Sergio Sette Câmara, Charles Milesi

KCMG-Toyota: Kamui Kobayashi, Yuji Kunimoto

ThreeBond/Drago-Honda: Tatiana Calderon

[BRG]

So two Red Bull juniors in SF?  Is this the growing influence of Honda over Marko's decision making?  Is Camara there as a benchmark for Vips?

[boomn]

So two Red Bull juniors in SF?  Is this the growing influence of Honda over Marko's decision making?  Is Camara there as a benchmark for Vips?

Super Formula can earn F1 Super License points.  To me it looks like Marko's desperation to have potential F1 candidates in house. 

 

Any young drivers who starts to get a few superlicense points might get signed by Red Bull on the hope of future progress.  As soon as a driver stalls in that progression they get dropped.  Or like Pato O'Ward they get signed because Red Bull thinks they have some license points already and dropped as soon as they find out they miscalculated.  It seems to have little to do with spotting true talent and helping develop them, and more to do with trying to play the license points system.  </end rant>

[muramasa]

SF is not economical in terms of SL points tho.

Red Bull's program, like many other major junior programs, is not just purely about nurturing/finding talents but also some sort of money scheme to good degree, about giving chance (seat, training, simulator etc) to pay drivers. O'Ward entered only to leave quickly simply cuz he bought in to RB then soon found better opportunity in Indy, it's just that RB had no particular reason to pay to retain him. Obviously Ticktum was pay driver too as he has backer/money to buy spot in Williams now. Of course they have to be qualified above certain level, but then we have Galael who keeps hanging on, meanwhile Vips who obviously much better be in F2 is in SF instead, and that's for obvious reasons. Looks like Camara is just another pay driver at RB, good young driver with funds, so if he shows performance he get chance, if not just get dropped. There are plenty such faces out there, like Aitken, Zhou, Alesi etc etc, no drivers are purely on talent alone, among them few drivers who are disproportionately "talent > money" like Max/Lec (as well as money > talent like you know whos) come up.

I'd say Merc's and McLaren's are more proper and consistent talent-oriented programs.

[ezequiel]

I don't think Camara is a Red Bull junior anymore

[BRG]

I don't think Camara is a Red Bull junior anymore

You're right.  I had it in mind that they had re-signed him, but they haven't,  I think it was Fraga I was thinking of.

 

https://juniorteam.redbull.com/drivers

 

Looking down the list of 'Alumni Drivers' , there are many of whom the expression 'Who??' might be used...

[maximilian]

Did I see that right, they were actually TESTING the other day?  The only cars anywhere running?

[johnwilliamdavies]

They were testing today, and will be again tomorrow (though with the time differences that might be yesterday, today)

[messy]

I’ll watch every single practise session, every single quali, every single race if they put it on TV. I’ll join the SF Reddit group, start following the drivers on Instagram, I’ll buy TOMs branded merchandise.....just want some racing!!!

[johnwilliamdavies]

 

It's a racing car going round a circuit in 2020.

[maximilian]

So honestly, if THEY can do it, why the hell can't others?      Are we being lied to?  

[efuloni]

You're right. I had it in mind that they had re-signed him, but they haven't, I think it was Fraga I was thinking of.

https://juniorteam.redbull.com/drivers

Looking down the list of 'Alumni Drivers' , there are many of whom the expression 'Who??' might be used...

They did re-sign him.

Fraga is a RedBull Jr. Camara is RedBull and AlphaTauri reserve and test driver, alongside Buemim

[johnwilliamdavies]

 

edit: They've stuck one with Red Bull sponsored Camara up, so got rid of the Calderon vid. 

Edited by johnwilliamdavies, 25 March 2020 - 13:14.

[BRG]

They did re-sign him.

Fraga is a RedBull Jr. Camara is RedBull and AlphaTauri reserve and test driver, alongside Buemi

Ah, so I wasn't completely imagining it!  Has he got a SL yet or is the SF campaign intended to cover that?

[efuloni]

Ah, so I wasn't completely imagining it! Has he got a SL yet or is the SF campaign intended to cover that?

He has the SL already. I believe SF is his last try to get to F1, or else he will departure to FE/Indy.

[HistoryFan]

That's very sad:

 

https://formulascout...on-opener/66235

[Disgrace]

They quite plausibly will not participate this season at all.

[noikeee]

Predictable. This particularly stuffs up Juri Vips' development, who now has to do the motor racing equivalent of going back to 3rd grade after just joining high school.

[Poep]

 

Pretty kickass team, of you ask me! 

Hahaha 

This is the best post ever on this forum. This really made my day........ 

Edited by Poep, 13 August 2020 - 23:08.

[Myrvold]

Predictable. This particularly stuffs up Juri Vips' development, who now has to do the motor racing equivalent of going back to 3rd grade after just joining high school.

 

Fits quite well with how Red Bull have handled stuff the last years.

Edited by Myrvold, 13 August 2020 - 23:52.

[BRG]

Predictable. This particularly stuffs up Juri Vips' development, who now has to do the motor racing equivalent of going back to 3rd grade after just joining high school.

It might be a good thing for him.  It means Red Bull can't rush him into F1 too soon in a desperate attempt to find a new Max, whist he gets the chance to mature a bit more and gain more experience.

[Risil]

Probably true. However I think the FIA's superlicence requirements look super weird now drivers have fewer ways to earn them.

[FLB]

However I think the FIA's superlicence requirements look super weird now drivers have fewer ways to earn them.

Well, it's simply that the FIA has acknowledged the whole point of it, which is to force drivers to go through its own feeder series.

 

Onkel Helmut needs to play nice with it with Monsieur Todt.

[noikeee]

It might be a good thing for him. It means Red Bull can't rush him into F1 too soon in a desperate attempt to find a new Max, whist he gets the chance to mature a bit more and gain more experience.

They *can't*?? Just watch them.