Official: Jules Bianchi replaces Luiz Razia at Marussia
That's it, it's done: France will have four drivers in F1 in 2013 as Jules Bianchi becomes the main driver at Marussia, replacing Luiz Razia, who is struggling with his Brazilian sponsors.
As we anticipated since yesterday, Nicolas Todt, the manager of the Frenchman, quickly started pushing his case with another team when Sahara Force India finally decided to entrust their second seat to Adrian Sutil. Indeed, he was well aware of the serious financial problems Luiz Razia was facing, which prevented him from driving during the Jerez and Barcelona tests.
We were comforted in our convictions by the remarks made yesterday by Graeme Lowdon, the team’s director, to Sky: “It’s the nature of Formula 1. It’s full of competitors. As they say, if you stand still, you move backward. This kind of rumor is quite understandable. From our point of view, within the team, it’s our job to make the right decisions for the team, and that includes the drivers. So that includes making the right decision regarding our drivers. Even though we have very good relationships with our two drivers, it’s not unusual to see this kind of rumor. I’m sure it has happened before and that it will happen again. It’s the nature of Formula 1.”
The door was more than open, and Jules Bianchi seized the opportunity. During these swift negotiations, he had the same arguments as those presented to Sahara Force India: the significant support from Ferrari. Marussia is already looking for an engine for 2014 since Cosworth doesn’t have the financial means to develop the new V6 turbo. Ferrari, at risk of losing Toro Rosso as a client to Renault, is on the hunt for new clients. The Scuderia could thus offer a discount on the upcoming bill in exchange for Jules Bianchi’s participation in the season.
Indeed, Ferrari cannot afford to take the risk of putting a rookie driver in one of its seats in F1. After a season as a third driver at Sahara Force India, which allowed him to accumulate kilometers during Friday morning tests, he will now be able to acclimate to F1 races in a more serene environment than Maranello. It is important to remember that this strategy was adopted with Felipe Massa, who was also managed by Nicolas Todt. The Brazilian spent three seasons at Sauber, powered by Ferrari, before joining Michael Schumacher with the Reds.
On social media, Marussia confirmed the appointment of the Frenchman: « We are pleased to announce that we have appointed Jules Bianchi to a seat. This follows the end of our contract with Razia. »
This appointment of Jules Bianchi as a full-time driver is well-deserved when you look at his track record: Formula 3 champion, third place two seasons in a row in GP2, and runner-up in Formula Renault 3.5 (after being taken out in the final race by his title rival, Robin Frijns). He arrives with a much more impressive track record than many other drivers in F1, starting with his new teammate Max Chilton. While the Briton managed to finish fourth in GP2 last year, it was only after two seasons where he finished 25th and 20th.
It is interesting to note that France has not had as many drivers at the start of a Grand Prix since the 1995 British Grand Prix, where Bertrand Gachot (Pacific), Olivier Panis (Ligier), Jean Alesi (Ferrari), and Jean-Christophe Bouillon (Sauber) were the French representatives. However, this year marks the shift towards pay television in France, with Canal+ winning the tender launched by the FOM…
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
