Zanardi to test drive in F1?

[Dov]

From TSN.ca: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_s...me=auto_racing

Rubens pushing for Zanardi test drive

TSN.ca Staff
11/15/2003

Rubens Barrichello says he is working on getting Alex Zanardi a test drive with Ferrari.

Barrichello, who competed against Zanardi at a recent karting event in Brazil, said he will do everything he can to get Zanardi on track at Ferrari's test facility in Fiorano.

Zanardi lost both legs in a horrific crash during a CART race in Germany two years ago. Since then, he has returned to competitive racing with the aid of specially modified cars.

In May of this year, he returned to the site of the crash and drove 13 ceremonial laps behind the wheel of a modified ChampCar using a hand control for the clutch and throttle while braking with his artificial right leg, which was fitted to a special pedal.

In September, Zanardi competed 20 practice laps at Monza behind the wheel of a modified BMW 320i touring car before finishing seventh in an October 19 race.

The last time Zanardi sat behind the wheel of a Formula One car was 1999 when he drove for the Williams team in Japan.

[gttouring]

well he can test the car no problem, and what inputs and coaching he can give to new guys, and the team- this would be a class move, but i wonder what he really is capable of with a modded F1 car, his hands would be busy shifting, a thumb throttle? like an electronic linkage or something- lots can be done, but would it be for a real position or merely a ceremonial, or figurative test team member

[Down F0rce]

I'd love to see that!

[marcus]

I'd like to see it happen as well, its every young Italians boys dream to drive for Ferrari one day and im sure Zanardi is no different.

I remember a few years back now Ferrari gave Alessandro nannini test drive after he severed his arm in a helicopter accident, he returned to racing and was very good in touring cars and then ferrari offered him a test drive to which he said it was the highlight of his career.

I hope Rubens can convince jean todt to give Zanardi a go, he certainly deserves it.

[mac]

When Alex came over from CART, there was talk that he had had some discussions with Ferrari, but unfortunately he went to Williams. How things may have turned out differently if he went to a different team.

Would be great to see the man in a Ferrari!

[alonso11]

Originally posted by gttouring

...his hands would be busy shifting, a thumb throttle?

In the ETCC BMW 320i car he used a traditional -even if specially adjusted- pedal to brake (And yea, I think indeed some manual power system).He had two tests before the actual race and also tested a steering brake system but wasn't comfortable with that and then tried using his feet and realised that he still had about 75% of the sensations necessary to assert pressure on his leg in order to brake. He said that at first it was very hard but after working on his physical condition and the structure of the leg it became nearly perfect.

Originally posted by gttouring

...but would it be for a real position or merely a ceremonial, or figurative test team member

I don't know what the purpose of the Ferrari test would be two things are for sure:

1.) He will returnt to ETCC in 2004 for a full-season campaign!
2.) Since the tragedy he drove not only the ETCC BMW but also the Champcar Lola very-very competitively.He mixed with the very best (like always) during both occasion: during the champcar test on the Lausitzring he recorded a laptime -37.487- that -if memory serves me- would have put him 5th in the starting line-up (!!!) while during the ETCC race he finished 7th despite racing againts the very best TC pros and having so little experience with touring cars.

[gttouring]

Ah yes indeed- he did place up 5th in the grid with his time in the (Reynard-FordCosworth it was) even more impressive as the Reynards have been the Dogs all season.
and a guy of Zanardi's caliber would have no trouble with touring cars-proper testing would make him a threat and a terror on the track again- I Can't wait for another Zanardi Burnout and Doughnut- but why didn't Alfa Romeo step up and offer him a drive?

[mac]

The story is that Zanardi took his road BMW to Roberto Ravaglia's garage to get some adjustments made to it, and joked that they should have a go at making the same adjustments to one of the race cars. The race engineer at the team (who worked with Alex in F3000), took it a little more seriously, and it moved on from there.

[Mr V]

I'd love to see it happen, but what about the safety implications? He wouldn't be able to extract himself from the car within the required 10 seconds for a start.

[BootsOntheSide]

I presume that would be waived for a test, but it does prevent him (and other disabeld drivers) being able to race in single-seaters. Frankly I think it's absurd. Drivers who wish to compete in modified cars should accept that risk of not being able to get out of the car quickly enough, and, if they want to compete, be allowed to.

[ralf fan]

yeah i hope so.... just for his courage and battling spirt ALESSANDRO deserves it!!

[Maxmil]

Took me awhile to think through this proposition. To be truthfull, my first reaction was negative on the grounds that Alex really didn't have the experience or demonstrated abilities to become a "professional" test driver in F1. (By "professional" I mean a test driver who does not test as a steppingstone to his first F1 drive, but tests as a vocation.) In CART, for sure, but Alex's F1 record is undistinguished to put it mildly. Then I went and checked Badoer's record and changed my mind. If Luca could test successfully in F1, there is no reason to suppose that Alex cannot, based on his record.

The second reson is the difficulty in exiting the car in an emergancy, but I think BootsOntheSide has disposed of that one. I share his views.

So, after some thought, I hope Ferrari does it and, obviously, that Alex succeeds in every way.

[racefanatic]

This could be really fun! It would scare me to death, but it would still be exciting. I miss Alex racing competitively! It was great to see him do those laps in Germany and finish well in ETCC. Also, I'm pretty sure that his team finished 4th in that go kart race last weekend. Good luck to Alex!

[kristof14]

Surely it would be more likely that he'd get a test in a BMW Williams? They are the least F1 team he drove for and he has ties with BMW through the ETCC.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by kristof14
Surely it would be more likely that he'd get a test in a BMW Williams? They are the least F1 team he drove for and he has ties with BMW through the ETCC.

Well, i should imagine that Alex and Williams didn't part on the most ideal of circumstances. (although, this is something i'm not 100% certain of), plus Alex doesn't have either Williams driver pushing for his position in the test team, where as, he appears to have Rubens pushing in the Ferrari camp.

[DNQ]

Well, I don't expect it to happen, but jeez, if Zanardi gets behind the wheel of an F1, then he will amaze me even more than he already does. A truly remarkable man, he never fails to astound me.

[Adam43]

Thread split. Zanardi's 1999 season discussion is now here http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=46587

mac.

[Asp]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
I presume that would be waived for a test, but it does prevent him (and other disabeld drivers) being able to race in single-seaters. Frankly I think it's absurd. Drivers who wish to compete in modified cars should accept that risk of not being able to get out of the car quickly enough, and, if they want to compete, be allowed to.

It's a good point, but even fully fit drivers risk their lives when racing - it's just a smaller risk. However, no-one wants to see a major injury. And when the injury is even worse because the driver couldn't get themselves out of the car quickly enough, it's just too nasty to think about.