From the coming race weekend at Pau, Robert Wickens will race the Team Signature Dallara-Mercedes previously driven by Stefano Coletti. The Canadian contests the World Series by Renault and also is supported by Red Bull.
Coletti contested just four Formula 3 Euro Series races before Red Bull opted for splitting up with the Monegasque. The best result secured by the rookie was his eleventh position in the second round of the Mugello weekend, representing third place in the rookie ranking.
He is replaced by Robert Wickens. The 19-year old driver from Toronto will make his Formula 3 Euro Series debut in late May, on France's demanding street circuit in Pau. In addition to racing in the Formula 3 Euro Series, he also will continue contesting the World Series by Renault. With four rounds contested, he currently holds 18th position, there. As a young gun contesting two series simultaneously, he experiences a slightly weird situation: in the Renault series, the Canadian races for Carlin Motorsport while the British squad with its drivers Richard Philippe and Rodolfo Gonzalez is one of his opponents, on the Formula 3 Euro Series grid.
Three years ago, Wickens made his first steps on the single-seater racing ladder in the Formula BMW USA. In his debut season, he finished third in the championship and sixth in the Formula BMW World Finals. Last year, he contested the ChampCar feeder series Formula Atlantic and secured fourth position in the championship. And in winter, he successfully represented his country in the A1 Grand Prix Series.
Source: F1 Racing
I think it was another Red Bull driver, Buemi, who also did both F3 and World Series last year. It can be great to be a Red Bull driver but you have to keep in mind that they can dump you at any moment. Its kinda scary how much influence they have over all these young drivers. They parted with Coletti and now he´s out of a drive.
Mika Maki, one of the drivers in contention for this year's Formula 3 Euroseries title, could be facing up to two years in jail after being involved in a serious car accident that almost cost him his life this weekend.
Local press in his home country of Finland claim the 20-year-old crashed his Nissan 350Z in the city of Tampere at the entrance of the Asematunneli, hitting several metal railing posts that pierced the car.
Several of those posts came to within millimetres of reaching Maki and his passenger and while both were taken to hospital, they are thought to have emerged relatively unscathed. A number of pedestrians are also thought to have been caught up in the incident and have suffered bruising due to flying debris.
Reports quote local police as suggesting that Maki may have been involved in a street race and been travelling ‘significantly faster' than the 40kph speed limit when he lost control of the car.
The incident is currently being investigated, but Maki could well lose his driving licence for at least six months on the grounds of reckless driving and endangering road safety. The maximum term for such actions though can be two-years in prison.
Although a prison sentence would almost certainly cost him the title, the driver licence suspension wouldn't necessarily rule him out of racing.
The Red Bull backed youngster, who races for Mucke Motorsport, is currently second in the Euroseries standings after winning at Hockenheim and Mugello.
PTRACER wrote:His racing licence should be revoked he should be banned from circuit racing...
If that happened every time a racing driver was convicted for a serious traffic offence or involved in a major road accident, you could have some very small grids ... in almost every formula!
Yeah, but this is different. There's a difference between speeding and "being involved in a street race", as the article says. It's irresponsible behaviour, something you'd expect from an arrogant child who's been given a racing licence because they have a rich family.
Here's a grid for tomorrow's DTM race in Zandvoort. Starting last - pathetic Shuey jnr. Only last year he was well compensated driver for Toyota F1 team. Nowdays he can't beat two gals who are starting ahead of him and not exactly former multiple GP winners. Albers is 'respectable' 14th atleast. I wonder how Massa or Hedfeld will do in DTM next year ? And what does it say about level of F1 drivers we have today ...
1. Mattias Ekström
1:31.012 Min.
2. Timo Scheider
1:31.231 Min.
3. Tom Kristensen
1:31.563 Min.
4. Jamie Green
1:31.600 Min.
5. Bruno Spengler
1:31.709 Min.
6. Martin Tomczyk
1:31.731 Min.
7. Paul di Resta
1:31.815 Min.
8. Oliver Jarvis
1:32.037 Min.
9. Markus Winkelhock
1:32.319 Min.
10. Mike Rockenfeller
1:32.642 Min.
11. Alexandre Prémat
1:32.705 Min.
12. Bernd Schneider
1:32.808 Min.
13. Gary Paffett
1:33.165 Min.
14. Christijan Albers
1:33.231 Min.
15. Mathias Lauda
1:33.644 Min.
16. Katherine Legge
1:33.681 Min.
17. Maro Engel
1:33.691 Min.
18. Susie Stoddart
1:33.873 Min.
19. Ralf Schumacher
1:33.980 Min.
Last edited by VR4615 years ago, edited 1 time in total.