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Who are they, anyway - Ferrari young drivers - Four drivers get set to test for the Scuderia with Bianchi getting the lion's share

Published by Christine

Our series of posts about the drivers running at the Jerez test this week continues with Ferrari. I was surprised that Red Bull were only running one driver, and raised an eyebrow when Renault signed up three. However, it was not a shock to find Ferrari going one better and giving four drivers a chance, once again cementing their name for having more drivers than sense.

Jules Bianchi

Jules Bianchi
  • Age: 20
  • Nationality: French
  • F1 Experience: None
  • Notable Achievements: 1st in French Formula Renault 2007, 3rd then 1st in F3 Euroseries 2008-09

Jules Bianchi was rumoured to be replacing the not-particularly-fast Luca Badoer when he filled in for Massa during the 2009 season. This didn't come to pass, of course, so the youngster has no F1 experience as yet. However, he has been putting the performances in for ART Grand Prix in the F3 Euroseries. He's also participating in the GP2 Asia series at the moment.

Bianchi has previously mentioned how frustrating the current testing regulations are for young drivers, so getting some experience should make him a bit happier.

Jules is currently scheduled to test for the first two days in Jerez.

Daniel Zampieri

Daniel Zampieri
  • Age: 19
  • Nationality: Italian
  • F1 Experience: None
  • Notable Achievements: 2nd in Italian Formula Renault 2.0 2007, 1st in Italian Formula Three 2009

Zampieri has been granted a one day test along with two other Italians, for their performance in the Formula Three series this year. Daniel finished in front of the others, netting five poles and setting three fastest laps in the process, not bad going considering he was also a rookie. He's currently racing in the GP2 Asia series, racing with Piquet GP.

His previous experience has been limited to Formula Renault - the Italian and Eurocup versions, and Formula Three. GP2 Asia will be a good new experience for him, as will this F1 test.

Daniel is currently scheduled in on the last day of testing.

Marco Zipoli

Marco Zipoli
  • Age: 19
  • Nationality: Italian
  • F1 Experience: None
  • Notable Achievements: 2nd in Italian Formula Three 2009

Information on Zipoli is hard to come by, but he has also proven himself to Ferrari in this year's Italian Formula Three series, finishing second and earning himself a one-day test. Throughout the year, there were certainly more winners than Zipoli, who stood on the top step twice, but he scored enough points to finish runner up in the championship. He was Daniel Zampieri's teammate for the last four rounds of the season.

Marco is currently scheduled to run on the last day of testing alongside Zampieri.

Pablo Sánchez López

Pablo Sánchez López
  • Age: 19
  • Nationality: Mexican
  • F1 Experience: None
  • Notable Achievements: 3rd in Italian Formula Three 2009

Another driver with little to go on in the way of information, but his third position in Italian Formula Three has secured himself the shared test for Ferrari. Sánchez finished the F3 series third, but with four wins - two more than Zipoli and the same amount as Zampieri. The three of them seem to be quite equal in terms of performance.

Pablo is currently scheduled to get in the car on the final day of the test, sharing the day with Zipoli and Zampieri.

All content in the series Jerez Testing December 2009