lamboblogging
Following on from Part 1 of my earlier article on F1 Alumni from 2015 to 2018, here is Part 2 of the series, which covers F1 Alumni from 2011 to 2014. Please note that I will not cover Jules Bianchi and Michael Schumacher here.
Link to earlier article:
2014 Season
Kamui Kobayashi
Last Race: 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
After his last season in F1 Kobayashi moved back to Japan, joining the Super Formula series with Team LeMans from 2015-2016 and KCMG from 2017-2018. 2016 also saw him added to Toyota's WEC programme. He was also added to Toyota's Super GT campaign in 2017 and 2018 driving its Lexus LC500 GT500 car. He's also raced in the 24H of Spa in a Mercedes AMG GT had a guest appearance in Formula E. Notably, he set the outright lap record in Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans), during qualifying for the 2017 24H of Le Mans
Andre Lotterer
Last Race: 2014 Belgian Grand Prix
Following his one-off appearance replacing Kobayashi at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix, Lotterer continued with his existing commitments in WEC with Audi Team Joest and Super Formula with Team TOM's. When Audi left WEC in 2017, he joined their bitter rivals Porsche, and when Porsche left in 2018, he joined the Rebellion LMP1 team for the 2018-19 WEC Super Season. He was never able to repeat a Le Mans or WEC victory after his guest appearance at Spa.
He also left Super Formula after the 2017 season, choosing instead to begin a new career in Formula E, joining the 2017-18 Formula E season with Techeetah who he still remains with today.
Max Chilton
Last Race: 2014 Russian Grand Prix
After his F1 career, Max Chilton moved over the the USA, joining the junior Indy Lights series in 2015 with Carlin. He secured an IndyCar seat with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2016 and 2017 season before moving back to Carlin for its debut in the premier IndyCar class for the 2018 season. Apart from IndyCar, Chilton was also a driver for Nissan's very unsuccessful 2015 Le Mans LMP1 entry.
Adrian Sutil
Last Race: 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Following his exit from F1, Sutil was picked up as a Williams reserve driver in 2015, a position he left 1 year later. Although, it was reported in early 2016 that Sutil was interested to move into another series, he never did and it seems that he has essentially retired from racing.
Jean-Eric Vergne
Last Race: 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
After losing out on a Red Bull promotion to Daniil Kvyat, Vergne left the Toro Rosso and the Red Bull programme and joined Ferrari as a test and development driver. He also obtained a race seat at Andretti in the inaugural 2014-15 Formula E season, replacing fellow F1 alumni Franck Montagny after the first two races of the season. He would later move to DS Virgin for the 15-16 season and Techeetah for the 16-17 and 17-18 season. He also joined Manor for its 2017 LMP2 season.
2018 would prove to be a breakout year for JEV, helping his team, G-Drive Racing, win the LMP2 class in ELMS (JEV's teammates won but he was ineligible for victory as he had a clash in the first race of the season, making him sit out). He also won the 17-18 Formula E season and had finished first in the LMP2 class in the 24H of Le Mans, until the team was disqualified for a refueling rig infringement.
2013 Season
Charles Pic
Last Race: 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
After his last season in F1, Charles joined Lotus as a test and reserve driver for a year in 2014. There was drama in the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix when Pic commenced a legal challenge against Lotus, that risked their cars being unable to leave Spa after the GP, as he claimed they had reneged on its deal to provide him with a certain number of days behind the car. The dispute was solved by arbitration. Racing-wise, Pic made a few appearances in Formula E's inaugural season first for Andretti then for China Racing (now known as NIO). He has also appeared on Canal+ (French broadcaster) as a pundit
Giedo van der Garde
Last Race: 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
After the 2013 season, van der Garde joined Sauber as a test and reserve driver for the 2014 season. Van der Garde also had been guaranteed a race seat for the 2015, but these race seats instead when to Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson. Van der Garde then commenced legal action against Sauber in order to secure his race seat, which almost led to them being unable to participate in the 2015 Australian GP. The dispute was resolved later with van der Garde receiving compensation, whilst Nasr and Ericsson kept their seats.
In 2016, van der Garde won the 2016 ELMS season with G-Drive Racing in an LMP2. He had a quiet 2017 before returning to LMP2 racing with the all-Dutch Racing Team Nederland for its 2018-19 WEC campaign. Off-track van der Garde also maintains a lively Twitter account and has been dubbed "Giedo Banter Garde" for his often funny Twitter posts.
Mark Webber
Last Race: 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
Webber joined Porsche's LMP1 WEC campaign after leaving F1 from 2014-2016. Although he failed to win coveted 24 Hours of Le Man, he and teammates Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley were able to capture the 2015 WEC title. Webber retired from racing after the 2016 WEC season but has remained as a Porsche brand ambassador. He also appears as a C4F1 television pundit and has made several podium interviews as part of the official F1 broadcast.
Heikki Kovailainen
Last Race: 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix
Although his last full F1 season was for Caterham in 2012, Kovailainen was given an opportunity to replace Kimi Raikonnen at Lotus for the final two races in 2013. 2014 was a quiet year for Kovailainen. He returned to racing with in Super GT for Team SARD from 2015-2018, where he won the title with co-driver Kohei Hirate in 2016. Following a poor 2018 season, Kovailainen stated that he was considering his future with the series and is unsure if he will return in 2019.
2012 Season
Timo Glock
Last Race: 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
After leaving F1, Glock found a home as a factory BMW, mainly driving in the DTM series where he remains to this day. He has also driven for BMW in some endurance GT events such as the 24H of Spa.
Narain Karthikeyan
Last Race: 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
After the end of his second stint in F1 with HRT, Narain joined Auto GP in 2013. He then made a move to Super Formula in Japan from 2014 to 2018, where he had previously competed in back when it was known as Formula Nippon. Karthikeyan also recently made some guest appearances in the MRF Challenge (a series better known as a series for younger drivers to participate in during the offseason) back in his home country.
Pedro de la Rosa
Last Race: 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
After the 2012 season, the de la Rosa, who was better known as a McLaren test driver throughout the 2000s, returned to being a test driver, this time for Ferrari. After leaving Ferrari at the end of 2014, de la Rosa resurfaced in 2018 as the technical and sporting advisor for the Techeetah Formula E team.
Vitaly Petrov
Last Race: 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
Taking 2013 off, Vitaly Petrov returned in 2014, driving a Mercedes for Mucke Motorsport in DTM. He then moved into LMP2 cars, first driving for SMP Racing's 2016 WEC and ELMS programs then Manor's 2017 WEC campaigns. In 2018, he joined SMP Racing's Blancpain Endurance efforts in a Ferrari 488 and also joined SMP Racing's LMP1 programme for the 2018-19 WEC season.
Bruno Senna
Last Race: 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
After leaving F1, Senna joined the world of sportscars and endurance racing with Aston Martin Racing in WEC for the 2013 and 2014 season. He was also in Formula E with Mahindra Racing for the 2014-15 and 15-16 seasons. His biggest success came when he moved to LMP2 cars in WEC, winning the 2017 LMP2 class with Rebellion. He has remained with Rebellion as it moved into the LMP1 class for the 2018-19 season.
Off track he was also a Sky Sports F1 guest pundit.
Jerome d'Ambrosio
Last Race: 2012 Italian Grand Prix
Not many will remember that d'Ambrosio was the replacement for Romain Grosjean after he was banned for 1 race following the starting crash in the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. After that race, d'Ambrosio stayed as a Lotus test driver till the end of 2013. He became part of the debuting Bentley Team M-Sport's Blancpain campaign in 2014. He then moved to Formula E with Dragon Racing for the inaugural 2014-15 season, a team he stayed with till the 2017-18 season. For the 2018-19 season, he has moved to Mahindra.
2011 Season
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Last Race: 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix
After the 2011 season, Liuzzi stayed on with HRT as a test driver but also moved into the Superstars International Series and WEC in an LMP2 with Lotus. He also tried his hand in Super GT and Super Formula in 2014. He then joined Trulli GP in Formula E for the 2014-15 season, racing in 5 races. Although he was named as their driver for the 2015-16, Trulli GP withdrew from Formula E after issues with its powertrain designed by Motomatica did not allow it much running. Liuzzi then moved into GT cars, participating in Blancpain Asia and the International GT Open both with FFF Racing. Although he did not have full time race role in 2018, he seems to have maintained very close ties to FFF Racing, doing testing, coaching and promotional work for the team.
Karun Chandhok
Last Race: 2011 German Grand Prix
Chandhok made a one-off appearance in 2011 replacing Jarno Trulli at Lotus for the German GP after a half season in HRT in 2010. After leaving F1, Chandhok moved into LMP2 endurance racing in WEC and ELMS with JRM and Murphy Prototypes. He also took part in the first Formula E season (2014-15), racing for Mahindra.
He is however perhaps best known as a media personality these days, working as a pundit for BBC Radio, Sky Sports and Channel 4. He also does guest media apperances for Williams' Youtube channel and Autosport. He will be rejoining Sky F1 in 2019.
Jarno Trulli
Last Race: 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix
After leaving F1, Jarno started his own Formula E team, Trulli GP, where he also raced for in the inaugural 2014-15 season. Trulli GP would make a switch in powertrain suppliers to Motomatica, a decision which would prove costly as issues with the Motomatica powertrain forced Trulli GP to completely withdraw from the series in the 2nd season. Retired from full time racing now, Trulli owns a vineyard business and also has a 12 year old son, Enzo, that has recently signed as a karter for the kart manufacture CRG's racing team.
Jamie Alguersuari
Last Race: 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix
After his last F1 race, Alguersuari was picked up by Pirelli as a test driver. He then moved to GT racing, partnering with Nico Bastian in Rowe Racing for the 2014 ADAC GT Master. He participated in the 2014-15 season of Formula E before announcing he would be retiring from motorsport. He is now a DJ, performing under the stage name Squire.
Nick Heidfeld
Last Race: 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix
Following his departure from F1, Heidfeld entered the world of endurance racing with Rebellion Racing in the LMP1 class in WEC from 2012 to 2016 (even being the fastest non-hybrid LMP1 car in the 2014 24H of Le Mans). He also made some appearances for Rebellion in the defunct ALMS and its successor, IMSA. He's also appeared as the endurance co-driver in V8 Supercars. Until the current 2018-19 Formula E season (when he was replaced at Mahindra), Heidfeld had also been one of the few drivers who had participated in every race in Formula E. He has not confirmed any future plans since being replaced at Mahindra for the 2018-19 season.
Rubens Barrichello
Last Race: 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix
After his record 19 seasons in F1, Barrichello moved to Indycars for the 2012 season with KV Racing Technology. He then moved to a full-time Stock Cars Brasil seat in 2013 and has continued to the 2018 season, winning the 2014 season in the process. He has also participated in various well-known endurance races, including the 24H of Daytona, 24H of Le Mans, 24H of Spa and 12H of Sebring. It was rumored that Barrichello would return for the 2014 Brazilian GP with Caterham, but that plan fell through after Caterham went into administration.
In early 2018, Barrichello actually had a scary health emergency, suffering a mild stroke and undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in the neck. He managed to make a recovery and has actually been actively racing in 2018 in Stock Car Brasil and the 24H of Spa. Barrichello has announced plans to join the 2019 24H of Daytona with JDC-Miller Motorsports in a Cadillac DPi.
Barrichello's 17-year old son, Eduardo, is also a racer and will be taking part in the 2019 USF2000 season.
That's part 2 of this series. I hope you guys are enjoying it and as always, do share any feedback or details that I may have missed.
Submitted December 21, 2018 at 07:17PM by realpdd http://bit.ly/2GBtZwO
via Blogger http://bit.ly/2GAdykq
December 21, 2018 at 10:17PM
via Blogger http://bit.ly/2Lt7d94
December 21, 2018 at 11:25PM
No comments:
Post a Comment