Ferrari 2015: The rise of Bianchi is the fall of Hulkenberg

Jules Bianchi – the Intellectual Saviour of Marussia

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Jules Bianchi – the ‘Intellectual Saviour’ of Marussia whose incredible performances have put an end to Razia’s sympathy. Bianchi, the grandson of Mauro Bianchi who is a former three-time world champion in the GT category, was drafted as a replacement of Luiz Razia at Marussia in the eleventh hour of pre-season testing.

Bianchi was tipped to be the replacement of Nico Hulkenberg at Force India for the 2013 season, after having spent the 2012 season extensively testing for the team, but was overlooked by the Anglo-Indian squad in favour of Adrian Sutil.

Bianchi never looked like a stranger to the new conditions that were put forward to him, and despite Chilton driving extensively in the pre-season testing, Bianchi out-qualified the Brit in the majority of the 2013 qualifying sessions (16-3). On many occasions, Bianchi was three-quarters of a second quicker than his teammate, and had an average qualifying position of 19 compared to Chilton’s 21. In race conditions, Bianchi excelled over his teammate, with a score of 14-5.

Bianchi’s career is comparable to that of Hulkenberg. Needless to say, Bianchi is part of Ferrari’s Young Driver’s Academy, and they have offered him a one day test session at this weekend’s Pirelli Test at Bahrain.

2014 will be a real challenge for both these drivers. With all the rule changes, there isn’t a clear favourite for the Championship. Both Force India and Marussia have invested as many resources as possible into the development of their 2014 challenger, and these two drivers would be hoping for the luck to go in their favour.

Marussia would be making a switch to the Ferrari engines and the deal includes a further collaboration for gearbox and other related systems. Marussia also has a technical partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies which grants them access to various McLaren facilities like the use of Test Rigs, Wind tunnel, Simulator and other Computer Technologies.

With access to such a huge range of facilities, Marussia should immensely stand to gain with regards to the development of their 2014 challenger, as compared to its nearest rival. However, they have lost a major impulse in the name of Pat Symonds who should be credited for the team’s performance this year. Pat Symonds had created a proper structure within this young team, and it remains to be seen if they can cope up with this loss. Nevertheless, the ultimate goal for Bianchi should be to outperform his teammate who most likely should be Chilton. 2014 would be the best chance for this team to score that elusive point or two and Bianchi should be hoping that he would remain the juggernaut of this team.

Meanwhile, Hulkenberg’s task is a bit more steep. Force India have started working on their 2014 challenger from May 2013, and it’s one of the reasons for the team’s form nosediving as the season progressed, and most importantly after the change of tyre compounds from Pirelli. In all likelihood, Force India should be a regular Top 10 finisher in the 2014 season, and they are aiming to finish fifth in the constructor’s standings. It would be a treat for the Force India drivers if Mercedes Powertrain emerges as the best of the rest, as it would give additional momentum to the team’s progress. But the real story for Force India is the competition within the team.

As McLaren took a long time to reveal the identity of the replacement for Lewis Hamilton, lots of people wanted Hulkenberg to partner Jenson Button for the 2013 season, and as it turned out, Sergio Perez was picked on a ‘multi-year’ deal, and the team ended up sacking the young Mexican. Sergio Perez would be itching to prove himself after a dismal season, and would be keen to impress the top teams, and he has already hinted at the idea of moving beyond Force India for the 2015 season and beyond. On the other hand, Hulkenberg is already highly regarded by the peers and in the F1 universe, and he would be looking forward to the 2014 season to score some consistent points, and would be very eager to make a statement of his own by outclassing his Mexican teammate.

Ferrari in 2015 – crossing of Hulkenberb and Bianchi’s paths?

If a seat opens up for the 2015 season at Ferrari, as per the talks of Alonso-McLaren saga, Bianchi looks like a firm contender. He is already under the radar of Ferrari, and his test session with Ferrari at Bahrain would be used as a demonstration of his progress over the course of the 2013 season. Hulkenberg has a very tough task ahead, having lost a Ferrari contract by a few notches, and with the Lotus team also overlooking his efforts, his life is still stuck in the midfield. To add to his woes, his teammate was an ex-member of the Ferrari Young Driver’s Academy, and is coming from a top team with his own agenda.

It would be really interesting to see the progress of Hulkenberg and Bianchi as they embark on their fresh challenges. With their current form, both the drivers deserve a top seat. Ferrari can make amends to Hulkenberg’s career by offering him a seat for 2015, if at all the slot opens up. However, Ferrari has successfully groomed a driver in the name of Bianchi, and surely, Bianchi deserves the promotion for all the hard work that he has done in his short career.

By Bala Yogesh