F1 Beckons for Fairuz Fauzy?
Fairuz Fauzy’s quest for a place in the grids of Formula 1 continues with the Malaysian lad selected to undergo a special two-day orientation programme designed specifically to give aspiring drivers a taste of motorsports’ premier racing event. Organized by ING Renault F1 Team at their plant in Enstone, Fairuz’s participation in the programme, which took place on 6 – 7 July 2009, followed up on his recent success finishing second in the Silverstone race of the Formula Renault 3.5 series. With two successive podium finishes, having won in Hungary the week before, Fairuz now stands at 6th place in a field of 23 drivers, while the six-month-old Team MOFAZFortec is fifth in the team standings.
Fairuz finished second at Silverstone.
On the first day of the programme, the participants were given a tour of the Renault F1 team HQ, before being shown the physical training centre of the plant, bombastically named as the Human Performance Centre. They sat through a clinic organised by the Renault F1 team training instructor to brief them on the physical demands of an F1 driver’s training regime. As the saying goes, action speaks louder than words, and so the drivers were then put into the actual training conditions to complete the lesson.
The second day of the programme began with ING Renault F1 Team’s Executive Director of Engineering explaining to the participants the stages involved in selecting drivers to ultimately compete in the sport. Now, most of you would imagine that the criteria of selecting and, ultimately, training of F1 drivers focuses on their on track performance – car control, strategy, physical fitness and focus.
There is one more aspect that most of us, me included, would not have thought of – media interaction. Before dispersing, the participants spent an extended amount of time in the Public Relations centre where they were trained to speak to the media as not just a driver, but also an ambassador of the various brands slapped on their cars and suits.
It should be noted that although participation in this programme represents a massive step forward for Fairuz in his quest for a place in F1, his task is by no means even at the halfway mark. Although the Formula Renault 3.5 Series can be rightfully regarded as the fast track to F1, Fairuz still needs to be crowned overall champion of the series before being offered an F1 testing seat with ING Renault.
The next step in Fairuz’s long road would be in the Le Mans circuit, where the next leg of the Formula Renault will be held on 18-19 July, which is this weekend! Tune in to Astro Channel 814 this weekend to follow Fairuz’s progress as he continues on his quest to become Malaysia’s next Formula 1 driver.
See also: Fairuz Fauzy targets Formula Renault win at Silverstone
