http://www.blick.ch/sport/formel1/flirtet-ferrari-mit-sebastien-buemi-id2139441.html Granted, this is highly speculative during the off season when there is nothing else to report about and where Swiss readers want to see their hero back in a F1 car. Still: According to Benoit Ferrari is unhappy with its test driver Jules Bianchi and wants to replace him. Buemi is available, experienced and knows a bit or two about arch rival RB. I'd love to see Buemi back in a cockpit, particularly in a Ferrari. Even if it is only for a few Friday morning practices. We'll see. Not putting any money on this one though.
Has Buemi driven the Ferrari sim? Reports stated Jules was faster than Perez in the same sim this year.
He only has 3 wins, no championships... I don't really care, it's just the reserve driver and those don't do squat anymore
I have a feeling you're very much mistaken on that. As Andreas noted, endless simulator running. Given the lack of testing, that becomes important as they're relying more & more on results returned from the sim. Consistency and good feedback are important. Also, allows comparisons to be made between jockeys - Where is he quicker/slower than the regular guys? What are they doing differently? How do changes affect not just the car but the drivers? etc etc. Want to win? You're gonna need a good, solid tester IMO. Cheers, Ian
Teams usually hae the actual drivers in the simulator. Being a test driver is pretty much a joke anymore.
True. But despite what we may think, the race drivers are actually pretty busy. Particularly during the season. I think it was Mclaren who said a while back that their testers spent an order of magnitude more time in the sim than the racers. It's all about getting "good" data and comparisons. Underestimate their importance at your own risk...... Cheers, Ian
Indeed. I read some stories about another team and their test driver. These guys are in the sims for hours and days. Endlessly testing new components, trying out different race strategies, playing with setup changes. Just think about the logistics and lifes of a regular F1 driver during the season: There is not a whole lot of time left between travel/race weekend/R&R/PR to visit the sim. Meanwhile development continues unabated.
