Ferrari F1 test for the top three in Italian F3 Championship

Today, Vallelunga’s Piero Taruffi circuit was the scene of an F1 test for the top three finishers in the Italian Formula 3 Championship, organised by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, along with the ACI-CSAI.

Under the supervision of the head of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Luca Baldisserri, along with a team from Maranello’s F1 Clienti department, the first to jump into the cockpit of an F2008 this morning was the 21 year old Brazilian from Porto Alegre, Cesar Ramos, who won the series. He was followed by second placed Stephane Richelmi, the twenty year old from Monaco and then another twenty year old, Andrea Caldarelli, from Abruzzo in Italy, who came third in the championship. The Vallelunga test was the third time the top three in the Italian Formula 3 Championship have got their hands on an F1 car, after the 2008 session at Fiorano and another at Jerez in 2009, all part of the effort and attention that Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro expends in support of up and coming young drivers.

The drivers had plenty to say at the end of their exciting day. “Taking to the track in a Ferrari Formula 1 car was an incredible experience, better than anything I expected,” commented Cesar Ramos. “I tried to enjoy it as much as possible, because it really was a dream come true. During the session I was guided by a group of professionals who made me feel perfectly at ease and that contributed to making it an unforgettable experience.”

Stephane Richelmi underlined the huge difference between this and a Formula 3 car. “I realised that driving a Formula One car is hard work, which requires a lot of training and careful preparation and I am proud to have been given this opportunity.”

Equally enthusiastic was Italy’s Andrea Caldarelli, the last to get behind the wheel. “Driving a Ferrari is the dream of every driver. I tried not to feel awestruck by the occasion so as not to waste a single moment. It has been a day I will never forget.”