Autosport – 01 August 2019

1 AUGUST 2019 03

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

autosport.com/performance

EDITORIAL

JAMES NEWBOLD

EDITOR

[email protected]

COVER IMAGE

Motorsport Images/Andre

ROB WILSON

Getting into the sweet spot

Our expert coach explains how

drivers can find their rhythm

DRIVER’S EYE VIEW

Hayden Paddon

The Kiwi explains the challenges

of being a part-timer in the WRC

F1 SUBSTITUTES

Waiting in the wings

The unseen role of the F1 reserve is

easily ignored, until they’re called up

W SERIES

Making the most of a second chance

How a unique philosophy has helped

returnees thrive aft er time away

AWKWARD CARS

Dealing with a diva

Three veteran racers reflect on

their experiences with tricky cars

AGONY AUNT

Rahel Frey

The Audi GT stalwart shares her top

tips on ABS, night racing and more

FENESTRAZ IN JAPAN

From disaster to triumph

Dropped by Renault, Sacha Fenestraz

has flourished in Japan with sim time

he worst thing for a racing

driver is being at the track

watching the others race and

knowing that you can do the

job as well.” Christian Klien is well placed

to sympathise with the predicament

facing Mercedes reserve driver Esteban

Ocon. It’s one thing to watch the team’s

two main drivers clock up podium after

podium, but it’s quite another to be

on the sidelines while they endured a

catastrophic weekend at Hockenheim.

After losing his race seat at Red Bull in

2006, Klien was reserve driver for BMW

when Robert Kubica won at Montreal in

2008, and later worked as the Williams

simulator driver when Pastor Maldonado

scored an upset in the 2012 Spanish GP.

In between times, he had three races for

HRT in 2010 – “with Kolles, you were

always unsure if you drive or not!” – and

outqualifi ed team-mate Bruno Senna by

1.2 seconds on his comeback in Singapore.

“It depends a bit, some cars it takes you

longer to get comfortable and take it to

the limit, but with the HRT it felt pretty

easy for me to get the most out of it,”

Klien says. “In 2008 and 2009 there was

testing a lot with BMW so I was still very

sharp with F1 cars. It’s not just the driving

side, it’s also working with the engineers,

fi nding the right set-ups, all this you

don’t have it if you sit out.”

For test and reserve drivers like Ocon

with no racing activity planned and few

opportunities to get behind the wheel of

a contemporary car in anger, it’s tough

to stay sharp when an opportunity does

arise. As James Roberts explains in the

cover feature (page 8), it’s only when the

understudy gets to fi ll in that they get

to see whether their hard work behind

the scenes has been for nothing.

At least for W Series racers Alice

Powell and Emma Kimilainen, who had

a superb scrap for the win at Assen last

month, their eff orts during enforced

time out have not been in vain. Lucy

Morson explores how their second

chance is working out on p16.

Klien had forgettable

return to F1 with

HRT in 2010

LIFE IN THE SHADOWS

OF FORMULA 1

10 OCTOBER 2019

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CONTRIBUTORS

Rob Wilson,

Hayden Paddon,

James Rober ts,

Lucy Morson,

Piotr Magdziarz,

Rahel Frey

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ENQUIRIES

Don Rupal

email

don.rupal@

motorsport.com

020 3405 8107

SUB-EDITORS

Peter Hodges

Kevin Turner

ART EDITOR

Michael Cavalli

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