Baumgartner Glad with Jordan Opportunity
F3000 participant Zsolt Baumgartner will become the first Hungarian to drive a Formula One car during a Grand Prix weekend, it has been revealed today.
F3000 participant Zsolt Baumgartner will become the first Hungarian to drive a Formula One car during a Grand Prix weekend, it has been revealed today.
22-years-old Baumgartner will take part in the two-hour test session on the Fridays before the German and Hungarian Grands Prix in August, driving a Jordan EJ13 up against regulars Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralph Firman. Speaking at a news conference in Budapest, team boss Eddie Jordan said: "The speed is the key element, and that is what has most impressed us about him. He wouldn't be in a Jordan car if he didn't have the talent.
"We have a really big experience in bringing on young talents. This is how everybody starts."
Baumgartner, currently competing in the FIA F3000 International Championship, added that driving a Jordan F1 car will be the "biggest achievement" in his racing career so far. "I feel that in a way I will represent a whole country in F1," he said. "However, my main priority remains to become more and more competitive in F3000."
He already got a taste of what to expect last year, when he took an EJ12 for three demonstration laps around the Hungaroring during the course of the Grand Prix weekend, the local crowd going wild on seeing their fellow-countryman in the famous yellow car.
The arrangement will no doubt help Jordan's cash problems as well, who has chosen the Friday testing option for economical reasons. The details about Baumgartner's contract have not been made public, however it is understood Minister of Youth and Sports Gyorgy Janosi urged 33 "potential sponsors" to help the most popular Hungarian driver into Formula One. The government hopes this will create more interest towards Grand Prix Racing, and Janosi called the contract with Jordan a "historic" move.
The very first Grand Prix event had been won by Hungarian Ferenc Szisz back in 1906, but the country never had a Formula One driver in the modern era. Csaba Kesjar, a promising young talent came closest when he, just like Baumgartner, tried an F1 car during a demonstration run in 1987. Then 25-years-old Kesjar took a Zakspeed around the Hungaroring, but his career was cut tragically short ten months later, when he was killed in an accident while competing in German F3.
Baumgartner, driving for Coloni Motorsport in the F3000 series, currently lies 11th in the standings after scoring his first points two weeks ago in Barcelona.
When he finally takes to the track in August, he won't be the first non-regular driver to participate in a Friday test session this year, since Minardi already ran a third car for Italian Matteo Bobbi during the San Marino Grand Prix. Bobbi was due to drive the car again in Spain, but he failed to turn up because of cash problems.
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