French driver, and Ferrari protégé, Jules Bianchi is still angry at the way the season's finale of the Formula Renault 3.5 held in Barcelona turned when he was hit by championship rival, Robin Frijns, causing him to retire on the spot.
After the contact, Frijns was able to continue, and despite the fact that he was later penalised for the incident, was still crowned champion.
Bianchi, who is currently Sahara Force India's reserve driver, has strong hopes to become a full-time Formula 1 driver, and even a Ferrari driver in the not-too-distant future.
“I’d be lying if I said that what happened two weeks ago in Barcelona is now all behind me,” said Bianchi in the paddock of the Yas Marina circuit for the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.
“I still find myself occasionally thinking about how the championship ended. Let’s say that my biggest regret is having ended the season being hit by my closest rival for the title. I was in a strong position, but that’s not the point: I would have liked to have been able to fight to the end without any sort of mishap, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” he added.
Bianchi admits he's happy with his performance in this year's Formula Renault 3.5 Championship.
“In 2012 I had the chance to grow still more in a new environment. For me, Formula Renault 3.5 was a new experience and I came up against many worthy competitors which proved how competitive the series is,” the Frenchman continued.
“I had to fight for every point and I’m pleased with the job the team did. We managed to always be among the front runners and if the championship didn’t come our way, it wasn’t our fault. We came second, just a few points off the winner, but with just a few laps to go, we were in the championship winning position and we did nothing wrong,” he said.
Interestingly, Bianchi is managed by fellow countryman, Nicolas Todt, who is actually the manager of Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa. Bianchi has his eyes set on the second Ferrari F1 car.
“The objective me and my management have set ourselves is to try and get a race drive in next year’s Formula 1 world championship,” he admitted.
“It will not be easy, because there aren’t many seats available, with a lot of drivers on the market. I hope we can find something worthwhile, maybe getting a little bit of the luck that eluded us two weeks ago in Barcelona,” he ended.
After the contact, Frijns was able to continue, and despite the fact that he was later penalised for the incident, was still crowned champion.
Bianchi, who is currently Sahara Force India's reserve driver, has strong hopes to become a full-time Formula 1 driver, and even a Ferrari driver in the not-too-distant future.
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| Photo: Ferrari |
“I’d be lying if I said that what happened two weeks ago in Barcelona is now all behind me,” said Bianchi in the paddock of the Yas Marina circuit for the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.
“I still find myself occasionally thinking about how the championship ended. Let’s say that my biggest regret is having ended the season being hit by my closest rival for the title. I was in a strong position, but that’s not the point: I would have liked to have been able to fight to the end without any sort of mishap, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” he added.
Bianchi admits he's happy with his performance in this year's Formula Renault 3.5 Championship.
“In 2012 I had the chance to grow still more in a new environment. For me, Formula Renault 3.5 was a new experience and I came up against many worthy competitors which proved how competitive the series is,” the Frenchman continued.
“I had to fight for every point and I’m pleased with the job the team did. We managed to always be among the front runners and if the championship didn’t come our way, it wasn’t our fault. We came second, just a few points off the winner, but with just a few laps to go, we were in the championship winning position and we did nothing wrong,” he said.
Interestingly, Bianchi is managed by fellow countryman, Nicolas Todt, who is actually the manager of Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa. Bianchi has his eyes set on the second Ferrari F1 car.
“The objective me and my management have set ourselves is to try and get a race drive in next year’s Formula 1 world championship,” he admitted.
“It will not be easy, because there aren’t many seats available, with a lot of drivers on the market. I hope we can find something worthwhile, maybe getting a little bit of the luck that eluded us two weeks ago in Barcelona,” he ended.