You are here : Cars Homepage > News and Reviews Hub > Trackside - The next Lewis Hamilton?
Trackside - The next Lewis Hamilton?
26 March 2007 British racer Lewis Hamilton exploded onto the F1 scene at Melbourne last week with a storming drive to finish third in his first race. And now 23 year-old Oliver Jarvis has given Britain its first victory in A1 Grand Prix – the ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ – in only his fourth race for the team. Keith Collantine explains why he’s the real deal. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City is one of the toughest circuits in international motor racing. It’s 7,500 feet above sea level where the air is thin. The surface is bone-jarringly bumpy. And one portion of the track consists of eight consecutive high-speed corners twisting back on each other. But the biggest challenge is the mighty Peraltada – the ultra-quick 180-degree final turn with scant run-off space between the bend and a concrete wall. None of this to daunted Oliver Jarvis, who took a masterful win on this demanding circuit on only his fourth appearance for team Great Britain yesterday. So who is this young driver, and has he got what it takes to follow Lewis Hamilton to the top of motor sport? In one of those quirks of motor racing, Jarvis is actually a year older than Hamilton, almost to the day. But he’s shown bags of talent. In 2005 he won the British Formula Renault championship, a series Hamilton had contested three years earlier, but not won. Jarvis was named the McLaren Autosport Young Driver of The Year, a prize bestowed upon the likes of David Coulthard and Jenson Button. He stepped up to British Formula Three in 2006 and scored wins at Mondello Park and Brands Hatch. Against expectations he finished second overall in his rookie year ahead of the much-fancied Bruno Senna (nephew of Ayrton). Sadly, for all his succes, he wasn’t able to attract the support to remain with a top team in the British championship and has instead switched to the Japanese F3 series. Though this may seem drastic, it has worked well as a career move for other drivers. Jarvis joins the TOM’s Toyota team for whom German Adrian Sutil won the championship last year – and Sutil is now an F1 driver with Spyker.
But his appearances for the British A1 Grand Prix team drew the most admiration. At the punishing Beijing street circuit last year he finished second in his second appearance for the team, avoiding the accidents that claimed many other drivers. On his return to the team last weekend he again outstripped regular driver Robbie Kerr. Jarvis qualified third and finished second in the sprint race. In the main event he surged into a commanding lead and won despite enormous pressure from American Jonathan Summerton in the dying stages. It was a spectacular showing from the young driver who now looks forward to a season that could boost his reputation enormously. Can he repeat Sutil’s trick of turning a racing career in Japan into a drive in Formula 1? Trackside will be keeping a close eye on this star of the future. Competition This is a prize that money CANNOT buy! You and a friend could be getting the full VIP treatment at the opening round of this year's Avon Tyres British GT Championship and Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula Three international championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Two runners-up will each receive a pair of tickets to the races, which are on April 7th and 9th. Enter this FREE competition now! Racing round-up A1 Grand Prix, Mexico City Alex Yoong won the sprint race for Malaysia, his third of the season. New Zealand and France failed to capitalise on the absence of championship leader Germany’s star driver Nico Hülkenberg – even when a huge crash at the start took out his replacement Christian Vietoris. In the second race Yoong bogged down badly at the start and lost the lead to Britain’s Oliver Jarvis, who won by 0.6s from America’s Jonathan Summerton. Indy Racing League, Miami Homestead Dan Wheldon dominated the first race of the Indy Car championship, surging back into the lead after a mistake during his pit stop dropped him to ninth. It was his third consecutive win at the Miami oval. Team mate Scott Dixon finished third ahead of 2006 champion Sam Hornish Jnr. Briton Dario Franchitti was seventh and Darren Manning retired on his return to the series. Auto Trader links Trackside – 10 best of British in 2006 |
Jarvis has wisely used opportunities to keep racing during the F3 off-season. He made a one-off appearance in the Word Series by Renault (which uses far more powerful cars) and kept out of trouble to finish in both races.Page 1
