Breaking News: Sauber sign Jamie Franklin!
There was much talk about the 2012 F1F Winter season, and who would be in which teams. The majority of the grid was filled quickly, with reigning champion Ed Greenhalgh signing with Ferrari with rookie team mate Andrew Angus. Mercedes, whom Jamie Franklin was signed with last year (under the team name Fercedes) then signed John Brookfield, and Moussa. This dynamic duo is sure to be a competitive team next year, and will be gunning for both titles, especially after John narrowly missed out on the driver’s title last season.
Williams then took the headlines next, by signing Oli Peacock, who is regarded very highly in the F1F paddock and should have been in the running for the driver’s title last season, had he had the same attendance as both Ed and John. McLaren decided to keep Bradley Downton, who was teamed up with Oli in the previous season, and has signed rookie Luke Smith.
Red Bull Racing then signed Nic Morley and rookie, Colin, whilst newcomers Kaz Armos, George Angus and Iain Stewart filled the spaces at Lotus Renault, Marussia Virgin Racing and Force India respectively. These deals left a space spare in each of the three teams, with Lotus Renault highly regarded to the recently released, Jamie Franklin.
However, this afternoon it was confirmed that Jamie would in fact race for Sauber, after signing a one year deal with them. We caught up with him immediately after, and he had this to say:
“I was gutted with my performances last year with Fercedes, I just couldn’t get into the rhythm that I was used to in the lower Formulas that led me here. It was a bit of a learning curve for me, and unfortunately Fercedes (now Mercedes) decided that the best idea was to sign both John Brookfield and Moussa, and who can blame them? They are both great drivers, who have shown very competitive pace and I’m sure it’ll give them a great chance at both titles next season.
Having said that, I’m really happy to have signed with Sauber. I’ve spent quite a bit of time at their factory getting to know the team, and even though they’re a privateer team, you can tell that they’re extremely passionate about they do, and very passionate about it too. I have a feeling that they have built a good car for the coming season, and with a year’s experience under my belt, I hope that I can deliver the team some good results, get some good points on the board and some podiums would be nice too. Obviously our aim in this sport is to win, and we will be trying our best to make that possible. But at the same time, we have to be realistic and take things in our stride,”
With only one driver each, for Lotus Renault, Force India, Sauber and Marussia Virgin, we are unsure what will happen in regards to the Constructor’s championship. There may still be time for signings during the season, but some of these teams may benefit from joining together for a better effort in the Constructor’s Championship. But whether these teams actually want this…only time will tell.
