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In the past, Dijon has proved to be a happy hunting ground for SG Formula in Formula Renault, so the team is looking forward eagerly to the French leg of the F3 Euro Series calendar, next October 10-11.

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SG Formula

2009 Formula 3 Euro Series

17th & 18th rounds, Dijon-Prenois, October 10-11 2009 

SG Formula confirms on home ground

All eyes were on SG Formula to see how they would fare in the French leg of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Dijon-Prenois, three weeks after Andrea Caldarelli’s podium finish in Barcelona. The Italian driver’s 5th best qualifying time and 4th place in the race, together with the win in the rookies’ category, are proof that the La Rochelle-based team is showing great end-of-season form. To top it all, Jules Bianchi became 2009 champion two years after having achieved his first single-seater title in Formula Renault 2.0 with SG Formula. 

This second significant result in a row is especially important for SG Formula. This season the regular Formula 3 line-up consists of two young drivers sponsored by the Toyota Young Drivers Programme , which is the world number one car manufacturer’s “Junior team”. The uncertainty surrounding the future of Toyota in Formula 1 also impacts the lower echelons of the racing hierarchy but SG Formula is determined to carry on in F3. At a time when a recent IPSOS opinion poll shows that 80% of French people recognize that motor racing has a “driving role in the area of technological innovation”, we must remember that Formula 3 does not just boast an unbelievable fund of young talent. The fact that it is also one of the last non-monotype single-seater category makes it additionally interesting from the engineering standpoint. 

Team Manager Stéphane Guérin said as much to us at this crucial point in the season: "We’ve developed the car considerably since the end of 2008, which was the year in which we started in F3. We began by confirming technical innovations and have been working more on the operational side for some months now. This approach has enabled to go up a gear, so to speak. We need to prepare for what comes next and are currently involved in important discussions on the team’s future. It’s all a question of R&D. We want to set up a genuine design office, with Formula 3 to the forefront technologically, to function in tandem with our other parallel involvements. For us, therefore, a good end to the season is vital. Featuring in the Top 5 and being in the mix for a podium place for the last two meetings is a very positive result. Both the car and the driver, Andrea Caldarelli, have got better. I dare to hope that Toyota will continue to support Andrea as he deserves. He’s clearly the best thing to have come out of the programme. Andrea doesn’t just have talent, he’s a worker and has never given up after the early season disappointments." 

After his phenomenal 18 podium places in Formula Renault 2.0 last year with SG Formula, the young Italian is improving with every race at the wheel of his orange and black F3. At Dijon he was brilliant in qualification, which earned him 5th place on the grid for Saturday’s race. He also staged several attacks on Mika Mäki before finishing in the Finn’s wake in 4th position. All of this enabled him to achieve victory in the Formula 3 rookie drivers class, ahead of eight other drivers. Sunday’s first lap crash, which left six cars out of contention and caused the race to be interrupted, put him back from 5th to 9th place. Shortly after the restart, Andrea had just overtaken Wickens and was attempting to do the same to a Bottas in difficulty when the latter’s car swung back across the track. The resultant contact meant an inevitable loss of control and a collision with a third car which ended up on the crash barrier. 

Henkie Waldschmidt’s performance was a much more subdued affair. The Dutchman could do no better than 14th place in the qualifying session and 13th in the first race. His involvement in the first lap pile-up in race 2 meant a return to the pits, where the SG Formula mechanics had to repair his front wheel axle unit. Back on the track behind the pack, he hit the wall on the 12th lap. 

The 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series will come to an end at a Hockenheim stadium probably as crowded as ever for the 24 and 25th October event. The Germans love their motor racing too!

5th & 16th rounds, Barcelona, September 19-20 2009 

Podium finish for Andrea Caldarelli and SG Formula in Barcelona

SG Formula toasted its first podium place of the 2009 season in the Formula 3 Euro Series on the "Circuit de Catalunya". Rookie Andrea Caldarelli was the star of the moment. It provided just the fillip the team needed after three tough meetings in a row. 

The result was doubly significant because of the format used in the F3 Euro Series. The Toyota Driver Program driver finished 3rd in Race 1, which is the one for which the starting line up is decided by the lap times recorded during a single session of qualifying. There was no reverse grid to facilitate this superb result, the foundations for which were laid in open practice as well as, no doubt, in 2008 when a certain Yann Clairay put his SG Formula car on the front line of the Barcelona grid! 

The competitors had two practice sessions on the Friday morning in which to work out their best trajectories and adjust their set ups. Henkie Waldschmidt shone at this early stage, clocking the 5th then 4th fastest times respectively while his team-mate was still getting himself sorted out. Later on we saw a new face make his debut at the wheel of an SG Formula-entered Dallara-Mercedes. This was no rookie. Neither was he an unknown quantity for the older members of the team! It was Dutchman Carlo Van Dam, who, after two seasons of Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup racing for SG Formula, went on to become Champion of Germany in 2007 and Champion of Japan 2008 in Formula 3. He finished 3rd in the 2006 edition of the FR2.0 Eurocup with the team. Carlo's main objective here was to renew acquaintances with the category, so he contented himself with bringing the car home safely, lapping not far off the leaders. 

SG Formula therefore had two Dutchmen under its auspices but in the end it was an Italian who caught the headlines during qualifying. Andrea Caldarelli held on to pole until the final moments of the session, when he lost out by 6/100ths of a second to Jules Bianchi, who currently leads the championship. Henkie Waldschmidt finished the session with a creditable 4th fastest lap. For both drivers this was the best qualifying performance of their respective careers in the Formula 3 Euro Series. 

Do you believe in time travel? Last season in Barcelona one SG Formula driver clocked the 2nd fastest qualifying lap 6/100ths behind the poleman, while a team-mate was 4th fastest… but neither of them made it onto the podium in Catalonia. Andrea Caldarelli drove an exemplary race, dropping behind British driver Sims at the start but regaining 2nd place after a safety-car sortie. A little slip during braking let his rival back through but Andreas held on to bag his first points in Formula 3 and his first podium place. This was at the same venue where he had won his last race in Formula Renault 2.0 last October, racing for SG Formula of course! Underscoring that this was no chance result, the Italian clocked the fastest lap in the race. En route to finishing 5th, Henkie Waldschmidt clocked the 3rd fastest lap of the race. 

3rd in Race 1, Andrea was the 6th man on the grid for Race 2, while Henkie's 5th place earned him the right to start in 4th . That's down to the subtle arrangement whereby the eight leaders start Race 2 in reverse order. However, Lady Luck is wont to intervene to waylay the best-laid plans. Trying to overtake on a circuit which offers little opportunity to do so saw Andrea drop back to 10th place for his pains. As for Henkie, he didn't take advantage of his favourable grid position and slipped down to 7th place. 

Team-manager Stéphane Guérin welcomed the performance of his troops with the expected pleasure. "It's a triple satisfaction - for the team, for Toyota and for Andrea. His first steps in F3 have not been easy. He made some mistakes, so did we. But he has worked tirelessly and had a very good weekend in Barcelona. His qualifying lap was brilliant and he drove well in the races. He was one of the rare drivers to attempt to overtake. I hope this is going to help him as his career moves forward. On the other hand, I was disappointed with Henkie's performance. Our first podium in 2009 was thanks to a rookie driver. Henkie could have made his experience account. His car was competitive so he ought to have brought us a second podium spot – it was well within his grasp." 

I

July 22nd 2009

 7th & 8th rounds, Zandvoort, July 18-19 2009 

More points for Henkie, best qualifying time for Andrea 

The SG Formula team has acquired the pleasing habit of giving us something to cheer about at every meeting of the highly competitive Formula 3 Euro Series, in the process cementing its position as one of the favoured outsiders for the championship. At Zandvoort, Henkie Waldschmidt staged a great recovery in the first race, bagging three points for coming in sixth. Unfortunately, he moved off before the starting lights on the race 2 grid went out when he was sitting in third place. His team mate Andrea Caldarelli returned from the Netherlands with the satisfaction of having for the first time hoisted himself into the Top 10 during qualifying. 

Both SG Formula Dallara-Mercedes showed themselves to be competitive in the qualifying trials, witness the brilliant 10th best time set by the rookie Andrea Caldarelli. The Italian had already recorded the 19th best time at the Lausitzring and the 17th best time at the Norisring, so this was clearly a step up. Henkie Waldschmidt on the other hand just could not get going and his 13th place was not up to his usual standard. Happily, he was to put this poor performance behind him by producing a faultless race No 1 in front of his home public. 

In Saturday afternoon’s race, he got away to a good start, avoiding the pile-up at the first “Tarzan” turn, and quickly established a lead over Rosenzweig before comfortably passing the chequered flag. His 6th place saw him placed in the second row on the reverse grid for race 2. Andrea knows only too well the agony of having to abandon a race, having been caught up in the pile-up involving Maki, Coletti and Geronimi. Since its rookie driver was in desperate need of actual experience in race conditions and in the light of his 22nd place on the grid, the team decided, by agreement with the management of Toyota Driver program, to allow him to start from the pits for race 2. 

Andrea was thus able to avoid any risk of early collision and set off with the sole aim of acquiring race experience. His recorded 7th best time in the race is proof of his driving potential and that of his single-seater. Henkie had quite something else in mind that Sunday morning; he was aiming at his first F3 podium appearance and the first of the 2009 season for his team. This hope evaporated when he moved before the start. The penalty in such cases is a drive through, meaning in his case relegation to the 17th place in the standings. “Andrea’s race performance led us to believe that, in starting 3rd, Henkie could really achieve something big”, team manager Stéphane Guérin said ruefully.

Formula 3 Euro Series

 5th & 6th rounds, Norisring, June 27-28

SG Formula pick up points but podium still elusive 

We are now three meetings into the Formula 3 season, to which must be added the Zandvoort Masters classic. The SG Formula team has already notched up some useful results in what is its second season at this level although, so far, podium places have proved elusive. There will be no summer break for the guys from La Rochelle and their Toyota Driver Program drivers as they prepare to string together five events in four different countries. 

Henkie Waldschmidt was looking good for his first points in the Hockenheim race only to have his hopes dashed by a gearshift problem. He did, however, get a return for his efforts on the Lausitzring where, after qualifying 6th, he went on to take 7th place in Saturday's race and 5th in Sunday's, in which he also clocked the fastest lap. At Zandvoort, which played host to a Masters race involving 36 contestants representing all the European national championships, the Dutch driver was on home territory. Unfortunately, he collided with a car he'd just overtaken for 6th place. On the Norisring, a circuit that winds through the streets of Nüremberg, SG Formula endured a tough weekend, despite never letting up the pressure. Henkie finished 9th on the Saturday, giving SG Formula a Team championship point. The next day was his birthday and he celebrated by bagging another point for his personal collection, coming 6th in the day's race. 

Henkie picks up points consistently but the same cannot be said for Andrea Caldarelli, who is dogged by constant bad luck, if such a thing really exists in motor racing. So far this season the Italian rookie has not been in a race in which he didn't encounter technical problems or race incidents. On the Norisring, for example, it was just his luck to come upon an out-of-control car nearly at the end of qualifying, just when the track was drying out and precious fractions of a second were there for the taking. Disaster struck in Race 1 before he'd even got started, when his transmission broke as the cars were being placed on the grid. The team managed to fix the problem in under ten minutes but Andreas set off a lap behind the field. The next day he'd only done 5 laps when he had to stop because of a pile-up blocking the track ahead. Unfortunately his engine stalled and refused to start again.  

"We still have work to do and some things need changing but on the whole we have shown that our cars and drivers are capable of playing in the top six," said team-manager Stéphane Guérin.   "That said, we never really got going on the Norisring. In 2008 we weren't really able to work on the balance of the chassis because of incessant brake problems. Because of this delay in finding right the set up, we were a bit off the pace on this highly individual circuit. Nevertheless, we came away from a tough venue with an 8th fastest qualifying lap and a 6th place in a race. If we can come 6th on a bad day there is hope for the future!" 

3^rd & 4^th round May 30-31 2009 

Lausitzring: points in the bag and fastest lap for SG Formula 

SG Formula already had a single-seater sitting in the Top 8 at Hockenheim in Race 1 of the opening F3 Euro Series race of the season. Unfortunately, a gearbox linkage problem forced driver Henkie Waldschmidt out of that race, so a fortnight later it was good to see the Dutchman keeping up with the leaders all the way through from qualifying to Race 2. He was in the points in both races and clocked the fastest lap on the Sunday. This achievement is a measure of the progress made by the La Rochelle team.  

"If we consider the quality and experience of the competition we were up against here then of course we are pleased with our performance," said team-manager Stéphane Guérin, with a huge grin on his face. "It's all very encouraging and the future looks good," he said as he left the Eurospeedway track in Lausitz. Yet SG Formula's drivers looked anything but bookies' favourites during open practice! This was for the simple reason that this is only the team's second season at this level and the Lausitzring was not on the calendar last year. So this was the team's first outing on the track. The team's aim during practice was to test out the results of an ambitious and far-reaching R&D programme conducted during the closed season. 

This sort of thing is hard enough to do in fine weather let alone when the elements decide to interfere! Although the rain held off, the track was still damp at the start of qualifying. Grip improved as the track dried out but it started raining again as qualifying drew to a close. Unfortunately, SG Formula drivers Andrea Caldarelli and Alexandre Marsoin were in the pits through the best period, which explains their 19^th and 23^rd positions after their timed laps. Henkie Waldschmidt, on the other hand, managed to dodge between the raindrops. He clocked a magnificent 6^th fastest time in the session, his best qualifying position to date in F3. 

Going into Race 1, however, the technical team was somewhat dubious. The data from practice on the dry turned out not to be valid under the conditions met during qualifying. "I was convinced we were on the right track," went on Stéphane Guérin, "so I did all I could to reassure the engineers and managed to convince them it was just a matter of altering Friday's set ups in the light of the excellent feedback we were getting from the three drivers out on the track." 

Henkie Waldschmidt only got off to an average start on the damper part of the track. Despite coming under a lot of pressure in the opening laps he soon settled down into a excellent rhythm. Henkie clocked the 4^th fastest lap in the race and finishing 7^th saw him pick up his first points. The reverse grid rule provided him with the added impetus of starting Race 2 on the outside of the front line. Once again the start of Sunday’s race turned out to be an eventful one. Seeing two cars shoot past him going into the first turn, Henkie left his braking to the very last moment and in doing so blocked the front wheels of his car. Things soon sorted themselves out though, as the two offenders who had infringed the start procedure picked up penalties, allowing the 'Toyota Driver Program' driver to ease into 5^th place, clocking the fastest lap along the way. He decided to play safe at the end of the race to make sure of adding two more points to his tally. Bravo Henkie! 

This year Alexandre Marsoin is not considered to be a rookie in the F3 Euro Series because he raced in Formula Renault 3.5 last season. That doesn't alter the fact that unlike his rivals he was only just getting to grips with the category and was further handicapped by not being able to complete any practice before the first race. The changeable weather didn't help him either. Starting from well back on the grid he got off to a very good start and went into turn 1 vying for 15^th place. But he left it too late to brake going into turn 2 and ended up colliding with Mustonen. Sunday's race saw him in good shape on a dry track until his gearbox gave up the ghost and forced him out of the race in lap 18. 

The team's official rookie driver, Andrea Caldarelli, got off to an excellent start on the Saturday but unfortunately he span off after clipping the grass with one of his wheels. Pushed back to the 12^th row on the grid for Sunday's race he went on to repeat the previous day's perfect start and was soon locking horns with Adrien Tambay, who eventually finished 7^th. Unfortunately, SG Formula's Italian driver picked up a drive-through penalty, the reason for which was still a mystery at the time of writing.