Young hopes making their debut with the Reds

Today is a special day for Jules Bianchi. In Jerez de la Frontera, the young French driver will make his debut behind the wheel of a Formula 1 single-seater driving the Ferrari F60 in what will also be his track debut as a Scuderia driver. Jules will in fact be linked to the Maranello team with a multi-year contract, confirming Ferrari's attention towards talented young people - just think of the story of Felipe Massa - and which will soon see new, broader initiatives materialise.

Jules is just twenty years old but his palmarés are already quite rich: French Formula A karting champion in 2006, winner of the national Formula Renault title in 2007, third in the Formula 3 Euroseries Championship in 2008 and first in Category Masters of Zolder, Drivers and Teams champion with the ART Grand Prix in the Formula 3 Euroseries this year. The passion for racing can be said to be part of the genetic heritage of the Bianchi family: his grandfather Mauro won the world title in the GT category three times, his great-uncle Lucien won, among other things, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1969 with Ford and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1962 with Ferrari and participated in 19 Formula 1 Grands Prix.

We met Jules in Maranello in recent days, where he was preparing together with the engineers for the Jerez test.

How do you feel on the eve of this appointment?

"I'm more than happy! It's difficult to explain my feelings, it's something special. I know I'm at the beginning of an adventure that could become very beautiful but I know equally well that there's still a long way to go to get to Formula 1. Next year, in fact, I will race in GP2 with the ART Grand Prix and it will be in that series that I will have to prove my worth."

How was your first impact with Maranello?

"Before arriving at Gestion Sportiva I hadn't yet fully realized what it meant. Then I must say it was an immense pleasure to get into the cockpit of the F60 to prepare for the Jerez test. I also worked on the simulator to become familiar with the steering wheel and all its manettinos. On the track it will be important to do well, learn to know the car and grow as a driver thanks to the support of the team, step by step. Times will certainly not be fundamental..."

Where do you see yourself in a year?

"I hope to have managed to finish among the top three in GP2 and to have demonstrated my skills so that I can continue to grow. If things don't go my way, then I will draw further motivation from it to do well in the next year. I'm not one to let adversity get me down, that's for sure."

Jules will drive the F60 for two days and then make room for three very young colleagues. In fact, as already happened in 2008, Ferrari, in collaboration with the CSAI, will grant the top three finishers of the Italian Formula 3 Championship - the Italians Daniel Zampieri and Marco Zipoli and the Mexican Pablo Sanchez Lopez - the possibility of alternating for one day driving the single-seater that competed in the Formula 1 world championship.