the Dream of two danes in the Formula 1 is more realistic than ever.
In the weekend debut for 18-year-old Christian Lundgaard in the Formula 2, which is the class just below Formula 1.
He asked in sæsonfinalen in Abu Dhabi up for the little Trident-staff, but these days the tests he topteamet ART Grand Prix with a view to full the 2020 season.
And a year further out in the future, the Danish teenager who has been in the Renault Sport Academy in three the seasons, so be Formula 1-ready.
Renault’s Formula 1 boss, Cyril Abiteboul, has recently said that he hopes and expects that one of the team’s young akademikørere promoted to a permanent place in 2021.
Until 31. august, it was Anthoine Hubert who stood at the front of the queue of the Renault Formula 1 aspirants. But when the young frenchman died in a Formula 2 accident at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, it was necessary to move around on the seats in sportsakademiet.
Such is the motorsport, unfortunately, is sometimes: Lundgaard got his first Formula 1 test for Renault a few days after his classmate Huberts funeral.
After the frenchman’s death, it was suddenly Christian Lundgaard and the chinese Guanyu Zhou, there were the Renault Sport Academy’s best bet for a future Formula 1 driver.
Zhou has been running the Formula 2 throughout the 2019 season, and is thus in principle a year in front of Lundgaard. At the same time the 20-year-old Zhou certainly the most commercially interesting of the two Formula 1 aspirants.
His ultra-wealthy father has helped him throughout his career and will undoubtedly also support a possible Formula 1 chance. At the same time, Renault in Formula 1 to sell gadebiler, and in this context the chinese market is far more interesting than the Danish.
But conversely, Zhous career not been the momentum that has characterised Lundgaard, since the dane as a 15-year-old moved from karting up to Formula 4.
While Lundgaard has won two Formula 4 championships (2017), the rookie title in Formula Renault 2.0 in (2018) and this year was the best rookie in the Formula 3,, Zhou has as yet no titles on his racing cv. And while Lundgaard the past three years has won 24 races, has the chinese won three.
Zhou has done it nicely in Formula 2 2019, but it has definitely not been flashy, and he finished in overall seventh place finish. Next year, the two Renault-juniors in the clinch in the Formula 2, and it looks like a shoot-out-duel of who will progress to Formula 1.
With regard to the superlicens-point is located Lundgaard already in the front. While the chinese do not yet have the 25 points, which is the requirement to participate in the FP1-trainings up to the Formula 1 races, has Lundgaard long since qualified.
Renault has, in the course of 2019, tested both Zhou and Lundgaard in one of their Formula 1 cars from 2017. The team keeps the cards close to the body, but even though the chinese have been by far the most day of testing, I hear that it is the dane who has left the best impression
I am convinced that it is Christian Lundgaard, Renault’s team manager, Abiteboul, has in mind when he talks about a akademikører in Renault’s future in Formula 1 lineup. And it can happen as early as 2021.
Peter R.
B. T.’s Formula 1 correspondent. Educated cand. jur. in 1987, but has since worked in Formula 1 as a journalist. Every year, for all the Formula 1 races. A member of the Club 500 for the journalists who have attended more than 500 Formula 1 races. Holder of the Grand Prix Photo
