Fernando, like most of
the other Formula 1 drivers, began racing go karts while still a child. In
fact, his first race was at age 3. He won several national and local Spanish
championships and in 1996 he won the world junior karting championship. He
began racing cars at 18, winning his first championship, the Euro-Open Nissan
series, where he won six races. He joined the Formula 3000 series in 2000,
where he finished fourth, winning at Spa-Franco champs.
His
Career:
With only two seasons
of car racing behind him before he joined Formula 1 in 2001 at the age of 19,
Fernando had shown very little reason to outsiders to merit the praise of his
manager, Flavio Briatore, the man who had hired Michael Schumacher at Benetton
in 1991 when he was an unknown. Early on, Briatore would compare Fernando to
the German driver.
After a year learning
the ropes at Minardi, Fernando joined Renault in 2002 for a sabbatical from racing
as a test driver. During this year he developed his technical knowledge and his
rapport with the team. The result was that in 2003 when he became a full-time
driver at Renault, he was a fully-fledged and experienced F1 racer. At the
Hungarian Grand Prix in August he won his first race, becoming the youngest
ever Formula 1 race winner at 22 years and 27 days old.
Driving
Style:
Fernando has a smooth
driving style marked by the intelligence of both his technical approach and in
dealing with traffic and other competitors. On the track he keeps his head
under pressure, rarely cracking or making a mistake when it is vital to hold
position.
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