FR3.5 and F1 send drivers back to school

Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers will find themselves immersed in a world of F1 this September as part of two programmes organized by Renault Sport Technologies and Renault F1 Team. Held at Monza on Thursday September 9 at the very heart of the Formula 1 paddock, the first session plays host to five special guests of the Renault F1 Team. Next stop is Enstone, nerve-center of the Renault F1 Team, where on September 20-21 they will be joined by the remaining Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers for two days of training.
To progress to Formula 1, the ultimate goal of any driver racing in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, it is not enough just to prove your worth on the track. Drivers must also become acclimatized to the rarefied atmosphere of the class. Through two joint-run programmes, Renault Sport Technologies and Renault F1 Team give drivers a very real taste of the world of F1 while providing further evidence of the crucial role played by Formula Renault 3.5 Series as a gateway to the top rung of motorsport.
The first stage at Monza on Thursday, October 9, coincides with the Italian F1 Grand Prix as five drivers are welcomed by the Renault F1 Team. They will be given a close-up of the Renault F1 Team’s organization during a Grand Prix, visiting the pits and chatting to the team’s managers, engineers and drivers. Robert Kubica, winner of the 2005 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, will also be there to share his experience with his successors. The five drivers will also be given free access to the paddock allowing them to meet F1’s decision makers.
The second session will be held directly following the Silverstone meeting of the World Series by Renault. On Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 September, all the drivers will converge on Enstone for two days of training at the very heart of Renault F1 Team. Renault F1 Team Principal, Éric Boulier, will welcome the drivers with a Q&A session. After an in-depth visit to the Technical Center and Digital Aerodynamics Center (CFD), which boasts the most up to date technologies in fluid dynamics, the guests will be given the benefit of the team nutritionist’s insight before undergoing a series of physical tests.
On day two, the morning will be dedicated to special physical training, modelled on the stresses which an F1 driver has to undergo. This will be followed in the afternoon by a media-training session.
Following these two sessions, the FR3.5 drivers will be able to measure themselves against the exacting requirements of their sole objective, F1.
The links between Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Formula 1 are becoming evermore apparent. Following the F1 exhibition, given at the Magny-Cours meeting of the World Series by Renault by mid-season leader Mikhail Aleshin, the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series Champion will be treated to an F1 tryout with the Renault F1 Team, as with predecessors Robet Kubica, Alx Denielsson, Alvaro Parente, Giedo Van der Garde and Bertrand Baguette in previous seasons.