GA_googleAddSlot("ca-pub-1197233282945943", "Star_Sports_Skyscraper");

Sports

Thursday September 17, 2009

Jazeman in no big hurry

By LIM TEIK HUAT

PETALING JAYA: The possibility of getting a race seat in the new 1MalaysiaF1 team is there but young Malaysian racing sensation Jazeman Jaafar is not keen to rush into it.

The Federation International Automobile (FIA) have approved Malaysia’s bid to field a racing team in the Formula One world championships from next year and a local is set to drive in the series for the first time since Alex Yoong in 2002.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said at the launching on Tuesday that they hoped to announce the two drivers by Oct 31.

Jazeman:"To be honest, I am still young and there are still lots of things I have to learn."

While Fairuz Fauzy is seen as the frontrunner to secure a race seat, speculation is rife that Jazeman, with a proven track record at junior single-seater racing, is also in contention.

But the 17-year-old felt it is too soon to jump into highest level of auto racing.

“It’s exciting just thinking about it as Formula One is where every driver wants to be in.

“But to be honest, I am still young and there are still lots of things I have to learn.

“I feel it’s still too early to jump straight into it. Anyway, I’m happy that we are going to have a Malaysian team in Formula One and that will open up a lot of opportunities,” said Jazeman, who was the youngest Asian and first Malaysian to win the Formula BMW Asia series in 2007 at the age of 15.

Jazeman has just completed a second year of participation in the Formula BMW Europe series, where he secured a top-10 overall finish and two podium wins for a marked improvement after finishing 15th overall in his debut season last year.

Jazeman, who had expressed hopes of getting into Formula One by the time he is 21, may not be ready to be thrown into the cauldron but there is a possibility of him being named as a test driver.

At 17, that will surely make the headlines all over the world. For the record, the youngest driver to get behind the wheels of an F1 car is 19-year-old Jamie Alguersuari, who made his debut for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the Hungarian Grand Prix recently.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story

Sports Poll