Swimming Back
	by Rob Paterson, Canada

It has always been my opinion that drivers that fly over the Atlanic to reach America, and the CART series, would virtually have to swim back, for all the chance they have of landing a Formula One seat. Certainly it's been done - Nigel Mansell comes to mind immediately, but he is the exception and not the rule. Numerous recent examples of ex-Formula One drivers doing well in CART have made some Formula One team managers stand up and take notice though. Undoubtebly, we are about to see recent trends reversed, and it's possible that a few drivers do have what it takes to make the swim back across the Atlantic. Rumours of CART drivers going to Formula One have been commonplace this year, and for a change, there is substance to many of these rumours. Jimmy Vasser was reportedly talking to BAR (though he eventually declined their offer), Alessandro Zanardi is heading to Williams, and other CART drivers, Dario Franchitti and Greg Moore, have also been the focus of paddock gossip. While some of this is just idle media lead chatter, it doesn't disguise the fact that there was genuine interest in what's going on on the left side of the Atlantic. It is instructive to look at the reason why it's been so hard for CART drivers to land an Formula One ride. The first major CART star in recent history to cross the pond and land a competitive drive was Micheal Andretti. Other drivers come to mind, like Roberto Moreno and Fabritizio Barbazza, but neither of them hooked up with a top team when they got into, or in Moreno's case back into, Formula One. Andretti's 1993 season with McLaren could quite rightly be called a disaster. The blame seems to lay everywhere for his lack of results. Lack of testing, the promise of a Renault engine falling through, Micheal's cross Atlanic commuting, and the fact that he was vastly overshaddowed by Senna, all contributed. This would have no doubt left a bad taste in the mouth of anyone considering hiring a top CART driver. But in 1995, under pressure from Renault to hire a french speaking driver, Frank Williams tested CART champion elect Jacques Villeneuve. Jacques had spent relatively little time stateside, just three years, compared to any of the other top CART drivers. Jacques speaks English and French fluently, and Italian passibly. Couple that with the fact that his pedigree included racing more 'accepted' junior formulas in Italy and Japan, and a family name not unfamiliar to many Formula One fans. Of course his winning the Indy 500, and leading the CART championship also had a lot to do with why Frank Williams was interested in the young Canadian. Unfortunately, I'm stuck wondering if Renault hadn't pushed for a french speaking driver, would Williams have investigated the possibility of signing Villeneuve. When Nigel Mansell joined Newman/Haas in 1993 it seemed to lend legitmacy to the concept of an Formula One regular going to CART. Mansell's move pretty much coincided with the opening of the floodgates for talented Formula One drivers who's careers had stalled to go stateside. Mauricio Gugelmin, Christian Fittipaldi, Alessandro Zanardi, Mark Blundell , Max Papis, and JJ Lehto are all current CART regulars that have spent time in Formula One. Add to that drivers like Dario Franchitti, and Gil deFerran that climbed the ladder in Europe only to find that twenty odd seats in Formula One leave very few vacancies in any given year. In looking for options, many talented drivers have choosen to cross the Atlantic and see how they fare in CART. This immigration from Formula One has raised the bar as far as talent is concerned in CART. Alessandro Zanardi is currently rewriting the CART record books in terms of points, margin of victory, and possibly even wins in a season. Dario Franchitti looks as though he may take up the mantle of next European driver to dominate the series. Mark Blundell and Mauricio Gugelmin have won with PacWest, as has Gil deFerran with Jim Hall. With these Formula One refugees doing well in CART, thus raising the standard of competition, it's little wonder that series regulars like Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal have gone so long without a win. Granted, there are some CART drivers that have risen their game to the level of their competition. Micheal Andretti with the help of a fitness regime looks more fit and able to cope with the level of competition in CART. Greg Moore given a bit more seasoning would fare well in any series. Bryan Herta has finally broken through and won thus hopefully begining to fulfill his potential. The higher fitness and skill level required to be competitive now has helped a few CART contenders bring a better skill set to work with them on any given race weekend. Now that Williams has announced their signing of Zanardi, we'll soon see what three years seasoning in CART have done for him. Zanardi is almost legendary for the feedback he provides his engineers. This is evident from the way that he helped his Ganassi team win the last three CART drivers titles - one for his teammate Vasser, and two for himself. Zanardi's open book policy when it came to car setup aided Vasser's 1996 run to the title, and has helped to make Target Chip Ganassi the top team in CART for the last three years. In my estimation, these skills will be invaluable if he is to bring Williams back to the top in Formula One. Could we see Zanardi be the first Formula One refugee, cum CART immigrant, to have resurrected his career in the North American series? Could he follow in Villeneuve's footsteps and win a title in both series? Zanardi is the most successful CART driver to have an Formula One ride. He has one more title than Villeneuve, and has won far more races than him. He has also dominated CART in a way that Villeneuve was never been able to. Granted he's joining Williams at what could be a crucial time in their history but luckily Williams hasn't ever been down long, and in fact Zanardi may be a signicant part of their rebuilding effort. If Zanardi is successful, look for more drivers to make the swim accross the pond. In any case, success of drivers who became popular in North America is just what Bernie needs to bring back Formula One to the States, and make it appealing to the American sponsors and crowd.

Rob Paterson	© 1998 Atlas Formula One Journal.
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