Current championship leaders and reigning champions Tornado Motorsports have finally announced the signing of their second seat for 2019. Recently axed Mitchell driver, Chuck Bucknum.
The news comes after the announcement before the Italian GP that Tornado’s lead driver, Vaino Kimminen, is taking the plunge at CBA Racing. The move ultimately left a huge void for the Somerset based team. Losing their number one driver. Who clinched his maiden driver’s title with the team in dominant style in 2017 and is now currently leading the way towards his second consecutive title. Bucknum will be linking up with previous FF2M title rival and now three-time grand prix winner, Charles Leclerc. In what promises to be a closely fought battle within the team for top driver honours.
After much negotiating with several other drivers to fill that void, including a potential move for Lewis Hamilton, Tornado boss Tobias Wolff clearly has seen potential in the young American from Detroit despite his shortened and ultimately unsuccessful debut campaign.
“He was able to beat Charles in a fierce battle for the FF2M title last year and on his first attempt.” Wolff said. “It’s no secret the Mitchell this season has been a difficult car to drive. He’s had arguably the toughest teammate a rookie could ask for in FF1M. After learning of Chuck’s sudden departure from our Somerset rivals, we decided to give him an opportunity to drive our car at Brno in Friday Practice. After only several laps behind the wheel, I had to go back into the garage and check Vaino wasn’t driving the car! His driving style and pace out of the gate was eye-catching for somebody stepping into our car the first time.”
Wolff went on further. “The kid clearly has pace. For somebody his age, he’s shown a lot of maturity. Joey did a great job of raising Chuck through his ranks through the junior categories to create the driver he is today. However, I think Mitchell were mistaken to have dropped Chuck so abruptly. Especially having learned so much from Lewis already. He showed good pace in testing and practice in comparison. I think all he needs is the right setup for when it matters most on Sundays and he’ll be winning races the same way as Charles has been doing.”
It is believed the wait on Bucknum’s announcement was due to much deliberating within the Tornado hierarchy. Some team members showing apprehensions not having somebody with greater experience to take the lead into the new era. After failing to retain Kimminen and not landing the quadruple FF1M champion from Stevenage. But Wolff reassured these doubts from within and reminded those of the great success their team has had with young drivers already and that there’s no reason they can’t compete at the top for the new regs next year with two young hotshots once again.
With the news of Tornado’s new second driver, this completes the full grid for 2019. Consisting of 22 drivers and 11 teams. Meaning more notable names find themselves without an FF1M drive next season. Featuring the likes of Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Mason Taylor. All will likely be hoping to find refuge in the upcoming FFeM championship.
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