Route To Formula One
His 1996 Formula Three season was a success, showcasing his skills. Tuero finished fourth in his first race, and he won his second race, only to be disqualified due to using illegal fuel. In the non-championship Monaco event, he would start on the front row alongside the future successful F1 driver Jarno Trulli, battling with him before eventually punting him at the hairpin on Lap 17. Tuero would retire due to a flat battery later in the race.
Tuero opted to not finish the season in Formula Three, though, and jumped ship to Formula 3000 halfway through. His finishes in Italian F3 left him 13th in the final championship standings. At the age of 16, Tuero's inexperience showed in F3000, his run for Draco resulting in only one top ten and a final championship position of 16th. His poor performance for Draco meant he was dropped for 1997, but instead of dropping to Formula 3, he went to the Formula Nippon series in Japan. He only scored one point and finished 16th in the standings (ending up 81 points down on championship winner Pedro de la Rosa), but Tuero covered the required mileage making him eligible for an F1 Super License. His continuing test role with Minardi impressed the team to the extent that the Italian outfit gave him a race seat for the 1998 season, alongside the Japanese driver Shinji Nakano.
Read more about this topic: Esteban Tuero
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