Haas wants consistency rather than speed from Ilott in FP1

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Haas team boss Guenther Steiner does not want Callum Ilott to play the hero in Friday's FP1 session at the Nürburgring, expecting instead consistency and feedback from the F1 rookie.

Ferrari junior Ilott will enjoy his first official F1 outing this week, taking over Romain Grosjean's seat with Haas in the first practice session for the Eifel Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old will share the track with fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher who will be driving for Alfa Romeo, but with inclement weather forecasted for Friday, both young chargers will be encouraged by their respective teams to proceed with caution.

Read also: Ferrari stages F1 test for Schumacher, Ilott and Shwartzman

"The programme will be the same as it would be for one of our regular drivers," said Steiner.

"Maybe we tell him (Ilott) to be a little bit more careful when he goes out there as at the moment rain is predicted.

"Otherwise, we just always try and work through our FP1 program and do the best we can knowing that for a driver being in his first weekend session in a Formula 1 car – there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of unknowns."

To ease the pressure on its young hopeful, Haas has advised Ilott to focus on driving consistently and returning some useful feedback to the team's engineers rather than on his outright speed.

"We don’t look too much at the time, we’re looking at his consistency and the feedback he can bring to the team," added Steiner.

"That’s where we judge a driver, not on outright pace, because 90 minutes is not a long time to be sitting in a car like a Formula 1 car.

"We’ll just try to manage that we get feedback and that he gets a good experience with us."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.