Aston Martin 2023 reserve Felipe Drugovich enjoyed his F1 baptism of fire last week at Silverstone where the young Brazilian completed more than 300km of testing onboard the team's AMR21.
The FIA Formula 2 Champion put enough laps under his belt at the wheel of last year's car to fulfil F1's Superlicence requirements, which will allow him to take part in FP1 with the Aston team next week in Abu Dhabi.
Drugovich is also earmarked to drive in the post-season test at Yas Marina on Tuesday, Noovember 22nd.
"It is amazing to have my first experience of a Formula One car. I learned a huge amount and we did all the necessary work and mileage to be ready for Abu Dhabi," commented the 22-year-old.
"The weather was a bit tricky, but we did quite a few laps on the dry tyres before running on the wet tyres at the end of the day. The performance of the car was so impressive: the smoothness of the gearshifts, for example, and the lateral grip means you can carry so much speed into the corners.
"I really enjoyed the day; it was my first chance to start working properly with the team at the track. Big thanks to everybody who made it possible."
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack said that Drugovich was "on the pace" from the outset of the test at Silverstone.
"Felipe did an excellent job during his Silverstone test session," said Krack. "He quickly adapted to the car and the changing conditions, and was on the pace after just a handful of laps.
"It is always exciting to see a young driver complete their first laps in a Formula One car and Felipe really made the most of the opportunity.
"He is an intelligent driver, worked well with the engineering team, and impressed us with his professionalism, performance and feedback."
Some moments you never forget.
Watch @FelipeDrugovich drive his first laps in an #F1 car at @SilverstoneUK.
Vamo, Felipe! #WeClimbTogether pic.twitter.com/YJUcn3sSUa
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 10, 2022
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