Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsLotus F1

Adderly Fong joins Lotus F1 Team

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Lotus F1 Team has announced that Adderly Fong has been nominated as its development driver for 2015.

The 25-year old driver from Hong Kong currently competes in the GP3 series and in the GT Asia series with Bentley. Fong ran at Valencia last October with Sauber, completing 99 laps with the Swiss team before taking part in Friday's first free practice session at Abu Dhabi, becoming the first F1 driver in history originating from Hong Kong.

“This is a great opportunity to further my racing career," commented Fong who will conduct extensive simulator work at Enstone. "I’ll be able to learn how an F1 team operates during race weekends as an integral part of the team and these invaluable experiences are going to lay the foundations of my future development as an F1 driver."

“It’s great to have Adderly join the team," added Lotus F1 Team CEO, Matthew Carter. " We have an aggressive development programme with the E23 so he will be able to both learn from our engineers and race drivers as well as contribute to our car through the course of the season."

In addition to its regular drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, Lotus currently employs 2014 GP2 Series champion Jolyon Palmer as its official reserve driver.

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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.