Sergio Sette Camara says spinning on the final corner of Silverstone on his Formula One test debut with Toro Rosso was a “scary moment”.
After driving the 2012-spec Red Bull RB8 at a demo run earlier this year, Sette Camara was given a full day of testing in the post-British Grand Prix session. The 18-year-old completed 82 laps en route to ninth fastest in the STR11, but also experienced his first hairy moment at the wheel of a grand prix car
“I got to the Astroturf where with the F3 you can use it with freedom but the F1 car didn’t like it very much and it snapped,” said Sette Camara, who contests the FIA European Formula 3 championship this year. “Thankfully I could save it and that is part of it so it is good to get out of these scary moments.”
Pressed to further compare the feeling at the wheel to his usual racing machine, the Red Bull junior added: “It is very different, especially for the torque, for the power - difficult to apply but getting used to it for the day but hoping to get a bit more in the afternoon but for a few issues we didn’t get as many laps on the soft. A great day, great learning day.”
Besides his spin, Sette Camara enjoyed a fairly smooth day on track and is confident Toro Rosso is pleased with how he performed on his maiden test outing.
“They are happy, I think that is pretty much what they expected from a guy in an F1 car for the first time. As long as you don’t make mistakes, drive consistently and they can extract some test or result out of it.”
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