Bianchi, Bird and Razia among Magny-Cours testers 11 Sep 2012
Ferrari, Force India and Mercedes begin a three-day young driver test at the French circuit of Magny-Cours on Tuesday.
According to the venue, Ferrari will run Frenchman Jules Bianchi - a Force India tester, but also a Ferrari Driver Academy member - on Tuesday and Thursday, with Italian GP2 star Davide Rigon behind the wheel on Wednesday.
Bianchi will also test for Force India, along with Brazil’s Luiz Razia - currently second in the 2012 GP2 standings - and fellow GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez. Razia has previously tested with Team Lotus (now Caterham) and Virgin (now Marussia), while Venezuelan Gonzalez also has Team Lotus F1 experience.
“I’m glad that Sahara Force India has given me this great opportunity,” said Razia, who will test on Tuesday. “It’s a chance to work with an established team and I’m sure I will learn a lot from the experience. I’ve raced at the Magny-Cours circuit before in the junior categories and enjoy the track. It’s very smooth with some quick corners so it will be a good venue for testing. My objective is simply to follow the programme and help the team as much as possible.”
Gonzalez, who will drive on Thursday, commented: “This test will be a very important day for me and I’m very excited to be working with Sahara Force India. I’ve driven a few Formula One cars before so I just want to build on that experience and show the team what I can do. The team has been very helpful and given me time on the simulator at the factory so I feel well prepared to make the most of this chance.”
Regular Mercedes tester Sam Bird will again be in action for the German team. The British driver, who is competing in the World Series by Renault this season, is expected to complete two days in the F1 W03.
Williams, HRT and Marussia conducted their 2012 young driver tests at Silverstone in July. The remainder of the grid are expected to run theirs in Abu Dhabi as normal in the week following November's Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Look out for images and reports from the Magny-Cours session throughout the week on Formula1.com.
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