The Silverstone young driver test kicks off on Wednesday 17th July and the driver line-up is starting to take shape with both Lotus and Sauber announcing their selected runners.
The test was originally planned to be for young drivers only but due to the tyre troubles at Silverstone, the FIA decided to allow race drivers to take part as well.
Pirelli will bring their new Hungarian Grand Prix-spec tyres to the Northamptonshire track for testing. Despite many expecting race drivers to fill out the selected runners, a number of young drivers will still get the chance to test.
Lotus announced their line-up in a press release. Their three-days of testing will kick off with Nicolas Prost on Wednesday - you guessed it, son of former triple world champion Alain Prost - before fellow reserve driver Davide Valsecchi, who last year took the GP2 crown, will take over at the wheel of the E21 on Thursday.
Kimi Raikkonen will be their only race driver taking part in the test and he will have all of Friday to sample the new Pirelli tyres which have the 2012 construction but 2013 performance.
However despite hinting at a possible drive on Twitter late last month, Romain Grosjean will not take part in the test. Despite this, Raikkonen will manage to gather plenty of data and knowledge that can be passed on to the Frenchman.
Running the two reserve drivers will help them gain vital experience in F1 cars. Prost and Valsecchi drove for the team at last years test and both have experience driving in show events. The latter also took part in the pre-season test after Raikkonen fell ill.
Eric Boullier said on the announcement of their line-up: "It's great timing for us to have this season's Young Driver Test scheduled in the middle of the year as it allows us to evaluate more of the new parts we have for the E21 as the championship battle intensifies. Remarkably, the UK has been having some notably good weather recently so we're looking forward to getting some good running across the three days."
However the UK is renowned for its unpredictable and wet summers, so should the weather prove wet on Friday it could mean they lose vital data on the new tyres. Boullier added on the reasoning for bringing the two reserve drivers instead of his French charger Romain Grosjean: "By running Nicolas and Davide we are giving them both invaluable experience and also gaining great feedback, as we've previously seen what they can do in the car and appreciate the valuable information they give us. It's a fabulous second opportunity for all Formula 1 fans to come and see the teams in action at Silverstone."
Alan Permane, Head of Track Operations, revealed the aims of the testing. He said that day three would be "to focus on Pirelli with Raikkonen at the wheel of the E21" and giving the two reserve drivers time to gain experience, knowledge and confidence in the car.
Sauber, who are currently the talk of the town due to their financial struggles, will also test two young drivers alongside Nico Hulkenberg. The first is their reserve driver and GP2 race winner Robin Frijns who will take to the track on Wednesday.
Frijns will also drive for the team on Thursday morning before handing driving duties over to race driver Nico Hulkenberg. This will undoubtedly be the most important part of the test as they will get huge amounts of feedback and information from the German on the Pirelli tyres.
Japanese star Kimiya Sato will tackle the C32 on Friday and it will prove to be his first experience of driving F1 machinery. The 23-year-old is currently leading the Auto GP series and has experience in Formula 3 too.
Esteban Gutierrez will not run in the test and will have to wait until Friday morning to have his first taste of the new Pirelli tyres.
Williams announced their line-up on the Monday prior to the test, with Susie Wolff getting a chance to drive the FW35 again. Daniel Juncadella - who currently races in DTM - will drive on Wednesday with race driver Maldonado running on Thursday and Wolff on Friday.
Marussia will bring GP3 racer Tio Ellinas and reserve driver Rodolfo Gonzalez to the test. However they later announced that Ellinas would get Wednesday morning and they would bring in Max Chilton for the afternoon. Then Thursday will see Gonzalez have the day all to himself and Friday will see Gonzalez claim the morning session and Bianchi the afternoon one.
Rivals Caterham will run Alexander Rossi on Wednesday, Will Stevens on Thursday and their two race drivers on Friday.
Ferrari decided to bring reserve driver Davide Rigon - who will test for the majority of the three days - and Felipe Massa to the test. Fernando Alonso expressed uncertainty over the value of the test which meant that it came as no surprise that he was missing from their line-up.
Red Bull also announced their driver line-up with Antonio Felix da Costa - who is currently racing in Formula Renault 3.5 and is tipped to move to Toro Rosso in 2014 should one of their current drivers move to Red Bull - and Carlos Sainz Junior taking to the Silverstone track for vital test experience.
However Red Bull announced just prior to the test that changes had been made to their line-up. Felix da Costa would take to the car on Wednesday and Thursday morning with Sainz Junior getting a chance to drive the car on Friday morning. In the afternoons, Ricciardo, Webber and Vettel will drive the car.
Toro Rosso will run Johnny Cecotto Junior on Wednesday with Sainz Junior and Ricciardo driving on Thursday. Vergne and GP3's Daniil Kvyat will drive the STR8 on Friday.
Force India also announced their line-up, with GP2's James Calado getting a chance to drive the car on all three days and drivers Di Resta and Sutil getting a chance to test the new Pirelli's at the Silverstone circuit.
Mercedes are banned from the test thanks to the consequences of June's International Tribunal. The test will remain at three days despite calls for it to be extended to four.
Fans can watch the test at the Silverstone circuit with kids under 15 going free and tickets being £15 per person, per day. You can buy tickets on the website or at the gate.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Pirelli will bring their new Hungarian Grand Prix-spec tyres to the Northamptonshire track for testing. Despite many expecting race drivers to fill out the selected runners, a number of young drivers will still get the chance to test.
Lotus announced their line-up in a press release. Their three-days of testing will kick off with Nicolas Prost on Wednesday - you guessed it, son of former triple world champion Alain Prost - before fellow reserve driver Davide Valsecchi, who last year took the GP2 crown, will take over at the wheel of the E21 on Thursday.
Kimi Raikkonen will be their only race driver taking part in the test and he will have all of Friday to sample the new Pirelli tyres which have the 2012 construction but 2013 performance.
However despite hinting at a possible drive on Twitter late last month, Romain Grosjean will not take part in the test. Despite this, Raikkonen will manage to gather plenty of data and knowledge that can be passed on to the Frenchman.
Running the two reserve drivers will help them gain vital experience in F1 cars. Prost and Valsecchi drove for the team at last years test and both have experience driving in show events. The latter also took part in the pre-season test after Raikkonen fell ill.
Eric Boullier said on the announcement of their line-up: "It's great timing for us to have this season's Young Driver Test scheduled in the middle of the year as it allows us to evaluate more of the new parts we have for the E21 as the championship battle intensifies. Remarkably, the UK has been having some notably good weather recently so we're looking forward to getting some good running across the three days."
However the UK is renowned for its unpredictable and wet summers, so should the weather prove wet on Friday it could mean they lose vital data on the new tyres. Boullier added on the reasoning for bringing the two reserve drivers instead of his French charger Romain Grosjean: "By running Nicolas and Davide we are giving them both invaluable experience and also gaining great feedback, as we've previously seen what they can do in the car and appreciate the valuable information they give us. It's a fabulous second opportunity for all Formula 1 fans to come and see the teams in action at Silverstone."
Alan Permane, Head of Track Operations, revealed the aims of the testing. He said that day three would be "to focus on Pirelli with Raikkonen at the wheel of the E21" and giving the two reserve drivers time to gain experience, knowledge and confidence in the car.
Sauber, who are currently the talk of the town due to their financial struggles, will also test two young drivers alongside Nico Hulkenberg. The first is their reserve driver and GP2 race winner Robin Frijns who will take to the track on Wednesday.
Frijns will also drive for the team on Thursday morning before handing driving duties over to race driver Nico Hulkenberg. This will undoubtedly be the most important part of the test as they will get huge amounts of feedback and information from the German on the Pirelli tyres.
Japanese star Kimiya Sato will tackle the C32 on Friday and it will prove to be his first experience of driving F1 machinery. The 23-year-old is currently leading the Auto GP series and has experience in Formula 3 too.
Esteban Gutierrez will not run in the test and will have to wait until Friday morning to have his first taste of the new Pirelli tyres.
Williams announced their line-up on the Monday prior to the test, with Susie Wolff getting a chance to drive the FW35 again. Daniel Juncadella - who currently races in DTM - will drive on Wednesday with race driver Maldonado running on Thursday and Wolff on Friday.
Marussia will bring GP3 racer Tio Ellinas and reserve driver Rodolfo Gonzalez to the test. However they later announced that Ellinas would get Wednesday morning and they would bring in Max Chilton for the afternoon. Then Thursday will see Gonzalez have the day all to himself and Friday will see Gonzalez claim the morning session and Bianchi the afternoon one.
Rivals Caterham will run Alexander Rossi on Wednesday, Will Stevens on Thursday and their two race drivers on Friday.
Ferrari decided to bring reserve driver Davide Rigon - who will test for the majority of the three days - and Felipe Massa to the test. Fernando Alonso expressed uncertainty over the value of the test which meant that it came as no surprise that he was missing from their line-up.
Red Bull also announced their driver line-up with Antonio Felix da Costa - who is currently racing in Formula Renault 3.5 and is tipped to move to Toro Rosso in 2014 should one of their current drivers move to Red Bull - and Carlos Sainz Junior taking to the Silverstone track for vital test experience.
However Red Bull announced just prior to the test that changes had been made to their line-up. Felix da Costa would take to the car on Wednesday and Thursday morning with Sainz Junior getting a chance to drive the car on Friday morning. In the afternoons, Ricciardo, Webber and Vettel will drive the car.
Toro Rosso will run Johnny Cecotto Junior on Wednesday with Sainz Junior and Ricciardo driving on Thursday. Vergne and GP3's Daniil Kvyat will drive the STR8 on Friday.
Force India also announced their line-up, with GP2's James Calado getting a chance to drive the car on all three days and drivers Di Resta and Sutil getting a chance to test the new Pirelli's at the Silverstone circuit.
Mercedes are banned from the test thanks to the consequences of June's International Tribunal. The test will remain at three days despite calls for it to be extended to four.
Fans can watch the test at the Silverstone circuit with kids under 15 going free and tickets being £15 per person, per day. You can buy tickets on the website or at the gate.
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