Felipe Drugovich made his Formula 1 test debut with Aston Martin last week at Silverstone, tallying 300km in the 2021 AMR21 car.
The test also marked the first time that Drugovich has driven an F1 car.
The Brazilian driver has now acquired enough Super Licence points to take part in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later this month, where he will stand in for Lance Stroll.
Drugovich will act as Aston Martin’s reserve driver for the 2023 F1 season, having signed with the team the day he took the 2022 Formula 2 Championship earlier this year.
“It is amazing to have my first experience of a Formula 1 car,” he said. “I learned a huge amount and we did all the necessary work and mileage to be ready for Abu Dhabi.
“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.”
Drugovich will also take part in the post-season test from the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, November 22.
“Felipe did an excellent job during his Silverstone test session,” Team Principal Mike Krack added.
“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 1 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.”
