With this being the final F1 race weekend of the season, and with the upcoming young driver test next week it seems a good time now for teams to try out young drivers with an eye to the future. Both the Lotus and Sauber teams are using this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to give two young drivers a try out in Free Practice 1.
Lotus will give this year's European F3 champion Esteban Ocon a try out in place of Romain Grosjean, as they continue to give him F1 opportunities as they eye him as a future driver for the team. Ocon reacted to the news by stating "There will be a lot to do. It will be the first time I drive the Yas Marina Circuit, the first time I drive a V6 Turbo current generation Formula 1 car and the first time I drive a Grand Prix session, so there's a lot to take on board! I want to get up to speed as quickly as possible and assist the team as much as possible for the preparations for the Grand Prix."
Another young driver who will be making a Free Practice appearance is Adderly Fong, who will drive a Sauber after testing for the team last month at Valencia. After a difficult GP3 season for Fong, he will be hoping to impress in front of the F1 community this weekend.
Fong said about the opportunity "I am very excited about my Formula One debut in Abu Dhabi, but also at the same time a little bit nervous, Last month I drove the Sauber C31 for the first time in Valencia, and it was good to get the mileage to be able to familiarise myself with the speed of a Formula One car. As I will have only 90 minutes in FP1, I will not have a lot of time to get used to the car. However, being able to drive during a Formula One weekend is a great privilege, and I am very happy to have the opportunity."
It shall be very interesting to see how both drivers get on during Free Practice 1 tomorrow, with plenty watching Ocon especially as he hopes to solidify his position of an upcoming driver to watch for Lotus. For Fong he will be hoping to show his stuff after a difficult 2014 season in GP3 for him, with both I'm sure being hugely excited about this opportunity. What are your thoughts on this news?
