After having to watch GP2 title rival Felipe Nasr announce his deal with Sauber for next year, the dominant GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer will finally get a chance to impress the F1 community as he makes his F1 test debut with the Sahara-Force India team alongside European F3 racer Spike Goddard.
Since Palmer won the GP2 title in Sochi last month, things have been tough for Palmer as his confidence about joining F1 next year has slowly been eroded as it becomes increasingly apparent the few remaining race seats for next year require a driver with a significant budget. He will now have a day's running with the Sahara-Force India team next Tuesday in the post-season rookie test at Abu Dhabi.
Palmer gave his response to the news at "Force India has shown their faith in me by offering this opportunity and I am looking forward to repaying their trust in Abu Dhabi,I have worked very hard for a chance like this and I want to help the team get the most from this test session. This is a team that has always promoted talent and I hope this opportunity can lead to bigger things in the future."
Sahara-Force India team principal Vijay Mallya also gave his reaction "As a team we have a strong track record of identifying up-and-coming prospects and giving them valuable mileage and experience in our cars. I have been following Jolyon's progress this season in GP2 and he is clearly a big talent that deserves a chance in Formula 1."
Joining Palmer at the post season test will be the Australian European F3 racer Spike Goddard, who will be hoping to show his talent after a difficult 2014 season with T-Sport in European F3, where his finished the season 23rd in the standings.
