Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi sampled Formula 1 machinery for the first time in his career as he got behind the wheel of the team’s 2015 car at Fiorano on Thursday.
Giovinazzi, 23, finished as runner-up to Prema team-mate Pierre Gasly during his rookie campaign in the GP2 championship and secured a reserve role with Ferrari’s Formula 1 team for 2017, in place of Esteban Gutiérrez.
Giovinazzi’s run at Fiorano in the SF15-T, approved by the FIA, was designed in order to correlate data between the simulator and on-track performance.
“It was a wonderful feeling, as this was my first time driving a Formula 1 car,” said Giovinazzi.
“For an Italian, driving out of the pits in a Ferrari is an amazing experience.
“The actual testing was very interesting, with so many procedures to follow.
“But the guys in the team were very nice to me and extremely helpful and that made everything much easier. I’d like to thank the whole team.”
Giovinazzi will conduct another day of private running with Ferrari on Friday.
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