Mercedes has confirmed that GP3 driver George Russell will drive on both days of the Hungary in-season test in August.
Teams are obliged to run a young driver – a driver that has taken part in two or fewer Formula 1 grands prix – during two of the four in-season test days.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas shared duties in Bahrain, therefore Mercedes must run a young driver on both days in Hungary, and have announced that Russell will be behind the wheel of the W08 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I’m just so excited to be testing the W08," said the ART Grand Prix driver and Mercedes junior, who is in Azerbaijan with the team this weekend.
"I’ve probably driven more virtual laps than anyone else with this car so it’s going to be incredible to drive it in reality!"
Russell joined the Mercedes junior programme at the beginning of the season alongside his GP3 commitments. He has previously tested a 2015 W06 during a private test at the Portimao circuit in early April.
"My biggest priority is to do a good job for the team, to tick off the items on the engineers’ programme and make sure we get the most out of the car and our running over the two days," he added.
