Force India has confirmed that development driver Nikita Mazepin will give the team’s 2018 Formula 1 challenger its debut on the opening day of pre-season testing on Monday.
Force India is the only team yet to formally release plans for its 2018 unveiling, but confirmed on Wednesday that Mazepin will drive its new car when testing gets underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Motorsport Week understands that a simple roll-out is planned early on Monday morning, as per Toro Rosso's launch.
Mazepin, who will compete in GP3 with ART this year, received test outings for Force India in both 2016 and 2017.
Regular drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez will be in action on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, before newly-signed test driver Nicholas Latifi rounds out the opening week's running on Thursday.
Perez and Ocon will then split running equally across the second four-day test the following week.
Perez will be behind the wheel on Tuesday and Thursday (March 6 and 8), with Ocon driving on Wednesday and Friday (March 7 and 9).
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