Haas won’t judge Ilott on outright FP1 pace

Haas boss Guenther Steiner says Ferrari protégé Callum Ilott will not be judged on outright pace when he makes his Formula 1 practice debut on Friday.

Ilott, 21, will replace regular racer Romain Grosjean in the VF-20 for the opening practice session at the Nurburgring.

Ferrari-backed Ilott currently holds second in the Formula 2 championship, with three wins and four pole positions to his name in 2020, and is a contender for a 2021 seat.

Steiner has outlined that Haas will not place Ilott under any unnecessary pressure when he makes his grand prix weekend debut

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“The programme will be the same as it would be for one of our regular drivers,” said Steiner.

“Maybe we tell him to be a little bit more careful when he goes out there as at the moment rain is predicted.

“Otherwise, we just always try and work through our FP1 programme and do the best we can knowing that for a driver being in his first weekend session in a Formula 1 car – there’s a lot of pressure, a lot of unknowns.

“We don’t look too much at the time, we’re looking at his consistency and the feedback he can bring to the team.

“That’s where we judge a driver, not on outright pace, because 90 minutes is not a long time to be sitting in a car like a Formula 1 car.

“We’ll just try to manage that we get feedback and that he gets a good experience with us.”

Grosjean will return to the VF-20 from FP2 onwards, alongside Kevin Magnussen, at the venue where he claimed a podium in 2013.