Felipe Drugovich will take part in Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, Aston Martin has confirmed.
Drugovich will drive the car during the opening day of running after Lance Stroll was involved in a biking accident in Spain.
Stroll was ruled out of testing, however the team is hopeful that he will be recovered in time to return to the car for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix at the start of March.
With three days of action taking place, Drugovich will be in the car on Thursday morning, sharing duties with Fernando Alonso, who will take over later in the afternoon.
Plans beyond the opening day of running will be announced later in the week.
Drugovich joined Aston Martin as a reserve driver for the 2023 season after winning the FIA Formula 2 Championship last year.
The Brazilian made his FP1 debut in Abu Dhabi, and also drove for the team at the post-season test.
Should Stroll be unable to drive at the opening race of the year, Drugovich will be a favourite to make his grand prix debut in Bahrain.
However, Aston Martin may also call on the services of Stoffel Vandoorne, who also holds a reserve role with the team.
Vandoorne was not an option for testing this weekend, as he is travelling to Cape Town to compete in the latest round of the Formula E Championship.
However, he boasts much more F1 experience than Drugovich.
Aston Martin was forced to fit Nico Hulkenberg into its car at the opening race of the 2022 season, after Sebastian Vettel tested positive for Covid-19.
Discussion about this post