Williams reserve driver Jack Aitken will make his official F1 debut this week at the Red Bull Ring, taking over George Russell’s FW43 for Friday’s FP1 Styrian Grand Prix session.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Campos F2 racer tested for Renault in 2018 and 2019, but the Britain has yet to sample Williams’ 2020 contender.<\/p>\n
The Grove-based outfit is keen to put mileage under the belt of its young charger in a free practice session as there is no in-season testing scheduled for F1 this year.<\/p>\n
Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson says the session will offer an opportunity for the team to assess Aitken while preparing for next weekend’s second round in Austria.<\/p>\n
“If the weather allows, then this will be a rare opportunity to test some alternative approaches over a full race distance,” said Robson, quoted by Autosport.<\/em><\/p>\n “On Friday we will also give Jack Aitken his first experience of the FW43 as he drives George’s car during FP1.<\/p>\n “Jack has been working hard with the engineers in Grove and we are looking forward to working with him at the track as we continue with our intensive test programme.”<\/p>\n Aitken reacted to the news of his FP1 outing with a post on Twitter in which he said it was “an honour to be trusted and determined to show that it’s well founded. Bring it on.”<\/p>\n \nJack Aitken will be making his #F1 race weekend debut on Friday, taking over George Russell’s car for FP1 👇 https:\/\/t.co\/UZxOQhmuoG<\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) July 6, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers<\/p>\n