Adderly Fong has become the latest Development Driver to be signed by the Lotus F1 Team for the 2015 Formula 1 season, joining Carmen Jordá.
The Chinese driver will combine his role in the Formula 1 team with his GP3 Series campaign with Koiranen GP as well as racing in the GT Asia series. Last year, he had one Friday morning practice session outing in 2014 with the Sauber F1 Team in Abu Dhabi.
Like Jordá, Fong will undergo a driver development programme with the Lotus team, and will spend time in the simulator to assist in the development of the E23 Hybrid.
“This is a great opportunity to further my racing career,” insisted Fong. “I’ll be able to learn how an F1 team operates during race weekends as an integral part of the team and these invaluable experiences are going to lay the foundations of my future development as an F1 driver.
“I am happy but I am not going to get carried away, for this is only the first of many steps. I aim to become the first Chinese driver to compete in a Formula 1 Grand Prix, which will assist to promote the sport in China and also in Hong Kong.
“There is great potential for me with Lotus F1 Team so I can’t wait to get underway in my new role.”
Lotus F1 Team CEO Matthew Carter welcomed Fong into the team, and believed the Chinese driver would be able to assist with the development of the E23 as they aim to climb back up the order in the championship.
“It’s great to have Adderly join the team,” said Carter. “We have an aggressive development programme with the E23 so he will be able to both learn from our engineers and race drivers as well as contribute to our car through the course of the season.
“We have a very strong driver line-up which Adderly will join so he has a great opportunity to learn ahead of him. We are committed to moving back up the competitive order and Adderly’s work behind the scenes will be invaluable in assisting us to achieve this.”
