Adrian Quaife-Hobbs - Photo Credit: GP3 Media Service
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs will drive Marussia Virgin Racing's MVR-02 Formula 1 car for the third time this year at the Young Driver Test at Abu Dhabi.
The 20-year-old has won the test after finishing as the top driver in the GP3 standings from Manor Racing, the sister team of the Virgin outfit. He finished fifth overall, scoring one win at Valencia as well as pole positions at Silverstone and Monza.
He has already taken part in two straight-line tests with the team at Idiado in Spain and at RAF Cottesmore in Leicestershire.
He will drive on the opening day of the rookie test, which will follow the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which takes place on 13 November. Quaife-Hobbs drove the Yas Marina circuit in GP2 testing at the end of last year.
“I'm very excited about the prospect of driving the MVR-02 again following my two aero tests and welcome the chance to drive around a proper circuit,” said Adrian. “In Idiado and RAF Cottesmore, it was purely straight-line testing, which was a fantastic opportunity to be part of the team's ongoing development, but now it will be proper testing and I can't wait.
“I finished the season as top Manor GP3 driver and it's nice to have your results recognised in this way. Previously I was helping the team to carry out development work, but now it will be more about them testing me. However, after a successful performance in the last two tests, I feel confident that I can continue to improve as I get more used to the car, and hopefully produce some reasonable lap times.”
Virgin handed a similar opportunity to Quaife-Hobbs' teammate Rio Haryanto last year for his GP3 performance.
