Adderly Fong will make his first free practice appearance when he takes to the track for the Sauber F1 Team this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
The Chinese driver becomes the third driver the team have handed practice time to, after Dutchman Giedo van der Garde and Russian Sergey Sirotkin. Van der Garde has tested on seven occasions in 2014, while Sirotkin had one outing at his home circuit in Russia.
Fong was recently able to test in a two-year-old Sauber C31 in Valencia that allowed him to earn his Superlicence, and the Chinese driver admits to being both excited and nervous as his race weekend debut approaches.
“I am very excited about my Formula One debut in Abu Dhabi, but also at the same time a little bit nervous,” revealed Fong. “Last month I drove the Sauber C31 for the first time in Valencia, and it was good to get the mileage to be able to familiarise myself with the speed of a Formula One car.
“Obviously the C33 is a bit different, as it is a new generation car with a 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engine. It will be interesting to see how the ERS and the brake-by-wire systems work. As I will have only 90 minutes in FP1, I will not have a lot of time to get used to the car.
“However, being able to drive during a Formula One weekend is a great privilege, and I am very happy to have the opportunity. It is good that I already know the track as at the same time here last year I did a GP3 race.”
