George Russell has completed his Formula 1 test with McLaren as part of his reward for winning the 2014 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
The seventeen-year-old completed three runs throughout the test at the Silverstone circuit using the MP4/26 car taken to victory by Jenson Button in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.
Russell competed in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with Carlin in 2015, winning one race and finishing sixth in the final standings, and participated in both days of the Formula 3.5 V8 test at the Circuito de Jerez on Tuesday and Wednesday before taking his prized test run with McLaren.
“Driving an F1 McLaren is amazing,” said Russell afterwards. “It’s unreal. “What surprised me is how easy the inputs were – with a Formula Renault 3.5 it’s really heavy to turn.
“This was light, like playing a racing game. It’s precise; you can do what you want with it. The blown diffuser was also impressive. Just get on the throttle and it really plants the rear.”
