GP2 Series racer Jordan King took to the Circuit de Catalunya on Wednesday, with the Manor Racing development driver getting his first taste of the team’s MRT05.
The British racer last drove a Formula 1 car in the post-season Abu Dhabi tests in 2015 with Manor, but felt the MRT05 was a big step up from what he has experienced in the past.
King felt he made progress with the car during the race, and completed 91 laps of the Spanish circuit, but saw his day curtailed early with an issue that meant he was not able to bolt on a set of the Supersoft Pirelli tyre and get above tenth on the time sheets.
“Despite having my first taste of an F1 car in Abu Dhabi last year, driving this year’s MRT05 for the first time today was just as exhilarating,” revealed King. “Possibly more so, actually, given that it’s such a big step on in terms of power and braking stability in particular.
“As well as being an opportunity for me to get to grips with the car, today was still very much a working test for the team and I had a big programme of items to work through.
“We had hoped to make enough progress for me to get some time on the Supersoft but we had an issue at the end which brought our day to a close sooner than we’d hoped.
“That said, it’s not all about the timesheets and it’s just as valuable for the team to see what I can bring in terms of application and feedback. All in all, I’m pretty pleased.”
