Japanese driver Nobuharu Matsushita will drive the second in-season test at the Hungaroring for the Sauber F1 Team at the beginning of August. He will be accompanied by Gustav Malja, who will be testing the car on August 1st.
Matsushita has been competing in the Formula 2 championship since 2015 with the ART Grand Prix team. This year, he is in seventh place in the standings, after taking one victory so far this year at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain.
The 23 year old has strong links with Honda, the company who previously had been rumoured to be supplying the Sauber team engines next year. Although Sauber announced earlier the agreement had been made, Honda is still waiting upon a formal deal, and thus nothing has been finalised or set in stone.
Matsushita is looking forwards to his opportunity to test, as it will be the first time that he does so.
“I am very excited about my first Formula 1 test and I am really looking forward to driving the Sauber C36-Ferrari at the Hungaroring – it is a great opportunity for me.”
“I hope it will be a productive day for the team as well as for myself, so that I can learn as much as possible. I would like to thank the Sauber F1 Team for making this happen.”
Sauber’s team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, believes that Matsushita has earned his chance of testing with his consistently strong performances in Formula 2.
“I am pleased that Nobuharu has this great opportunity. He deserves the experience of his first test in a Formula 1 car. Ever since his debut in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix, I have been following his progress closely, and have watched him advance his performance from year to year.
“With this Formula 1 test, he comes one step closer to his dream of becoming an F1 driver one day.”
