Lucas Auer admitted to having an ‘incredible experience’ as he drove a Formula 1 car for the first time on Tuesday, completing 54 laps of the Hungaroring for the Sahara Force India F1 Team.
The Austrian, a multiple race winner in the DTM Series and a championship contender in 2017, spent the first few runs in the VJM10 adapting to life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, but quickly found his feet, completing a mistake free day with the ninth fastest time.
Auer returns to the car on Wednesday morning for the continuation of the post-Hungarian Grand Prix test, and hopes to show improvement in his driving in the ‘very physical’ Formula 1 car.
“First, I want to say a big thank you to the whole Sahara Force India team for making this possible,” said Auer. “It was an incredible experience.
“When I went out of the pits and I released the limiter it was a bit of a shock. The speed is incredible, especially through the corners. I felt really confident and the team gave me a few runs to settle into the car.
“My main priority was not to damage anything – the team asked me for consistency, to put in the laps and go through the run plan. These cars are very physical and in the first two runs I was really feeling it.
“You keep turning, you keep pushing and you don’t get to breathe because you’re not yet in a rhythm. It gets a bit easier as you get used to it. I am looking forward to another run tomorrow morning and hopefully I will be able to show a little more of what I can do.”
