Jack Aitken experienced a current specification Formula 1 car for the first time on Wednesday as the 2017 GP3 Series runner-up took to the track for the Renault Sport Formula One Team at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The Anglo-Korean completed one hundred and twenty-eight laps and finished sixth fastest around the Spanish Grand Prix venue, three days after claiming his maiden FIA Formula 2 victory at the same track for ART Grand Prix.
Aitken admitted he was surprised how quickly me managed to adapt to life in the R.S.18, and he was pleased with the amount he was able to learn on a very busy day.
“Today was an amazing experience for me driving a contemporary Formula 1 car for the first time,” said Aitken. “I was a little surprised how quickly I adapted to the car as I was up to speed quite smoothly in the morning.
“It was a busy day with a packed programme! We got through it really well, with both the team and myself able to learn a lot through the day.
“Overall, an awesome day with a lot of laps on the board and plenty of data to analyse so I’m a happy man.”
Sporting Director Alan Permane felt Aitken gave very good feedback early on during his running, and overall he felt it was a very productive day for Renault.
“We ran a similar programme to yesterday, the only exception being getting Jack acclimatised in the car,” said Permane. “He got up to speed quickly in the morning session and ran consistently with very good feedback.
“As the day progressed, we began a mixture of runs on a range of tyre compounds, testing different stint lengths, as well as the usual aero and mechanical test item evaluations. Another productive day overall.”
