Neel Jani and Scott Speed tested in Barcelona on Wednesday and Thursday, with the two Red Bull Junior drivers taking turns at the wheel. The Swiss and the American are both competing in this year’s new GP2 series, with the first race taking place at Imola during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend at the end of April.

“The technical programme centred on engine work, for future development of the Cosworth V10 and did not require our regular race drivers,” commented Red Bull Racing Sporting Director, Christian Horner. “Therefore this seemed like the ideal opportunity to introduce Neel and Scott to Formula 1, as part of the Red Bull Junior programme.

“Both drivers did a good job, making no mistakes,” continued Horner. “Given that Scott had never driven a Formula 1 car before, he put in a solid drive getting used to all the extra horsepower. Neel also had to contend with a damp track on the final morning, before running in the dry in the afternoon and he provided valuable feedback to our engineers.”

“Even though I have tested a Formula 1 car twice before, this was still an exciting two days for me,” said Jani. “Especially the last morning when the track was wet and very slippery. I was amazed at how much grip and stability the cars still have in these conditions. I felt fit and capable of driving an F1 car.”

For Scott Speed, this was a double first, as the American had never driven the Barcelona circuit before. “The car is definitely the most powerful car I’ve ever driven,” he commented. “This test all went smoothly with no dramas. My first impression was Wow! The braking power particularly impressed me. I really enjoyed myself and it was very productive, as the 68 laps I completed have qualified me for a Superlicense and I’ve now learnt a track that I will be racing on later in the year. I found all the data analysis side fascinating and felt fine at the end of the test, having trained real hard for this.”

Barcelona Test - Report and Times - 24 March

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