Jack Aitken becomes the first Formula Two driver to take part in a F1 practice session this year.
The British-Korean driver became part of the Williams development programme at the beginning of the year and will participate in the first practice session of the Styrian Grand Prix on the 10th of July. He is also the reserve driver for the British based team.
In his role, Aitken has to be on standby and ready to jump into the car at a moment’s notice, should Williams need him to step in for either driver.
Jack Aitken said: “It’s definitely an exciting step in my career, and one that I’ve been trying to prepare for over the last few years.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work in the team’s simulator and trying to make sure that I can just jump in and do the job. The whole idea is for me to get in the car fairly early on in the season.
“There’s obviously an increased risk this year that teams will need to call on their reserve drivers and, should that happen, I need to be as ready as possible to just get in and be familiar with the car and all the procedures. This is the best way to do that and I can’t wait to get my first taste of the Williams on track.”
Aitken will replace fellow Brit, and previous F2 champion, George Russell in the Williams FW43 at the familiar Austrian circuit.
After his FP1 debut he will jump straight back into his F2 car for the rest of the weekend hoping the second weekend will be better than his first.
Aitken was in action when Formula Two kicked off again last weekend (3rd -5th of July) as an official support series for Formula One. His weekend was hindered by a red flag in qualifying which left the Brit starting the feature race down in 14th. A challenging race saw Aitken finish in 15th and start the sprint race in the same position. The sprint race was better for him and, after a fight with Callum Illot, finished eighth claiming the final point.
Aitken will hope to wipe the slate and start anew with a clear mind when he finally gets into the cockpit of the Williams and back into his Campus on Friday.
*Credit: Jack Aitken Media Office
*Image Credit: LAT Images / FIA F2 Championship
