Jan Charouz has now completed the necessary 300 kilometres (186 miles) of Formula 1 driving to be granted a full FIA Superlicence, obligatory for competing on an F1 race weekend. The Czech, one of a selection of reserve drivers for Lotus Renault GP, drove for HRT in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
“It was really nice driving for HRT today,” he said at Yas Marina. “It was great that we had a lot of tyres to test, which is something that I need a lot because my biggest problem is getting the time out on new tyres.
“I liked working with the team as they were very professional; we had an engine problem in the afternoon and I’ve never seen anybody change an engine so quickly! I encountered some traffic on my last run on Super Softs and I was only able to do one lap, but it was a great experience and it would be great to drive again.
“I was feeling more comfortable lap by lap, as I was getting to know the car better and how different controls worked. It was also my first chance to use DRS, which was really nice to experience - there are so many things you have to do at the same time and it was good to start to get used to it.”
HRT also ran Formula Renault 3.5 driver Nathanaël Berthon, who completed only nine laps but will enjoy a full day in the Cosworth-powered car tomorrow.
“I wasn’t able to run for much but it was incredible to get out on the track with an F1 car,” said the Frenchman. “It’s important to do laps to adapt to the driving posture, so that I can start tomorrow’s test comfortably and get the most out of it.”
Series
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Nathanael Berthon
Jan Charouz
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| Pos. | Driver | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Vergne | 01:40.188 | 43 |
| 2. | J. Bianchi | 01:40.279 | 91 |
| 3. | G. Paffett | 01:41.756 | 71 |
| 4. | V. Bottas | 01:42.367 | 88 |
| 5. | J. Cecotto Jr. | 01:42.873 | 84 |
| 6. | E. Gutiérrez | 01:43.637 | 96 |
| 7. | S. Bird | 01:43.734 | 94 |
| 8. | K. Korjus | 01:43.776 | 70 |
| 9. | L. Razia | 01:43.944 | 89 |
| 10. | K. Ceccon | 01:44.808 | 97 |
| Full results | |||
| Jan Charouz | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Jan Charouz photos | |||
| Nathanael Berthon | |||
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| More Nathanael Berthon photos | |||
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