Alexander Rossi impresses at F1 test with Caterham

A productive opening day at the Young Driver Test in Silverstone saw American driver Alexander Rossi take the wheel of the Caterham F1 Team CT03.

Despite being unable to put in a performance run towards the end of the day due to a mechanical issue, Alexander ran all the programmes the team asked of him and produced consistent feedback throughout, coming away from the test session with 69 laps under his belt.

Alexander Rossi, Caterham CT03 Test Driver

Photo by: XPB Images

Alexander Rossi: "It's been a productive day and I think we're all pleased we've completed such a good number of laps. For me today was another piece of the F1 jigsaw, adding more experience in the CT03 car on top of the Canadian GP FP1 last June. The main priority for me was to help the team today and I think we've achieved that.

"After the installation lap we were straight into the test program, running through a number of test items in both the morning and afternoon sessions. We didn't have any reliability issues until late in the day when we had a hydraulics problem and that unfortunately meant I was unable to log a performance run.

However, the pace on all the test runs was very consistent and good through the whole program, delivering very good data for the team. We were able to complete most of the run plan and for me and the team this was good.

"I was easily able to determine what the pros and cons from the 2012 car. I was comfortable in the car, the controls and the work performed with the engineers. My Caterham F1 Team has good trust in me and I'm very thankful for each opportunity for me to deliver for them.

The energy amongst me and the team is fantastic. This test was confirming to me that I know I'm ready for an F1 race seat."

Alexander Rossi