Lloyd enjoys McLaren test

Alex Lloyd gets his first taste of Formula One with McLaren test Wednesday 1st December 2004

As part of his prize for winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award last December, Alex finally got his first taste of Formula One at Silverstone in the McLaren MP4-19.

"There are no words to describe the feeling as I came out of the pit-lane in the MP4-19," he admitted. "It is such a unique experience for a driver to be rewarded with a session such as this -- it was a fantastic end to the year."

"I had not driven with carbon fibre brakes before, so I had to get used to them, but, towards the end of my laps, I started to feel much more confident with them and was getting on very well. I really enjoyed the session, and it was also very interesting to work with members of the McLaren team who usually work with their race and test drivers."

"The team were incredibly friendly and professional, and I have to say a big thank you to all of them for making the day so useful, informative, and above all enjoyable."

Alex described the car's phenomenal acceleration, which rocketed him to almost 200mph as "more like a missile than a car. There was only one frustration," he admitted, still beaming. "We only had two sessions lasting around six minutes each!! Every lap was getting quicker and quicker as I dialled into the car. It was a fantastic taster of things to come, but nothing like long enough!"

Mercedes Vice President, Norbert Haug commented that Alex had done a good job and impressed the team, whilst McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh also confirmed that he had spoken to the engineers, and Alex had adapted to the MP4-19 well and put in a good performance.

"Winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award last year was the best day of my life," said Alex, "but now I have chalked up another experience to rival it ! I've dreamed of this since I was a kid, and it met every expectation and more."

"I cannot thank McLaren enough for this opportunity. "Next year I am looking to raise the support to compete in an international championship which is only one step below Formula One. This brief experience will help me enormously."

-www.alex-lloyd.com-