Marussia Virgin Feature - First Time Lucky

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs makes his Formula One debut in the MVR-02 at the Idiada proving ground in Spain. It was a day of firsts today, not just for the team but also for Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, one of the rising stars from the Marussia Manor Racing GP3 stable.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

Adrian was at the wheel of a Formula One car for the first time as the team took to the Idiada proving ground in Spain, for what was to be its first ever straight-line aero test.

The team’s objective was to conduct some detailed evaluation work with the updated aero package introduced in Turkey last weekend, with a view to extracting maximum performance from the car from next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix onwards.

The test also provided the team with an opportunity to continue it’s commitment to the pool of emerging talent in its Young Driver Programme, with the 20 year old Brit conducting his debut run in an F1 car. Fellow Marussia Manor Racing driver and team-mate Rio Haryanto got his own inaugural run with the team at the end of season Abu Dhabi Test in 2010.

The team enjoyed a solid day of testing with the MVR-02 running reliably throughout. Adrian completed 146km, enabling the team to gather plenty of data with which to further develop the package.

John Booth, Team Principal

“Congratulations to Adrian on a very impressive debut in the Marussia Virgin Racing MVR-02 today. It really is extremely rewarding to put these young guys in the car and see how they respond to such an opportunity. He acclimatized well to the car and developed a strong rapport with the engineers and mechanics, so he should feel pleased with his first day’s work in a Formula One car.

Overall it has been a very productive test for us, with the Idiada proving ground providing us with excellent conditions with which to test the updated package that we introduced at the last race. As we might have expected in its debut outing, we experienced a few teething problems in Istanbul and this test has provided us with the opportunity to understand more of the potential of the developments. We’re looking forward to seeing further signs of progress in Spain next week.”

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

“It has been an incredibly special day for me. Driving a Formula One car is what you always dream of from the moment you start karting, so it has been fantastic to finally experience that. I completed a lot of runs for the team and helped them to collect a lot of data. I can’t thank Marussia Virgin Racing enough for this amazing opportunity, as it really allows me to gain experience and see how a Formula One team works. Experiences like this only make you hungry for more and it’s exciting to get a taste of what the future could hold.”

Source: Marussia Virgin