 Michael Andretti was the last American to race in F1 in 1993 |
Scott Speed moved a step closer to becoming the first American in Formula One for over a decade when he impressed in testing with Red Bull this week. Speed, 22, who drives for Red Bull's junior team in GP2, completed 68 laps of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.
That is enough to make him eligible for the licence required to drive in F1.
Red Bull sporting director Christian Horner said: "Given that Scott had never driven a F1 car before, he put in a solid drive."
Speed said: "The car is definitely the most powerful car I've ever
driven.
"This test all went smoothly with no dramas. My first impression was 'wow'. The braking power particularly impressed me.
"I really enjoyed myself and it was very productive, as the 68 laps I
completed have qualified me for a (F1) superlicence and I've now learnt a track that I will be racing on later in the year.
"I found all the data analysis side fascinating and felt fine at the end of
the test, having trained real hard for this."
MMIX
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