Virtually three months to the day since announcing his retirement from 'active racing', resulting in Williams drafting in Kazuki Nakajima for the final race of the 2007 season, Alex Wurz has joined Honda as test driver.

According to the Brackley outfit's official statement: "Alex brings significant depth of experience to Honda, having competed in 69 Grands Prix from 1997 to 2007. The 33 year old Austrian is considered to be one of the best development drivers in Formula One and will share the track testing responsibilities with the team's race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. Together they will form the most experienced driver line-up currently competing in Formula One. Alex will also attend all of the races this season as the team's Reserve Driver."

Wurz will commence his testing role with Honda on Tuesday 22 January in Valencia, joining Button and Barrichello for the team's first test of the year. He will spend this test acclimatising to the team, its systems and last year's RA107 to provide a reference for his onward development role. The race drivers will be at the wheel of the team's new RA108 challenger, which will run in its interim colours in advance of the team's technical and livery launch at its Brackley headquarters on 29 January.

Team Principal Ross Brawn said; "We are delighted to welcome Alex to the Honda Racing F1 Team and very pleased to have secured one of the most experienced development drivers in Formula One to support our race driver pairing of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. Alex has 11 years of top level experience in the sport and this depth and breadth of knowledge will prove invaluable to us as we aim to make Honda a competitive force in 2008. Alex will spend his first Honda test familiarising himself with our team and the RA107 before moving on to play a crucial role in the track development of the new RA108 car. We are looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months."

Commenting on his new role with Honda, Wurz said, "I am delighted to be joining the Honda Racing F1 Team at the beginning of what I hope can be a very exciting period for the team. Honda has such a rich history of success in motorsport and it is a real honour to be part of a team that has racing right at the core of its operation. This is an excellent opportunity to play an important role in the development of the team going forward. My three previous teams have all been world championship winners and I hope to be able to contribute to Honda's ambitions. The chance to work with one of the best brains in F1 in Ross Brawn is very exciting, as is the level of resources that the Honda team has at its disposal. I am also looking forward to working with Jenson and Rubens, two drivers who I know very well, and I'm sure we will form a very successful partnership over the coming weeks. For now, my immediate focus is on getting back in a Formula One car in Valencia and starting work with the team."