03/02/2007
NEWS STORY
Kazuki Nakajima (right), son of former Lotus and Tyrrell driver Satoru Nakajima, has already made a big impression on his new employers, Williams.
A protege of Toyota's Young Drivers Program, Kazuki got his first taste of F1 power at the company's Fuji Speedway in November, and shortly afterwards was named as Williams second test driver, working alongside Narain Karthikeyan.
The youngster subsequently took part in a number of tests for the Grove outfit, often as its sole representative.
Speaking at the launch of his team's 2007 contender on Friday, Williams Technical director Sam Michael admitted that he had been impressed with Kazuki's performances thus far, revealing that the Japanese youngster will take part in a number of Friday (GP) tests this season.
We will run Kazuki at some races," said the Australian. "He is really, really impressive, you would be hard pressed to find a race driver do what he has done. His neck is rock solid, he hasn't complained about anything. He has done a fantastic job.
"He is a young kid and is on a really steep learning curve, he has not trashed the car at all, he is fast and consistent. He has really impressed and for a young kid to do that is really superb."
In addition to his F1 commitments, Kazuki will contest the GP2 Series, teaming up with Nicolas Lapierre at DAMS.