17/10/2016
NEWS STORY
Manor development driver Jordan King will make his FP1 debut in Austin this weekend.
The Briton, who won the 2013 British F3 Championship and is currently 5th in the GP2 standings, is in his second season as development driver with Manor.
With current drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon both in talks with other teams for 2017, Austin marks the perfect opportunity to give the 22-year-old a GP weekend run as the Banbury outfit considers its options for next year.
"It's another big step in the right direction for me, after two really positive tests in the MRT05 which paved the way for this opportunity," he said. "It's a dream come true, but at the same time I have a job to do in the car on Friday and I want to make sure I give the team plenty of quality feedback and data to help with their USGP challenge.
"There's quite a lot to cram into 90 minutes," he admitted. "I'll be exploring the balance of the car and correlating that with the team's simulation work. There'll be some new components to evaluate, along with the tyre specifications for this event.
"I'll also be learning the circuit and getting up to speed with the car, which has been developed quite a bit since I last drove it at Silverstone. I can't wait!"