Honda have invited Renault test driver Lucas Di Grassi to their evaluating test session at Circuit de Catalunya later this month. It was announced earlier in the week that Bruno Senna would also be present as the team try to decide who should race alongside Jenson Button in 2009. However, with a commanding points haul over his team mate, Rubens Barrichello must surely still be the favourite for the next season.
Di Grassi finished just one point behind Senna in the 2008 GP2 championship, and he has been widely tipped for a successful future in Formula One. However, Senna has been attracting similar headlines as well, and Bruno only missed out on the title to Giorgio Pantano by 12 points. Lucas wasn’t meant to race in GP2 this year, but after securing a drive with Campos Grand Prix, Di Grassi excelled thanks partly to his testing of the 2008 car over the winter.
This is a very well-deserved opportunity for Lucas to prove his potential after such an impressive performance in GP2 this season and during his testing responsibilities with the ING Renault F1 Team. We look forward to seeing Lucas in action and will take a keen interest in how he performs. Ross Brawn.
I am very excited to have the opportunity of testing with the Honda Racing F1 Team in Barcelona and look forward to proving myself to the team.
The next two weeks will be a very important stage in my development and I will be spending a lot of time at the Honda Racing F1 Team’s factory before the test to speak with the engineers and learn as much as possible in advance of the test. Lucas Di Grassi.
With Honda testing two young hotshots who will undoubtedly find themselves in Formula One in the coming years, what does the immediate future look like for Rubens Barrichello. The former Ferrari-winner celebrated his 36th birthday this year, but outscoring his younger team mate Jenson Button showed the world that Barrichello still has the ability and motivation to race. However, Honda need to consider their future carefully, and with many teams getting young drivers on their books early, Rubens may have just raced in his final Brazilian Grand Prix.
