Marussia finally confirms Luiz Razia as race driver for the 2013 season, alongside Max Chilton.
The 23-year-old Brazilian, runner-up in 2012 GP2 Series and Virgin F1 (Marussia) reserve driver in 2010, will be testing the newly-launched MR02 car this Wednesday at Jerez.
John Booth, Team Principal, says: "We are pleased to have concluded our driver line-up, which means that we can now focus all our attentions on what looks set to be a very promising 2013 season. Luiz isn’t new to our Team of course, having been Reserve Driver in our debut season in 2010 and part of our Young Driver Programme. It is therefore very pleasing to have not one but two graduates of that Programme driving for us in 2013, and also very exciting, since both Luiz and Max demonstrated a great deal of potential competing alongside each other in GP2 last season. When Luiz moved to GP2 in 2011, we had every expectation that he would progress to the extent that he has. He is a very quick and tenacious driver who battled hard to the runner-up spot last year. Together with Max, we are fielding a young but incredibly ambitious pairing and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve."
Luiz Razia, race driver #22, adds: "It is fantastic to be back with the Marussia F1 Team and with pretty much the same group of people I worked with back in 2010 when I was Reserve Driver. I am very proud to take the step up to a Formula 1 race seat, particularly with the Team I began this journey with, since they helped show me what it takes to progress to the highest level. I am looking forward to beginning that process in Jerez where we are testing the MR02 for the first time. I am also looking forward to the first race in Melbourne and I’m excited to be racing alongside Max, who I competed ‘against’ last season. This is an important year for the Marussia F1 Team in terms of maintaining the momentum from a very positive 2012 season. I look forward to making a valuable contribution to that.”
The 23-year-old Brazilian, runner-up in 2012 GP2 Series and Virgin F1 (Marussia) reserve driver in 2010, will be testing the newly-launched MR02 car this Wednesday at Jerez.
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| Luiz Razia. (Photo: Marussia F1 Team) |
John Booth, Team Principal, says: "We are pleased to have concluded our driver line-up, which means that we can now focus all our attentions on what looks set to be a very promising 2013 season. Luiz isn’t new to our Team of course, having been Reserve Driver in our debut season in 2010 and part of our Young Driver Programme. It is therefore very pleasing to have not one but two graduates of that Programme driving for us in 2013, and also very exciting, since both Luiz and Max demonstrated a great deal of potential competing alongside each other in GP2 last season. When Luiz moved to GP2 in 2011, we had every expectation that he would progress to the extent that he has. He is a very quick and tenacious driver who battled hard to the runner-up spot last year. Together with Max, we are fielding a young but incredibly ambitious pairing and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve."
Luiz Razia, race driver #22, adds: "It is fantastic to be back with the Marussia F1 Team and with pretty much the same group of people I worked with back in 2010 when I was Reserve Driver. I am very proud to take the step up to a Formula 1 race seat, particularly with the Team I began this journey with, since they helped show me what it takes to progress to the highest level. I am looking forward to beginning that process in Jerez where we are testing the MR02 for the first time. I am also looking forward to the first race in Melbourne and I’m excited to be racing alongside Max, who I competed ‘against’ last season. This is an important year for the Marussia F1 Team in terms of maintaining the momentum from a very positive 2012 season. I look forward to making a valuable contribution to that.”