This morning, Marussia has announced Will Stevens as part of its Formula 1 reserve roster, although plans to run him in the Japanese FP1 session today have fallen through at the last minute.
Stevens who was previously part of the Caterham team’s junior driver academy and had twice tested with the squad is with Marussia at Suzuka this weekend.
It had been hoped that Stevens could have his first run in the Marussia during FP1, but industrial action in Germany meant that completed documentation could not be lodged with F1’s contract recognition board in time. But Stevens will still be given further free practice outings over the remainder of the year.
In an interview with the media today, Marussia Team Principal John Booth said the following about Stevens joining Marussia:-
‘Will is a driver we have been watching since he arrived in Formula Renault. We have admired his ability to learn quickly and compete in the thick of the action, so we are very pleased to add him to our roster of official reserve drivers, which is now looking very strong indeed.’
Even though Stevens has spent this season racing in Formula Renault 3.5 and winning the opening round at Monza (and I will admit that I do not know much about Stevens and his career in motorsport so far), it is clear that Booth and the Marussia team believe that Stevens is talented enough to be in Formula One and gain experience with them. From what Booth has stated in his interview today, it is clear that Stevens has settled into Marussia very well indeed and is pleased to welcome him into the team and give his first run in Formula One in a Practice session shortly.
But overall, even though it is a shame for Stevens not to be making his FP1 debut in Suzuka today, the important thing is that he will get a chance at the final races of the 2014 season to show what he can do in a racing car while gaining experience driving and also working alongside the Marussia team in the process. And Stevens will be grabbing the chance with both hands when it comes and I wish him the very best of luck when he makes his F1 debut with Marussia within the next few weeks.
