Scott Speed will move closer toward becoming the first American driver in Formula One since 1993, as he will participate in a test with Red Bull Racing on March 24-25 at Barcelona, Spain.
It will be the first F1 test for Red Bull Driver Search winner Speed, 22. Red Bull Junior team members Speed and Neel Jani of Switzerland will drive a 2004 Jaguar Racing car in the test, as the new Red Bull Racing team bought the Jaguar team after last season.
Both Speed and Jani will race this season in the new GP2 series, the final stepping-stone before Formula One.
“I got to test the GP2 car in Paul Ricard, and it was great,” Speed said. “And now the Formula One car – there’s nothing to top this.”
Said Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner: “Having our own Formula One team now provides us with a logical pinnacle for our junior driver program. The Barcelona test is part of our development schedule. We will be using last year’s car to carry out engine testing work, which does not need to involve our race drivers, so we decided to introduce Speed to Formula One, while Jani has already tested for Sauber-Petronas and Red Bull Racing last year.”
David Coulthard and Christian Klien are the race drivers for Red Bull Racing who will compete in the United States Grand Prix on June 19 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Red Bull Racing has been one of the pleasant surprises after two races this season, with Coulthard and Klien each scoring points at Australia and Malaysia.
Speed, from Manteca, Calif., won the Eurocup and German Formula Renault titles in 2004. He became the first American driver to win a junior formula championship in Europe.
The Red Bull Driver Search aims to find and groom young American talent for a chance to reach Formula One. Red Bull provides the search winners with a fully funded drive in European or North American road racing the following season.
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USGP tickets: Tickets for the 2005 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can be purchased online at indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
