A host of young drivers and Formula One rookies will take centre stage during the final in-season test at Silverstone, which takes place this Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ten teams will take part in the two-day session, and with rules stipulating that each must allocate two of the four days of in-season testing to young drivers, a total of 10 non-regulars will be in action.
Ferrari are one of six teams opting to run two drivers over the two days, with Kimi Raikkonen set to share duties with the Scuderia's young driver academy member Charles Leclerc. The 18-year-old, currently leading the 2016 GP3 championship, enjoyed his first taste of F1 machinery just four days ago with a run for Haas in the opening practice session for the 2016 Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
Williams, Toro Rosso and McLaren have opted for similar splits. At the former, Valtteri Bottas will be joined by reserve driver Alex Lynn, while McLaren’s reserve Stoffel Vandoorne will be in action alongside Fernando Alonso. Brazilian racer Sergio Sette Camara, meanwhile, will drive an F1 car for the first time, after landing a call up to test for Toro Rosso alongside Carlos Sainz.
Haas's American development driver Santino Ferrucci will also get his first taste of F1 machinery, as will his Russian counterpart at Force India, Nikita Mazepin, with both men set to test on both days.
Alongside their normal duties - which will be led by Esteban Ocon - Mercedes will run a 2014-spec car, with Pascal Wehrlein at the wheel, dedicated solely to working for Pirelli as F1's official tyre supplier concentrates on developing their 2017 tyres. All data from the car will be shared openly with the other teams.
The Silverstone test will be open to the public. Minute-by-minute timing updates will be available on the Official F1® App, while Formula1.com will, as usual, bring you news, pictures and reports throughout.
This week's provisional test line-up in full:
Team | Driver(s) |
---|---|
Mercedes | Esteban Ocon |
Ferrari | Charles Leclerc / Kimi Raikkonen |
Red Bull | Pierre Gasly |
Williams | Valtteri Bottas / Alex Lynn |
Force India | Nikita Mazepin |
Toro Rosso | Carlos Sainz / Sergio Sette Camara |
McLaren | Fernando Alonso / Stoffel Vandoorne |
Haas | Santino Ferrucci |
Renault | Sergey Sirotkin / Jolyon Palmer |
Manor | Rio Haryanto / Jordan King |
Note - Mercedes will also run a 2014-spec car, with Pascal Wehrlein driving on both days, dedicated to assisting Pirelli's 2017 development work. Sauber have opted to skip the test due to cost-effectiveness considerations.