31 May 2005
Speed hoping for third driver Indy outing
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American GP2 star Scott Speed will have his second Formula One test with Red Bull this week as the team consider giving a him the chance to run as their third driver at next month’s Canadian and United States Grands Prix.
Speed, a member of the Red Bull Junior team, was highly impressive in his debut outing at Barcelona in March, out-pacing the Williams of Nick Heidfeld and Antonio Pizzonia around the Spanish circuit.
“We will give Speed a test at Silverstone on Wednesday in an F1 car,” confirmed Red Bull’s sporting director Christian Horner. “After that, we will decide if he will be our third driver in Canada and Indianapolis.”
If Speed does win Red Bull’s approval he will become the first American to run in a Grand Prix meeting since Michael Andretti finished third in Italy back in 1993. The prospect of an appearance in front of his home fans holds a special appeal.
“It is quite exciting,” said Speed. “It’s great: F1 and the whole crowd and all the things that go with it are awesome, but at the end of the day you are still trying to go fast.
“All the seat time you can get in a F1 car is helpful,” he said of his upcoming test. “It is quite a different driving style to the GP2 cars, so it requires experience.”
After a promising start to his GP2 campaign, Speed endured a difficult weekend at the European Grand Prix round, twice stalling on the grid. Nevertheless, points for the fastest lap in both races lifted him to second in the standings behind series leader Heikki Kovalainen.
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