Gary Paffett has admitted that he will be using his upcoming test with the McLaren Formula One team to put himself firmly in the shop window for a seat in
F1.
Paffett was given the chance to take part in the test by Mercedes boss Norbert Haug as a reward for winning the championship, with the Brit having openly admitted that he hopes to follow another ex-DTM driver Christijan Albers in making the step up to
Formula One.
The winner of the 1999 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year has tested with McLaren in the past and was linked to a race seat with Sauber for the 2005 season before the team elected to go with Jacques Villeneuve alongside
Felipe Massa, but the 24-year-old told
Crash.net Radio he was still very much focused on making it to the top.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I've tested for McLaren before, but not recently, and after all the talks, especially last year with Sauber and this year about Formula One, I can't wait to get in a car and show them what I can do. There's been so much talk for so long, but you never get a chance to actually get in a car and show them what you can do, so to get in the car and show people how quickly I can drive the car will be really enjoyable.
"Obviously I've got a very good relationship with Mercedes and
McLaren, and to do something with them would be ideal, but if there's nothing there for me then it definitely gives me an opportunity to show other teams what I can do and maybe it'll put me in a position to go somewhere else.
"The perfect situation would be to go to Formula One with McLaren, or more with Mercedes really, but if they haven't got a position for me and they're not able to give me the chance then I'll definitely be looking at other places to go."
