Ten years after he asked
Michael Schumacher for his autograph at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ernesto Viso joined the seven-time world champion on track at Interlagos, as he made his Formula One debut during Friday's practice sessions with Spyker M
F1.
Although he had conducted barely 20 laps of a soaking South circuit at
Silverstone the week before the final grand prixc of the season, the Venezuelan acquitted himself well during his two hour-long outings in Sao Paulo, drawing praise - and possible offers - from several quarters.
Viso completed 58 laps of the tricky, anti-clockwise Interlagos circuit in dry conditions, posting the 20th best lap of the day, as he got his first real taste of Formula One power in the dry. Although a technical problem prevented him from taking to the track in the faster final ten minutes of the day, the 21-year old impressed the Spyker team with his feedback, and a few others around the paddock with his debut pace, and admitted that the outing - only arranged ahead of the three 'flyaway' races that concluded the season - had provided everyone with a better idea of how he would fit in to the world of
Formula One.
"This first outing has allowed us to get an clearer idea of what awaits us in the future," Viso confirmed, "We showed that we can be competitive and that we are prepared to take on this new challenge. Many people - team directors, journalists, technical staff and drivers from other teams - came to congratulate us and, without doubt, this has been a satisfying and important step in the development of my career.
"The impression I gained at Silverstone was confirmed here - that the F1 car, despite having 200 horsepower more the GP2 car, was a lot easier to handle. All the electronic aids - such as traction control, power steering and so on - make the F1 car a lot more comfortable to drive. The only thing I wish I could have done on Friday was complete a run on new tyres and with a low fuel load, which could have brought my times down by around a second!"
