Renault has strengthened its back-up driving squad with the addition of former Spyker and
Super Aguri race driver Sakon Yamamoto.
The 25-year old Japanese driver joins Romain Grosjean and Lucas di Grassi on the test and development line-up, with members of the marque's RDD young talent scheme also listed as contenders to get some laps between races. Exactly how much action Yamamoto will get in helping to fettle the R28 for
Fernando Alonso and
Nelson Piquet Jr remains to be seen - particularly following di Grassi's confirmation as official reserve at last week's team launch - but Renault has revealed that he will see action as part of its increasingly popular Roadshow programme.
“We are delighted to welcome Sakon to the team for 2008," team MD Flavio Briatore commented, "We plan a particularly aggressive development programme for the coming year, and his
F1 experience will be useful to us in this context. Furthermore, the ING Renault F1 Team is one of the most active in promoting F1 around the world thanks to our unique Roadshow programme, and Sakon will boost our visibility in important markets. He will be an important asset for the team.”
Yamamoto has made 14 grand prix starts in two part seasons with tail-end teams, scoring a best finish of twelfth in last year's rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway. Not required by the Spyker team after it was taken over and renamed
Force India, the Japanese faced stepping back to either the national FNippon or GT series or trying to land a ride in GP2, so he is naturally delighted to have been picked up by
Renault.
“I am very excited by this," he confirmed, "It is a great honour for me to be associated with a team that has won world championships. I will learn a fantastic amount, and I look forward to contributing in every way the team asks of me.”
