Dixon 'pleased' with F1 debut.

Reigning Indy Racing League [IRL] champion, Scott Dixon made his F1 debut today [Friday] at Paul Ricard in the Williams-BMW FW26, the New Zealander revealing that he was 'happy' with how it went.

Dixon, who is one of a number of drivers - along with Mark Webber and Jenson Button, now said to be in the frame to join the Grove based squad in 2005, when Juan Pablo Montoya departs to McLaren-Mercedes, spent the day familiarising himself with the FW26 and F1 in general.

The Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver completed 59 laps, his best time a 1 minute 11.753 seconds, which compared favourably to regular driver, Ralf Schumacher, who was only three tenths of a second faster.

"Although it's a steep learning curve, I've had a really enjoyable day and, in general, I'm please with how it went," reflected Dixon, "Unfortunately, I had a problem with the gearbox this morning so my time in the car was limited. When the team fixed the problem I was happy with how it went at the end.

"I would have liked to have had a few more runs in the car as I think I could have gone quicker but I'm now looking forward to the next test in Barcelona."

Tim Newton, test team manager for WilliamsF1, added: "Scott Dixon ran for the first time today, and spent the session acclimatizing himself with a Formula One car and preparing for his next run in Barcelona."

The Barcelona outing will take place early next month.