Ricardo Teixeira makes debut in Formula 1 as Lotus test driver
The Lotus Team has announced that Ricardo Teixeira will be their test driver for the upcoming 2011 Formula 1 season. He will be joined by drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli in the team. He will drive on the second day of Barcelona test session. This
will be his debut in Formula 1, as he will drive the new T128 car for 30 laps. He brings the sponsor of Portuguese oil Company Angolan to the team.
The 26-year-old Portuguese driver, Ricardo, has been previously driving in Formula BMW Junior Cup where he finished 20th in the driver’s championship. Then he moved to BRSCC's ARP Formula Three Championship in 2003 where he raced occasionally,
taking one win.
He took two years off for studying before moving to British racing again. In 2007 he moved to Championship Class, but never scored a point. In 2008 he moved to Ultimate Motorsport team's Mygale chassis.
He was signed by Trident Racing for the fifth and sixth races in 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season and became the first Portuguese driver to take part. Last year, Ricardo moved to the FIA Formula Two Championship, where he finished fifth in his third race.
For the 2011 season he makes his entry in Formula 1 for the Lotus Team, as a test driver.
Lotus was one of the debutant teams last year, the other being HRT and Virgin. They performed relatively well, as they managed to finish tenth ahead of both teams.
Lotus’ driver line-up is somewhat more experienced than the other debutant teams as they have Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen. The team used the Cosworth engine last year and performed well. For this year they promise to be more competitive in the mid-field
as they have moved to a better Renault engine.
Kovalainen will start the second day of Barcelona test and will hand over the car to the new rookie in the afternoon session. It will be interesting to see how Ricardo adapts to the team and whether or not he starts his Formula 1 career on a high note.
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