Kiwi driver Brendon Hartley has had his first taste of the Formula One circus.
He's shared centre stage with Lewis Hamilton in a press conference before his Formula One debut in Austin, Texas on Monday.
Hartley will race for the Toro Rosso team at this weekend's round and will get his first taste behind the wheel of the car tomorrow morning (NZ time) in one of two practice sessions
The 27-year-old was joined by Hamilton, the current leader on the F1 standings, as well as Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz who has switched from Hartley's new team to Renault.
"This happened very quickly. I didn't know about it much sooner than the press did. So it's been quite a whirlwind of a couple of weeks to arrive here. I'm pretty relaxed at the moment, all things considered. I'm really looking forward to getting out on the track.