KEY POINTS:
Talented driver Brendon Hartley has tested a Formula One car in Italy, furthering speculation that he will be the next New Zealander to race in the premier open-wheeler class.
The last Kiwi to drive in 'the circus' was Mike Thackwell in 1984, and the last to test for a team was Scott Dixon with Williams-BMW in 2005.
Hartley's top secret three-day test of the 2008 specification Ferrari-engined chassis happened last week but was only revealed in Europe today.
The 18-year-old from Palmerston North drove the Italian team's latest F1 car at the Vairano circuit in Italy.
The intensive shakedown session was the debut for Toro Rosso's 2008 car, the STR3 that is based on Adrian Newey's 2008-spec Red Bull single seater.
Hartley is currently racing in the stepping-stone British International Formula 3 championship.
The STR3 in Hartley's hands was painted dark blue, not yet decked out in the Faenza-based Grand Prix team's familiar blue and Red Bull-style livery.
With regular Toro Rosso Grand Prix drivers Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais overseas for the Malaysian and Bahrain Grand Prix, the task of shaking down the new 2008 car was entrusted to Red Bull junior driver Hartley.
Viarano was not Hartley's first taste of a Formula 1 car. He demonstrated a Renault-engined Red Bull Formula 1 car in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, last month after an initial familiarisation session at the Silverstone circuit in Britain.
"There's been a lot happening in the last few weeks that I haven't been able to speak about," said Hartley today.
"The Formula 1 testing with Toro Rosso was a confidential development session for a car that is yet to be publically launched."
"What I can share is that it was a privilege to be invited to drive the new car for the first time. The sensations and the performance were incredible. The levels of grip and acceleration were simply awesome."
Hartley said he reached speeds in excess of 300kph.
He is considered one of the most highly rated of the Red Bull junior programme drivers, becoming the youngest ever winner of the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro Cup last year.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
