Lucas Di Grassi was thrilled to have driven the brand-new Virgin Racing car on-track for the first time at Silverstone on Friday. The Brazilian debutant completed 36 laps of the Stowe circuit in front of excited team members and invited guests before the Sheffield outfit joins the second official pre-season test in Jerez next week.             
 

Following the track debut for the Cosworth-powered VR-01 in the hands of Timo Glock on Thursday, the German was in the cockpit again on Friday morning before handing over to his 2007 GP2 championship rival.

"It feels good, it feels like home!" commented Di Grassi, who had parted company with 30 degree conditions in São Paulo in exchange for the wintry winds of Northamptonshire. "I'm really happy and our first impressions of the car are very positive.

"It's amazing, what the team has achieved in such a short space of time. I think we have a strong car and a great team to get things started in Jerez. It was important for me to learn as much as possible here so I can start to put some real mileage on the car next week."