Hong Kong racer Adderly Fong gets Formula One shot with Lotus
The 25-year-old tried out with Sauber last year and will now be a development driver
Hong Kong's Adderly Fong Cheun-yue moved a significant step closer to realising his dream of becoming the first Chinese Formula One driver after joining the Lotus F1 team as a development driver.
The 25-year-old Canadian-born racer signed a one-year contract with Lotus to help with the team's driver development programme, as well as assisting the team at grands prix.
I'm very happy but at the same time I know this is a first step, a beginning of opportunities for me. I am not going to get carried away
It's another big move for Fong, who became the first Hong Kong driver to take part in an F1 practice session during last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Sauber. A month earlier he clocked 99 laps in a Sauber C31 during a test drive last October at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
"I'm very happy but at the same time I know this is a first step, a beginning of opportunities for me. I am not going to get carried away," said Fong.
"This is a great opportunity for me to further my racing career. I'll be able to learn how an F1 team operates during race weekends as an integral part of the team and these invaluable experiences are going to lay the foundations of my future development as an F1 driver," said the former Audi R8 LMS Cup champion.
