Virgin Racing use Adrian Quaife-Hobbs for testing in Spain

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs completed a successful maiden Formula 1 test on Sunday for the Marussia Virgin Racing team.

Quaife-Hobbs, from Tonbridge, was testing the MVR-02 machine that Timo Glock and Jerome D’Ambrosio are currently competing in during this season’s F1 championship.

The 20-year-old (pictured) completed 146 kilometres in Idiada, Spain behind the wheel of the car as part of the Marussia Virgin Young Driver programme, helping the team in its first straight-line aero test.

The test was carried out ahead of next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix and beyond and the car ran reliably throughout for the Marussia Manor Racing GP3 star.

Quaife-Hobbs said: "It was an incredibly special day for me. Driving a Formula One car is what every young driver dreams of from the moment you start racing and it has been fantastic to finally experience that.

"I completed many runs for the team and helped them to collect a lot of data. I can’t thank Marussia Virgin Racing enough for this amazing opportunity, as it really allows me to gain experience and see how a Formula One team works.

"Experiences like this only make you hungry for more and it’s exciting to get a taste of what the future could hold."

He returns to racing action in his own GP3 car this weekend at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona.