Formula 1's tryout for young drivers began on Tuesday morning in Spain, with nine teams in action, with Americans J.R. Hildebrand and Alexander Rossi among the drivers getting their first taste of F1 cars.
Firestone Indy Lights champion J.R. Hildebrand is driving for Force India, while Alexander Rossi appeared for Sauber. Others on hand included Formula Renault 3.5 champion Bertrand Baguette, who was first onto the track for Renault and led the time sheets during the opening hour. Brit Paul di Resta was due to take over for Force India later in the day, while F3 Euro Series champion Jules Bianchi will drive for the Ferrari team for two days, along with Daniel Ricciardo and Brendon Hartley in the Red Bull and Toro Rosso cars. Andy Soucek was in the Williams as his prize for winning the F2 title this year.
World Champion team Mercedes (nee Brawn) had IndyCar Series driver Mike Conway in its car during the morning, but planned to give Marcus Ericsson some running during the afternoon. It was the same situation at McLaren, as the team plans to split its car between Gary Paffett and former McLaren/AUTOSPORT/BRDC Award winner Oliver Turvey during the day. Paffett was first out.