Not a total newbie

Rossi BMW test 2009

Although he had to wait until this weekend to finally make his full F1 debut, Alexander Rossi had actually been on the cusp of motor racing’s pinnacle for several years. Even before serving as Marussia and Caterham test driver, the Californian first sampled an F1 car by getting a run in the 2009-spec BMW at Jerez. This maiden session had come as a reward for winning the 2008 Formula BMW World Final.