• Jerez Test, Day Two

Engine problem cuts Razia's debut short

Luiz Razia completed 31 laps before an engine problem brought his day to an end © Getty Images

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• Drivers:
• Luiz Razia

• Teams:
• Manor

An engine problem limited Luiz Razia's mileage on his first day as a Marussia driver but he said he was still happy with the 31 laps he completed at Jerez.

Razia was announced as a Marussia race driver on Wednesday morning and just over an hour later was in the car getting to grips with the MR02. However, after a morning of acclimatisation he was forced to stop on the pit straight with an engine problem, and although the team was hoping to get him back out before the end of the session a late red flag meant he could not return to the track.

"It has been a very busy but happy day for me with, first, the announcement of my drive for the team and then getting straight into the car for a first day of testing," Razia said. "It is not the first time I have worked with the team of course, but there has been a lot to take in and I need to get up to speed very quickly. I'm quite pleased with the way things have gone for me, so it is a shame that we were unable to run this afternoon.

"We had an engine problem but took that opportunity to do our KERS checks and then we were unable to turn the car round before the red flag came out. Overall though I think we have good reason to be positive as the guys are obviously pushing extremely hard. I'm looking forward to being in the car again on Friday but for now today is a moment I will savour because I have worked hard and waited a long time for it."

Team principal John Booth said Razia, who took part in Young Driver Tests for Force India and Toro Rosso last year, had performed well and that the team was making good progress, especially with KERS which is new to Marussia this year.

"Luiz has settled in well and he got off to a good start, aided by the fact that he is well-versed in all the procedures required to operate F1 machinery following his experiences at the recent rookie tests. We made good progress with the KERS this morning and the team and drivers are now getting to grips with the system. In the coming days, this will allow us to focus on other areas. There are a lot of new systems on the car and some of these are quite challenging for the team, but we will get to grips with these by the time we complete this test and on the whole we are making good progress."

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