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Wickens, Korjus and Charouz land Renault tests

Robert Wickens will test for Renault at Abu Dhabi after winning the Formula Renault 3.5 championship this year © Getty Images

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• News:
• Wickens lands Abu Dhabi FP1 drive
  

• Drivers:
• Eric Boullier

• Teams:
• Renault

Renault will give three drivers the opportunity to take part in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi next week, with Robert Wickens, Kevin Korjus and Jan Charouz all getting a day's running in this year's car.

Wickens won this year's Formula Renault 3.5 championship and is also a reserve driver for the Virgin F1 team. He is scheduled to drive for Virgin during Friday morning practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before getting his opportunity to drive this year's Renault the Tuesday after.

"I'm really excited - I think it's every kid's dream to drive a Formula One car," he said. "I can't wait to drive the Lotus Renault on Tuesday; I have been waiting a long time. Obviously I'm confident having won the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship; that was a big achievement for me and it just proves to myself I'm capable of doing something like this.

"I feel like I'm ready for Formula One and I think driving the car in Abu Dhabi will be kind of a true test. All year, my goal in World Series was to win the championship and to get this drive, so hopefully I can make the most of the opportunity and put in some competitive lap times."

On the Wednesday Korjus, this year's Formula Renault 2.0 champion, will take over the wheel of the R31. At just 18 years old, the Estonian is the youngest of the three drivers taking part in the test for Renault.

"It's the most exciting moment of my life and now, as it's only a few days left, I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I will be driving on the Wednesday and I'm very much looking forward to this event. It will be such a huge experience for me. I was in Enstone last week to ensure my seat and meet all the guys, and I also learned a little bit about the steering wheel because there are so many patterns - it was a lot to take in. I also talked with the engineers about what we are going to do in Abu Dhabi. It will be my first ever time in a F1 car and my first time in the emirate. Everything is new for me and it's extremely exciting to learn about it. I'm ready to get in the car."

Charouz, a Renault third driver and member of the team's academy, finished fifth in class at the Le Mans 24 Hours this year and will get his first taste of F1 since he drove a 2009-spec car at Silverstone last year.

"I'm very excited to go to Abu Dhabi; it is a great opportunity to get some mileage in the R31 this year," he said. "I have been doing some driving but nothing in this year's car yet, so I'm very excited to do that and also to work with the race team."

Team principal Eric Boullier added: "The young driver test in Abu Dhabi in is a great opportunity for us to cast our eyes over potential future stars of the sport. With a plethora of young hopefuls out there, we hope to spot very strong contenders for future F1 seats. As the season draws to a close, this three day test will pit the wits of the three drivers against this challenging circuit. We look forward to seeing how they get on."

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