Alfa Romeo’s Callum Ilott said he feels as though he let the team down after crashing the C38 during Tuesday’s test session at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
Ilott was at the wheel of the C38 for Tuesday’s track action at the Catalan circuit, making his debut with Alfa Romeo as their young driver requirement. The 20 year old Formula 2 racer is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and races with Charouz in the junior category.
The British driver managed to rack up 41 laps over the course of the day, but a heavy crash during the afternoon left him sidelined as the car was badly damaged by the impact. He was, thankfully, uninjured but was morose as he said that he felt he let Alfa down at a time where they need track time to overcome their recent pace and handling problems: “I’m absolutely gutted for me and Alfa Romeo Racing and of course I feel I’ve let the team down.”
“Up until the crash things were going pretty well and I was enjoying myself delivering the program as planned. The difference between an F2 car and an F1 car is unbelievable when it comes to speed and grip level.”
“Right from the start I felt quite comfortable and could steadily improve the performance, but then I lost it in turn 3 – not exactly the way I imagined my first day in an F1 car to end. Still a great learning experience for me and I’m very grateful to Alfa Romeo Racing for having been given this opportunity.”
Alfa say that the car is going to be ready for use by Kimi Raikkonen on Wednesday, but will require a long overnight shift to prepare.
