Alexander Rossi: Flying the flag for the United States

On Friday, for the first time since the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, an American driver took to the track in a contemporary Formula 1 car on a race weekend.

Alexander Rossi's outing was only for one session and the car was handed back to its regular driver Heikki Kovalainen in time for FP2, but it was a big step towards getting that all-important representation from the USA on the grid for the first time since Scott Speed was given the boot by Toro Rosso.

By his own admission, Rossi is still some way off a race seat in F1. His junior-formula CV, which includes the 2005 Formula BMW Americas title and victories in GP3, Formula Master and Formula Renault 3.5 (finishing a distant third in last year's standings), is good, but there is still more to prove. His tidy performance on Friday was a solid first step. And it's a vital one not just for Rossi himself, but in creating some interest in the US ahead of the country's return to the calendar later this year.

Certainly, Rossi, 20, looks the part. He is like most (but not all) young American drivers who try their luck in Europe, already very accomplished when interviewed, and those clean-cut looks will inevitably be vital if corporate America is to get behind him.

Rossi wants to have the F1 field looking in their mirrors for him soon © LAT

"This is a step in the right direction of getting Americans behind F1," said Rossi after his morning outing. "Obviously, it was a free practice session and I need to get a race seat for America to really embrace it, but it does show that there is an American driver on the edge of F1. We need a good year this year [to have a chance of getting there] but it's crucial that there is an American driver.

"For corporate America, that's what you need. It's not just about F1, but about being in a position to represent America. Caterham is one of the only teams to be embracing corporate America, which is the largest consumer market in the world. At the moment, it's a European-dominated series, so until there is an American presence, they aren't really interested."

Caterham has seen some good signs that Rossi's presence has had an effect. As a crude indicator, every time Rossi has been mentioned via social media, a dramatic spike in interest from the USA has been noted and he has shown up on the radar. It's less about Rossi himself than about the plain fact that there is, after almost five years, once again an American flying the flag in F1.

Of course, all of that is irrelevant if he can't deliver on the track. The days when a Friday driver could make a huge impression on the paddock have passed. A third driver will now, at best, have a 90-minute Friday morning session with just one set of tyres, usually the hardest compound, to make an impression on a dirty track. And usually running a programme aimed at working through what the team needs to do rather than letting the driver in question show what they can do. It's not an easy sell, but Rossi did all that could be expected of a Friday debutant.

Following his installation lap, he completed three runs of seven, eight and nine laps respectively using a single set of Pirelli hard compound rubber. His fastest time was a 1m28.448s, which placed him 21st overall and one second off Caterham regular Vitaly Petrov. The laptime in itself is pretty meaningless and was set on the fourth lap of his second run - and 12th in total - when the tyres would have been past their best. From that, all you can conclude is that he's plenty competent enough to be running in a free practice session.

The American took over Kovalainen's car for FP1 in Spain © LAT

Inevitably in this situation, any driver will accentuate the positives, but Rossi reckons that he would have been within 0.5s of Petrov but for a mistake at Turn 10 on the lap before what proved to be his best. It was no surprise that his off-track moment was the consequence of his lack of familiarity with KERS.

"That was the money lap," said Rossi. "It was nine-and-a-half tenths up on the 1m28.7 [his fastest lap on the first run]. It would have been a high 1m27s and it would have been nice to be within four or five tenths of Vitaly. It would have been a very comparable lap.

"KERS was new to me. We changed the KERS setting and when going into Turn 10 I didn't compensate for the brake balance shift and had a massive rear lock-up. It was disappointing because it was quicker, but at the end of the day the pace was there and after two or three laps I felt comfortable in the car."

The team wasn't especially interested in the laptimes; what mattered was that he did the job that it needed him to during a session that represents nearly 40 per cent of its track time before qualifying. As part of his programme, Rossi had to back-to-back Caterham's old and new rear wings, which also required him to do some constant-speed runs down the main straight. This run was about far more than just a young driver showing off. As far as it goes, he did a decent job and Caterham, which has placed him in its Arden-run Formula Renault 3.5 team, is set to give him further outings.

Unlike the rent-a-junior drivers that some teams employ, Caterham is making a genuine investment in Rossi. Last year, he was able to attend some grands prix to get a feel for how everything works and he is being closely monitored in his Renault 3.5 campaign. Former Minardi F1 driver Alex Yoong is set to attend the majority of Renault World Series events to oversee Rossi's progress, a clear sign that the team is serious about the possibility of him graduating to F1 in the long-term.

"Alex helps me from a driver's perspective," says Rossi. "He's the Caterham representative in the team and helps me a lot off-track with a lot of the elements that are less visible. He has an outsider's view, which you really need sometimes. He was a driver, he made it to F1 and it's helpful to have someone for advice."

Rossi's race programme is with the Arden Caterham FR3.5 team © LAT

Rossi will have to be content with making it to F1 in just a small way for now. But he at least has a clear line of sight to grand prix racing, which is more than most drivers ever get. If he can get the best out of himself and recover from last weekend's disappointing start to his Formula Renault 3.5 campaign, he has a hope. The brief taste he has had of life as a 'real' F1 driver should ensure that he spares no effort in capitalising on it.

"I will look back on this session with a lot of fond memories," says Rossi. "It's very inspiring for me to work harder to have the opportunity to get back into the car. It's exciting as a driver to know that you are, for at least 90 minutes, at the same level as they [the top drivers] are. It does give you that sense that you have actually got to F1. Any time that you are on track with Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel is a step in the right direction, even though you know that you are a long way from a race seat. It proves that 10 years of work is paying off.

"It exceeded every expectation and I was quite pleased with my performance. I thought that it would feel a bit different [to a test] to be in an official session with the official drivers but at the end of the day you treat it in the same way. It becomes very clear to you how important the steps are in the feeder categories and how much you learn so that you are prepared when you get into an F1 car. It all comes naturally.

"The team accomplished everything that they needed to and we got through the entire run plan. The only disappointing thing is that we probably still had a second in the car."

It's still early days for Rossi in F1 circles. His nationality has given him a USP and if he develops as Caterham hopes, it is unlikely to waste time in using him both as a good race driver and a focal point to draw in corporate America. Now it's down to Rossi to convert his opportunity and flashes of form into consistent, strong, championship-challenging results. After his brief F1 sojourn, it's back to reality.

"It's a bit sad," admitted Rossi as Kovalainen and Petrov prepared for Friday afternoon practice. "But Heikki has his place in F1 and it's his car. I just took care of it for a session. But it's hard watching the others practice and be sitting around."

Now, it's all about proving that he deserves a permanent place at the top table.