Filippi was hoping to be Honda's reserve

Italian Filippi, who raced in GP2 in 2007, was signed by Honda as part of their young driver programme, meaning he has a deal to do at least two tests during the 2008 season.

The team decided to sign veteran Wurz for the role of test and reserve driver, a job Filippi admits he was hoping to get.

"After the second test, at Jerez in December, I had good hopes that I could have what now is Alex's (Wurz) place," Filippi told Autosprint magazine. "But the arrival of Ross Brawn changed many things.

"In the past, Honda brought up young drivers like Rossiter and Davidson, but Ross wanted an experienced driver who already knew other teams. It makes sense to me: Alex last year was at Williams, who did better than Honda. And after I met him, I found him to be a fine person."

Filippi reckons that, despite his limited programme, his role at Honda is a great opportunity.

"We have a one-year contract that includes at least two days of testing, even though the expectation is for a lot more," he said. "There's also a technical training course and a minimum of two days a month to be spent at the factory. And there's the chance of me driving in the Grands Prix, even though the role of reserve driver is not specified.

"While it's a limited program at the moment, it's a great opportunity. It's one thing what Renault do in their young drivers programme in lower formulas, while it's quite another to put at the disposal the cars, the tyres and the track-time. It's a huge investment.

"At the moment I must think about Asian GP2 and then about the European championship with ART. I couldn't take part in intensive F1 test sessions, because they would take away too much time for my training and preparation.

"People like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have already demonstrated that you can arrive from GP2 and leave your mark immediately in F1 too."