Russian Zlobin Debuts with Minardi at Fiorano

Sergey Zlobin became the first Russian to drive a Formula One car when he tested for the Minardi team at Ferrari's Fiorano circuit today.

The 32-year old F3000 driver got behind the wheel of the European-powered PS01 - last year's car - as part of a sponsorship deal agreed with Russian gas giant Gazprom. Zlobin spent the session acclimatising himself to the demands of a Grand Prix car and completed a total of 55 laps with a fastest lap of 1:09.464.

"I will admit that I was a little worried before the test that things might not turn out as well as they did," said the Russian. "The Minardi PS01 is very different from the F3000 car I normally drive â€" it is much faster, the steering is sharper, and it has very powerful brakes â€" but in the end, the day turned out really well. I am very pleased with the result and wish to thank the team for all their efforts.

"I had hoped to have a chance to drive in the wet, as I really like such conditions, but the rain only came right at the end of the day, so there was no opportunity. I am now looking forward to the next test, at Mugello, later this month."

Zlobin shared the car with test driver Matteo Bobbi, who set a quickest time of 1:08.148 after 25 laps. It was the first time that any cars took to the Fiorano circuit after it was resurfaced, and it was also the first test after the August ban.