Proud Nissany dubs first official F1 outing a "national achievement" for Israel

Williams

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Proud Nissany dubs first official F1 outing a "national achievement" for Israel

George Russell will stand aside to allow Nissany seat time

Nicolas Quarles van Ufford

Tuesday 11 August 2020 11:51 Updated: 12:12

Williams test driver Roy Nissany will get the opportunity to drive in FP1 ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend and sees it as a "national achievement" for his native Israel.

Nissany will get behind the wheel of George Russell's FW43 at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday morning alongside rookie Nicholas Latifi.

The 25-year-old is one of four drivers in the Williams Driver Academy alongside Jack Aitken and Dan Ticktum, who compete in Formula 2 with Nissany, and reigning W Series champion Jamie Chadwick.

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Nissany previously drove a Sauber at Valencia in 2014, and took part in the post-season young driver test for Williams in 2019, but this will mark his first appearance in an official session.

"I am very keen to get in the car in Barcelona," the Israeli driver said following the announcement.

"Driving an FP1 for the first time is a huge milestone for every driver, yet for me, it is also a national achievement to be carrying the Israeli flag.

"I have thoroughly been preparing for it with the team and I believe we can get great value out of it."

As the official test and reserve driver for Williams, Nissany is set to make three FP1 appearances in 2020.

Over the last two weeks at Silverstone, Russell revealed Williams is actively pursuing high-downforce set-ups to increase race pace at the cost of one-lap pace in qualifying.

At the Circuit de Catalunya, a circuit known for its balance of high- and low-speed corners, Nissany will have to continue fine-tuning the FW43 in his 90 minutes on Friday.

Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Dave Robson added: "We spent time with Roy in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year and we know that he will immediately be up to speed and contributing to the important test plan on Friday.

"We continue to push the FW43 hard and this return to Barcelona is an opportunity to explore again the higher downforce set-ups at a circuit that we know well."

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