Ghiotto: "I couldn't believe I could do 161 laps"

Luca Ghiotto admits that he surprised himself with the amount of laps he completed at the Hungary in-season test. The Italian took over driving duties for Williams on the second day of the test, as full-time driver Lance Stroll took the wheel the day before.

Ghiotto ended the day in eleventh, setting a best lap time of 1:20.414. Robert Kubica set the second most amount of laps, but even his tally was nineteen behind Ghiotto's. The Formula 2 driver was very happy with his day and the experience he gained.

"What can I say other than first of all, I have to say a big thank you to Williams and everyone that made this possible because I have been working on this since I started racing," said Ghiotto. "It was unbelievable and now that the day is over, I can say it has been more unbelievable than I thought it could have been.

"I am really happy about today, especially because I can see the team is happy about the work we’ve done, all the things we’ve tested have worked out well and we were good, we could feel all the changes we made.

"The car is unbelievable to drive and of course it took me a lot to adapt to such a great car. I did many laps, which I’m surprised about. I couldn’t believe I could do 161 laps which is a lot, especially on such a tight track on a hot day, so yeah, I am really, really happy about the whole day.

"It was a shame we couldn’t do a lap time on the Supersoft tyres because of the red flag at the end but still, considering all the tyres we ran and the conditions, I am really happy and also from what I saw, the team is happy with everything as well."

Fergal Walsh