Lotus Racing test driver Fairuz Fauzy is unsurprisingly very excited ahead of his official race weekend debut for the team in Malaysia, after it was confirmed that he would drive a T127 in Friday practice at the Sepang circuit.
Fauzy, who also had a number of test outings during the pre-season, will drive Heikki Kovalainen's car in the first Friday practice session in Malaysia on Friday morning, following the lead of Force India test driver Paul di Resta, who has a Friday testing programme this year as well.
And Fauzy says that he is greatly looking forward to the chance to drive the Lotus in front of his home fans in Kuala Lumpur, for the new Malaysian-backed team.
"For me, I am looking forward to Friday, given the opportunity to drive the car in the first practice...I am very excited," he said to the Bernama news agency.
"This is the home race. I think the race is a very important race, especially [when] we are the Malaysian team participating in F1."
He added that: "The team has told me to get ready for Friday's practice and it is a fantastic feeling for me. Driving the F1 car is the pinnacle of motorsports."
Fauzy explained how that a year ago, when he was racing in the World Series by Renault, he hadn't dreamed that he would be in Formula One in 2010.
"Last year, I just watched the Malaysian Grand Prix on television in my house in London. At that time, I was involved in the World Series by Renault," he chortled.
"It did not cross my mind at that time that my dream would be fulfilled...to drive the F1 car this year."
Fauzy put the T127 through a shakedown test at Silverstone in February, and also drive the car at their first proper test of the season in Jerez.
The Malaysian driver added that the team were doing a good job in the sport after two races. Lotus are yet to score any points, but seem to have established themselves as the quickest and the most reliable of the three new teams.
"After two races, we have done a really good job," Fauzy smuled, "The team did well...unfortunately for Trulli [who retired before the start of the Australian GP with hydraulic failure], he was a bit unlucky.
"We had both cars finishing the first race [in Bahrain] and Heikki was three places away to gain our first point. Among the new team, we are the best at the moment."
The Lotus team also confirmed a new sponsorship deal with Malaysian mobile phone network Maxis, to run until the end of the season.
"There is money in the sponsorship," the Chief Operating Officer of Maxis, Jean Pascal van Overbeke, rather obviously pointed out, "It is a firm one year sponsorship with long intentions."
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