NAKAJIMA JOINS ROSBERG IN 2008 DRIVER LINE-UP
The AT&T Williams team confirmed today that their driver
line up for the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship would
be Nico Rosberg partnered by Kazuki Nakajima.
After two seasons of racing for AT&T Williams, Rosberg
is an established and highly regarded talent and he will form
the mainstay of the team’s continued drive towards the
front of the field. He is joined by Kazuki Nakajima, the 22-year
old from Aichi in Japan, who for the past year has been the
team’s official test and reserve driver. Kazuki, the
GP2 Series Rookie of the Year, has been a member of the Toyota
Driver’s Programme since 2003 when he claimed the Formula
Toyota Championship. More recently, Kazuki has contested the
All Japan Formula 3 Championship and the Formula 3 Euroseries.
Over the course of the 2007 season, Kazuki has covered over
7,000km for the AT&T Williams team as a test driver, as
well as representing the team at Grands Prix as a driver in
the Friday practice sessions. He closed the season with a
capable Formula One debut, racing for the team at the Brazilian
Grand Prix at Interlagos. On confirming the team’s 2008
race line-up, Frank Williams, the AT&T Williams Team Principal
said, “I am delighted to confirm that Nico will be racing
for the team for his third consecutive year after demonstrating
impressive and widely applauded form in 2007. Nico will be
ably partnered by Kazuki, who has impressed the team over
the past year. He has pace and the right aptitude to develop
into a competitive Formula One racer and over the course of
the next season, we will provide him with all the necessary
support and assistance to hone his talents.”
For his part, Kazuki said on the news of his appointment,
“This is the crowning of a great year for me. It was
an amazing experience to drive out of the garage as a Formula
One driver at Albert Park last March, and now to be confirmed
as a race driver for AT&T Williams is a dream come true.
I am very grateful to Toyota for the support I have had through
the Toyota Driver’s Programme and to Williams for the
team’s faith in me. There is plenty of work to be done
before next season starts, but I am resolved to do whatever
is necessary and to show Williams and Toyota that they have
made a good investment.”
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