Brackley based Honda has “no plans” to give Marco Andretti a third formula one test any time soon.
The teenaged IRL driver, whose father (Michael) and grandfather (Mario) both raced at the pinnacle of motor sport, did a day at the wheel of the 2006-spec car at Jerez last December.
He returned to the Spanish circuit earlier this month for two more days.
But the Japanese carmaker’s F1 team principal Nick Fry thinks that both Andretti and Honda should now restore their focus on their respective programmes for 2007.
Referring to the young Pennsylvania-born driver’s three test days, Briton Fry told Speed TV: “I think that will be it — there are no plans at the moment (for more tests).”
Honda has two full-time test drivers in the form of Christian Klien and James Rossiter for 2007 and 19-year-old Andretti is contracted to his father’s Andretti-Green team.
“We’ve got to concentrate on our programme and he’s got to concentrate on his North American programme,” Fry added, albeit admitting that Honda’s American offshoot is keen on the idea of reuniting the famous name with the world of formula one racing.
But he said: “It really is a matter of just taking it step by step. As he is only 19, we’ve got plenty of time to go.”
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com
