Williams: Alex Lynn becomes development driver
Williams announced today the signing of Alex Lynn as the new development driver. The 2014 GP3 champion, as Valtteri Bottas was in 2011, alternated between sessions in the Williams simulator and GP2 races with Dams.
Last season, Alex Lynn was the first Englishman to win the GP3 title, and he did so with a comfortable lead over Dean Stoneman. The 23-year-old driver thus follows in the footsteps of Daniil Kvyat, champion in 2013, and also Valtteri Bottas, victorious in 2011, whom he will join at Williams, where he has been appointed development driver.
Alex Lynn indeed intends to draw inspiration from the Finn in his career: « I am extremely excited at the idea of joining Williams, a team with such an incredible history and potential. (…) I hope that with a very convincing year in GP2 [with Dams] and good work in the simulator to develop the Williams this season, I can follow in the footsteps of Valtteri Bottas, who initially joined the team precisely as a development driver. »
The young driver will thus be able to gain experience in the English team’s simulator. He will even have the opportunity to drive the Williams on the track during the private tests following the Barcelona Grand Prix, next May.
The director of the team, Claire Williams, expressed her satisfaction at attracting such a promising driver. She believes that the experience will be very beneficial for both parties: Williams has historically always attracted young talents to its ranks, and our development driver position is designed to fully immerse new recruits into the heart of a Formula 1 team. As a British team, we always keep an eye on emerging talent on our soil, and Alex caught our attention with his impressive performances in GP3. (…) He will assist and take on an important role to ensure that the FW37 shows consistent progress throughout the next season.
