Oliver Rowland has made it clear that he’s eyeing a seat in Formula 1 next season.
The 24-year-old from Sheffield has been part of the Renault F1 set-up since 2016. Last year he was enrolled in the team’s young driver programme, and this season he is the squad’s development driver.
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Rowland won the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 title, and is currently in second place in this year’s Formula 2 championship.
“I need to improve a little bit in Formula 2,” the driver told Motorsport.com this week. “I have to do my job first before I start looking and bigging myself up for that drive.
“It’ll come down to me doing a good job in Formula 2, if I have a chance to get the seat.”
Renault’s current driver line-up consists of Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer. Hulkenberg remains under contract in 2018, but Palmer’s position is looking precarious after a troubled start to the current season.
“I think I can be as quick as anybody,” Rowland insisted. “I’ve showed that I’m consistent, so I don’t see any reason why I can’t be in the frame.”
Stepping into the role of development driver at Renault has given Rowland’s F1 hopes a boost. He’s been responsible for undertaking much of the simulator work at Enstone this season.
- Oliver Rowland named Renault F1 development driver
“I’ve been in the factory a lot, behind closed doors. I think we have a good relationship,” he said.
Drivers including Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll have recently been fast-tracked into Formula 1. Rowland admitted that this made him worry about being overlooked and losing out.
“If Max never got the chance [to get into F1 so early], who knows,” he said. “Maybe if he’d gone to F2 and the team’s one second off – you can’t do one second, it’s not possible.
“The teams need to give younger drivers a chance. All we need is one chance to show if we’re good enough,” he said, adding that 2016 GP2 champion Pierre Gasly was in a similar situation to himself.
“I think me and Pierre have proved ourselves against the likes of [Ocon],” Rowland asserted. “Sometimes you get the break, and [Ocon] did – but he did a good year in F3 and GP3.
“I think we can do a much better job than some of the people already in there,” he added, naming no names.
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