From GMM

The top three finishers in this year's Italian Formula 3 series this week made their formula one test debuts at Ferrari's local Fiorano circuit, driving an F2008.

In a joint initiative of the Maranello based team and the Italian governing body ACI-CSAI, Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Piscopo and Salvatore Cicatelli all got turns at the wheel of the constructors' championship-winning F2008 on Wednesday.

Mirko Bortolotti

Formula 3 champion Bortolotti, who is just 18, achieved the extraordinary feat of beating the fully competitive benchmark lap time - just over 59 seconds - set by regular Ferrari test driver Andrea Bertolini.

"I was able to get comfortable very quickly," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport, "because this car keeps giving you confidence.

"At the end I captured the record, so it could not have gone better," he added.

Piscopo's best lap was a 1.00.3, while Cicatelli's best was a 1.01.2 after 33 laps.


Photo Credit : Ferrari