With the usual chill in the characteristically breezy Silverstone air, Joseph Loake arrives at the home of the British Grand Prix ready to fulfil a childhood dream: finally, he is going to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, with Aston Martin.
Following in the footsteps of drivers who began with David Coulthard in 1989, and include such names as Jenson Button, Paul di Resta, George Russell and Lando Norris, right up to Luke Browning in 2023, this is Loake’s moment in the sun. But unbeknown to many of those on site that day, this test is about so much more than simply getting to sample top-tier machinery.
