Fairuz Fauzy will have his first taste of an F1 practice session this weekend as he replaces Heikki Kovalainen for Friday’s proceedings.

The Malaysian driver will get to drive on home turf for the Malaysian-owned Lotus team after Kovalainen lost a coin toss with teammate Jarno Trulli to see who would relinquish their seat for the day. Team boss Mike Gascoyne said:

“Both Jarno and Heikki are experienced drivers who do not need to do 40 laps in the first practice on a circuit that is familiar to them.”

Mike Gascoyne

Fauzy is the first Malaysian Formula 1 driver to drive in their own country since Alex Yoong, who drove for Minardi in 2002.