Riccardo Patrese returns to F1 with Honda

Ex Formula One driver Riccardo Patrese, who raced in 256 Grands Prix from 1977 to 1993, will get a taste of a modern Formula One car on Tuesday 9 September courtesy of the Honda Racing F1 Team. Riccardo will return to the driving seat when he takes the wheel of last year's Honda RA107 race car at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

The Honda Racing F1 Team extended the invitation of a guest drive to Riccardo following the Italian's contribution to the celebrations for Rubens Barrichello's 257th Grand Prix earlier this year. At the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix, Rubens broke Riccardo's long-standing 15 year record to become the most experienced Grand Prix driver of all time. Whilst taking part in a celebratory golf tournament, Riccardo mentioned that he would love to try out a Honda F1 car, and the team were delighted to give him this opportunity.

During his 17 year Formula One career, Riccardo Patrese achieved six wins, 37 podiums, eight pole positions and 13 fastest laps during his 256 race starts. He now commentates for Italian broadcaster Sky Sports Italia's F1 coverage.

The full details of Riccardo's guest drive will be available on HondaRacingF1.com on Wednesday. Later this month, fans of Honda Racing TV can look forward to an in-depth feature of Riccardo's experience in Jerez, including his seat fit, engineering briefing, reconnaissance laps in a Honda Civic Type-R and finally his laps in the Honda RA107.

-credit: honda