Lucas di Grassi reckons his new Virgin Racing VR-01 could be the leading newcomer after putting the car through its paces at Silverstone on Friday.
While his team-mate Timo Glock was in control in the morning, di Grassi took to the 1.8km Stowe circuit at Silverstone on Friday afternoon.
The Formula One rookie completed 36 laps to add to the 42 that Glock managed during the morning session.
"It feels good. It feels like home! I'm really happy and our first impressions of the car are very positive," di Grassi said.
"It's amazing what the team has achieved in such a short space of time. I think we have a strong car and a great team to get things started in Jerez.
"It was important for me to learn as much as possible here so I can start to put some real mileage on the car next week."
Meanwhile, Nick Wirth, Virgin's technical director, revealed that the team's maiden test went off without any major problems, an impressive feat given that this is Virgin's first-ever car in its first-ever outing.
"I am delighted that we have successfully shaken down the VR-01. To achieve 100km of running out of the box is a great achievement with only a few minor issues along the way," Wirth said.
"We have acquired some good information to feed straight back into design for the development of new parts, which we may even be testing next week. All in all this is a very pleasing conclusion to a memorable week for Virgin Racing."
