Rossi has joined Marussia after leaving Caterham
Alexander Rossi has been named reserve driver of Marussia having left arch rivals Caterham just before the recent German GP.
The team says that Rossi will step in if one of the other drivers has a problem, and he will also do some FP1 sessions – which means that he will probably be seen in action in Austin.
“He is a proven talent whom we have observed in GP2,” said team boss John Booth. “And we have also been impressed by his performances during Friday morning free practice sessions over the past two seasons. The US is an exciting market for the sport and Alexander has a great deal of support there, so it is nice to develop new links to that audience. Alexander will be an integral part of the team, immersing himself in our engineering activity so that he is fully prepared should he ever be required to deputise for one of the race drivers.”
“Today is a good day and next step in my Formula 1 career,” said Rossi. “Since my initial discussions with the Marussia F1 team management, I’ve felt right at home. I’m looking forward to working with the team in Hungary and building for the rest of the season. The timing of my affiliation with the team is perfect, especially beginning in Hungary before the summer break.
“My goal is Formula 1, and I’m delighted to be immersed into the team as Official Reserve Driver, where I have the opportunity to prepare for this next step, with plans to drive in Free Practice 1 this season.
“Marussia is in an exciting place right now and the progress at the team is clear for all to see. I’m thrilled that now I have the chance to be part of that journey, to progress and play a useful role in the development of the team.”
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog 
Well, that’s a good thing for Rossi in the short-term, but I’d still like to see him at Haas GP in 2015 (or is it 2016?). At least this way he’ll get seat time in an F1 car, which wasn’t happening much in those slow ugly green cars.