Last season’s runner-up, F2, replaced Antonio Giovinazzi for the weekend’s opening practice session.
Ilott was supposed to make his F1 debut at the Eifel Grand Prix for Haas, but since FP1 at the Nürburgring was canceled due to bad weather, Ilott never got his chance.
The British driver finished the session 17th fastest, 0.4 seconds behind Kimi Raikkonen.
When Ilott was thinking about his first official F1 outing in Portimao, he said: “Of course I still made it easy for myself. It was interesting to see. But once I was up to date with the tires and got used to them, I finished the run on the harders, a tenth ahead of Kimi, which isn’t bad at the time.
“Then we went to the softs and at the beginning I was completely surprised how much grip and how much tire I had. So we struggled a bit but then we got in, we got the balance back and then I think with the tire mileage that I had. I didn’t have a bad time.
“Overall, the consistent construction was very satisfied with the session, went through all the necessary running plans and discovered the limitations that we have as a team and also as drivers. I’ve learned a lot from my side and learned a lot from the team. So yes, a big thank you to Alfa Romeo for giving me the opportunity. “
Ilott is a member of the Ferrari Drivers Academy and has completed a series of tests in his 2018 Challenger at the team’s Fiorano circuit.
On the subject of matching items
The 22-year-old commented on how “unbelievably” modern F1 machines operate with low fuel consumption.
“I’ve had a few options now, a few ups and downs,” added Ilott. “From that point of view it was a wow factor to get the first experience of a session, but these machines over one lap are incredible. It’s amazing how fast they are, but I think it was very nice for me to step back after the session and enjoy the moment afterwards.
“Right now you are concentrating on what you are doing. It’s not that the wow factor is gone, when I take a step back it’s there. Only when you are in the moment do you need to make the most of it. “
