Jolyon Palmer will get behind the wheel of the E23 Hybrid in Friday's (September 25) Free Practice One session ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. The 24-year-old will participate in the opening 90-minute session of the weekend as part of his role as Lotus F1 Team's Third and Reserve Driver.

The Southwater racer has enjoyed a strong season so far, carrying out vital development work for the Enstone-based outfit and displaying good pace in his regular FP1 outings. The 24-year-old has taken part in eight Free Practice sessions so far, in addition to one pre-season and two official in-season tests, topping the time-sheets on the second day of the in-season test held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

In his last FP1 outing, Jolyon collected valuable data for Lotus F1 Team and completed 28 laps of the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy, finishing the session in 15th. The 2014 GP2 Champion was not in the cockpit for the next Free Practice One in Singapore last weekend, but was busy with a number of off-track commitments, including participation in tyre and set-up meetings, and the prestigious Amber Lounge Fashion show in which Jolyon was a model.

Jolyon said: "Having been on the sidelines in Singapore, it will be great to be back in the car in Japan. It is a new track for me so it will be a tough challenge but a perfect learning opportunity."

Jolyon will compete in a number of further FP1 sessions in the 2015 season, which will be confirmed at a later date.

Free Practice One in Japan will begin at 02:00 UK time on September 25. You can follow all the action on Sky Sports F1 channel from 01:45 and with updates on Jolyon's official website.