For the first time since Scott Speed left Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2007, an American should be on the grid for a Formula One race as Alexander Rossi looks set to step in for the injured Jules Bianchi at Marussia this weekend.

Rossi has been on the cusp of a Formula One start for a few years now, but has also been consistently passed over by Caterham, who he was previously driving for, and Marussia, who said they'd use him earlier this season and then dropped him from the roster.

Of course, this is not the way we'd want to see an American make his debut in F1, but as a reserve driver, it is Rossi's position to step in when one of the race drivers is injured.

Marussia has not made a formal announcement of Rossi's ascension to a race seat this weekend, but the official entry list for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi lists him as the driver of Bianchi's car:

Our thoughts are with Jules Bianchi as from his, and our hopes are that Rossi will do Jules and the rest of the Marussia team proud.

Update: An earlier version of this story asserted that Rossi would be starting the Grand Prix on Sunday. We are now hearing that while his name is on the entry list, the decision has not been formally made to run him in Bianchi's car. We'll update when we hear more.