Aleshin rejoins Carlin for championship challenge

Mikhail Aleshin will join Carlin for an assault on the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 championship. The 22 year old racer who has previously won in World Series and more recently in the F2 championship, makes a return to the British based squad.

Despite his young age, Aleshin brings plenty of experience to Carlin, having raced and graced the podium already with Carlin in Formula Renault 3.5.

Aleshin was also a regular front runner in the inaugural season of the FIA Formula 2 championship in 2009, taking five podiums including a race win. The young Russian finished the season third overall.

Carlin’s Formula Renault 3.5 team has seen a stream of star racers, including Sebastian Vettel, Oliver Turvey and Jaime Alguersuari. Several podiums by series rookies Turvey and Alguersuari last season resulted in Carlin claiming second in the teams’ championship.

Speaking about the season ahead, Aleshin said, "I’m very happy to be racing again with Carlin and returning to Formula Renault 3.5 which I believe is one of the best championships out there to prepare a driver for Formula 1. The cars are great and we race on some of the best tracks in Europe. I feel like I still have some unfinished business in Formula Renault 3.5 and with the package we have this year I believe we’ll be able to put up a good fight for the championship."

Speaking about the team’s new World Series signing, race director Trevor Carlin said, "We’re really glad to have Mikhail back in the team. His previous experience in the series will really help us and having watched him last year in F2, I think he’s matured since the last time he raced with us - although he’s still very young. Mikhail is a proven race winner and will be a great asset to us this season."

The first official test of the season will take at Barcelona on the 4 - 5 March.