Nasr joins Carlin for championship assault

Brazilian racer Felipe Nasr will join Carlin for the 2013 GP2 Series. The 20 year-old will mount a championship challenge with the team that took him to the 2011 British F3 Series title following a promising season in the series this year.

Nasr’s rookie year in the GP2 Series saw him take four podium finishes, including an impressive third place in his first GP2 weekend in Malaysia earlier this year. Several unlucky races however, saw the British F3 champion finish the season 10th in the standings.

Nasr already has experience of Carlin’s GP2 car, having completed several tests with the team during official post-season testing. The Carlin driver was second quickest on both days in last week’s Jerez test, despite leaving Friday’s test early to attend this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Carlin’s strong form in testing follows three pole positions and two race wins for the team in the second half of the 2012 season. A dominant victory by Max Chilton at the season finale in Singapore not only finished the season on a high, but was also a fitting finale for Chilton who has graduated to the position of official reserve driver at the Marussia F1 Team.

Speaking about the season ahead, Nasr said, “I’m so happy to be coming back to Carlin. Not only is it the team that I won the British F3 championship with, but it’s also a team that I feel very comfortable with. Testing so far has gone very well. The Barcelona test was about getting used to the team and the Carlin car, and we were able to build on that this week in Jerez and show some real speed. I can’t wait for the 2013 season to get underway, for sure we’re going to have a really strong package.”

Trevor Carlin added, “We have had the pleasure of working with Felipe before and we know what he is capable of when he’s happy in the car. He is an incredibly talented driver and to finish on the podium in his first weekend in the series shows his outright speed and potential; in his second season I believe he will be a real contender for the title. We have had two very productive seasons in GP2, which thanks in particular to Max who has been with us from the start, have seen us develop and improve as a team. We’re aiming to start 2013 where we left off in 2012.”