Arden has announced Jimmy Eriksson and Nabil Jeffri as its race drivers for the 2016 season.
The duo completed pre-season testing for the team in Barcelona and Jerez, and are among the last drivers to be confirmed ahead of the season-opening round in Spain on May 14-15. They replace Norman Nato, who has since moved to rival GP2 outfit Racing Engineering, and Andre Negrao, who has moved to Indy Lights in America.
Jeffri has three years of experience in Formula Three, having spent 2013 and 2014 in German F3, and last year in the European F3 series. He also holds the honour of youngest F1 test driver in history, after performing a straight-line test for Lotus at the age of 16 back in 2010.
“I am very excited to be joining Arden International, and I look forward to a great rookie season" he said.
Jeffri will get the chance to race in his home country when the 2016 GP2 Se1ries season heads to the Sepang International Circuit in October and is understandably looking forward to it.
"This has been my lifelong dream and I very much look forward to living it out in front of my fellow Malaysians when we race at my home circuit later this year.
"The Sepang Circuit is one many drivers find challenging, so I hope my experience on this track will help my performance, and I will do Malaysia proud.”
Eriksson, who hails from Sweden, graduates directly from GP3, where he raced with Koiranen GP in 2015. His three-year tenure in the series included eight podiums, three of which were victories.
“I am thrilled to be joining the GP2 field with Arden International this season. It’s what I’ve been working towards and dreaming about over the winter, and I can’t wait for the first race.
"I think my experience of GP3 will stand me in good stead for this move, particularly in terms of track knowledge, and I’m massively looking forward to this new challenge.”
Discussion about this post