Mick Schumacher will join the European Formula 3 grid for the 2017 season with Prema Powerteam, the team has confirmed.
The son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher finished second in the German and Italian F4 championships with Prema and will stay with the outfit as he steps up to F3 this year.
The 17-year-old says he is "fired up" for the move and is happy to be staying with Prema.
“F3 will be the ideal step for me to make, and I am totally fired up for the new year to start," Schumacher said.
“I am also really happy about staying with Prema, because this is such a professional team and I will again be able to learn a lot.
"The next season will surely be challenging, but the tests we’ve been doing in the past weeks proved the F3 car is extremely fun to drive. I can’t wait for 2017 to begin."
Schumacher will partner Callum Ilott and Guan Yu Zhou.
Team principal Angelo Rosin welcomed him and promised to give him the support he needs to succeed in the series.
"We are thrilled to continue working with Mick in 2017. Not only is he a skilled driver, he is a great guy and already showed he has all what it takes to be a top all-round professional.
"Debuting in a challenging series like the FIA F3 European Championship is not going to be easy, but we will be 100 percent behind Mick to help him keep impressing as he did this year."
