Renault Formula 1 junior Christian Lundgaard will make the step up to Formula 2 this year to race for the front-running ART Grand Prix outfit.
Lundgaard placed sixth in last season’s Formula 3 championship and led ART Grand Prix’s charge, taking victory in Hungary, and also had private outings in Renault’s 2017-spec Formula 1 machinery.
He also made a one-off appearance in Formula 2 with Trident at the Abu Dhabi season finale.
Lundgaard’s switch to Formula 2 with ART was widely expected and confirmation of the Dane’s 2020 programme came on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old will team up with Ferrari junior and last year’s Formula 3 runner-up Marcus Armstrong at the outfit.
“I’m really looking forward for what’s going to be a big challenge,” said Lundgaard.
“I think it’s the year which will decide a lot of things moving forward and therefore it’s the most important season of my career so far.
“In one way that does bring pressure, but I aim to focus on what I have to do. It’s going to be beneficial to stay with ART Grand Prix for a second, successive season as I already know the structure of the team and how they work.
“I can focus on what I have to do, and we can try and get the most out from it. The target is to win the championship.”
ART Grand Prix has claimed the last two Formula 2 Drivers’ titles courtesy of George Russell and Nyck de Vries.
Fellow Renault F1 junior, 2019 Rookie of the Year Guan Yu Zhou, is expected to remain at UNI-Virtuosi, which has already confirmed Ferrari protégé Callum Ilott in its other seat.
Reigning champions DAMS will field Williams youngster Dan Ticktum and series veteran Sean Gelael, with the Indonesian having moved across from Prema, which will run reigning F3 champion Robert Shwartzman and sophomore Mick Schumacher.
Charouz Racing System has already confirmed Louis Deletraz and Pedro Piquet while HWA Racelab has recruited 2017 runner-up Artem Markelov and Ferrari-backed Giuliano Alesi.
Vacancies remain at MP Motorsport (alongside Felipe Drugovich), Trident (alongside Williams tester Roy Nissany) and Carlin (next to Red Bull/Honda junior Yuki Tsunoda) while Campos and new-for-2020 team Hitech has yet to confirm either of its representatives.