Louis Delétraz will make his full time debut in the GP2 Series in 2017 after joining Racing Engineering, with the Spanish team now having finalised their line-up for next season.
The Swiss racer made his GP2 debut in the season finale in 2016 with Carlin having finished runner-up in the Formula V8 3.5 championship, and tested with Racing Engineering in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi before joining Swede Gustav Malja in the line-up for 2017.
“GP2 is where I want to be in 2017 since after the strong season in Formula V8, it’s the natural next step in my career,” said Delétraz. “It’s the final category before reaching Formula One and getting to F1 is my primary goal.
“Racing Engineering are a good team and have produced some top results during the last five years. For me, there’s no better option and I am very happy with the choice.”
Delétraz knows from recent history within GP2 that there will be a lot to learn heading into his rookie campaign, particularly with the Pirelli tyres, but the Renault Sport Academy racer is looking forward to getting good results with Racing Engineering.
“As a rookie, I’ll have much to learn during the next season,” said Delétraz. “We all know that the most difficult point in GP2 is learning the Pirelli tyres, so it’s very important to gave a good team behind you so they can help you as a driver and work well together.
“To get the deal sorted before the 2017 season even begins is excellent news because it allows us all to form a good partnership and to make sure that we all know what we’re doing. We worked very well together during the three-day test in Abu Dhabi, so I really think we can get some good results in 2017.”