Giedo van der Garde will remain with Addax in the GP2 Series for 2011, after missing out on his aim of a race seat in Formula 1. He will be joined at the Spanish team by Charles Pic.
Van der Garde had been in the running for a drive at Virgin Racing, who announced Jerome D'Ambrosio as one of their drivers this week. Having missed out on that opportunity, the 25-year-old will now return his focus to winning the GP2 title. The Dutchman joined Addax for the 2010 season, his second year in the series, and finished seventh in the final standings with four podium finishers.
“I am happy to have cleared up next year's plans and would like to thank the Addax team for its confidence,” said van der Garde. “The GP2 Series will be racing with a brand-new chassis in 2011, which means everyone will start from scratch with the set-up of the car. A new chassis obviously brings a great challenge so I am extremely motivated to fight for the championship and continue to work on my ultimate goal which is to race in a competitive Formula 1 seat.”
Frenchman Pic will join Addax having raced in his debut season in 2010 for Arden, finishing tenth in the final standings, having won the opening race of the season in Barcelona.
“I am very happy to race for Addax next year,” said Pic. “I had a great feeling with the guys. I am really looking forward to work with the team and be in Abu Dhabi for the first race. I know that it will be a hard year with strong drivers but we will work very hard to be strong and reach our targets.”
Team principal and owner Alejandro Agag commented: “I'm very excited with the addition of our two new pilots for the next GP2 season. The duo of van der Garde and Pic will undoubtedly be a major force of competition during the next year, the team to beat. A couple of pilots that will realistically fulfill our aspirations to win the pilots and teams championships. Barwa Addax will continue to demonstrate its full commitment to their pilots by delivering best in class cars and the full support of a seasoned and highly experienced team to help those achieving ambitious objectives.”
