Lewis Williamson will race for the MW Arden team in 2011 as he graduates to the GP3 Series. He will join Simon Trummer and Mitch Evans as drivers for the team, which is run by Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber and team principal Christian Horner.
Scottish driver Williamson won the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in December 2010 after finishing as runner-up in the Formula Renault UK Championship.
The 21-year-old tested for GP3 team Atech CRS in the post-season tests in Estoril in Portugal, surprising the paddock by topping the timesheets on his first day in the car. Since then he has been in negotiations with teams regarding a switch to the Formula 1 support series.
Although MW Arden has yet to confirm his signing, the news was announced on his personal website.
After previously announcing that Swiss driver Trummer would be one of its drivers for the coming season, the team has also confirmed that teenager Mitch Evans will race for the team in 2011.
The 16-year-old New Zealander won the 2010 Toyota Racing Series in his homeland, and is currently leading the 2011 season with one round remaining. He also finished as runner-up in the Australian Formula 3 Championship, missing out on the title by a single point despite missing one round early in the season due to testing commitments in Europe.
“I’m really excited to be racing with MW Arden in the 2011 GP3 Series,” said Evans. “The test in Estoril went well and we are really happy joining the team as they are very professional I’m looking forward to working with them in my first year of racing in Europe. It’s certainly going to be a very tough series and a steep learning curve as I’ve not raced at any of these circuits before but I’m looking forward to the challenge and the whole experience of living in Europe.”
MW Arden Team Manager Julian Rouse added: “We are really happy to have Mitch racing with us in 2011. He tested with us in Estoril for three days in October and everyone was really impressed with his speed and maturity at such a young age, I haven't met a 16 year driver as complete as Mitch is for a long time. We are all really excited by his talent and I think he will be very competitive even in his first year of racing in Europe.”
