Alvaro Parente has joined Carlin for this weekend’s GP2 Series round at the Valencia Street Circuit.
Parente raced for Racing Engineering in the previous two rounds of the season at Barcelona and Monaco as a substitute for Christian Vietoris, scoring a podium finish at Monaco.
The Portuguese driver will race Carlin’s second car at Valencia, alongside teammate Max Chilton. Mikhail Aleshin drove the car at the opening two rounds of the season at Istanbul and Barcelona, before Oliver Turvey took over for Monaco.
Parente will be returning to the sqaud with whom he contested the 2004 and 2005 British Formula 3 seasons, winning the title in 2005. He then drove for the Carlin-run Victory Engineering outfit in Formula Renault 3.5 the following year.
“I'm excited to be back with Carlin,” said Parente. “I spent three great years with Trevor [Carlin, team boss] and the team from 2004 to 2006 and it's nice to back, so thanks to the team for giving me this opportunity.
“I'm also really happy to be racing in GP2, it's the category closest to F1 and it's a big challenge for the drivers. I'm extremely happy and very excited about helping Carlin in their first season in the series.”
Trevor Carlin said: “We have great respect for Alvaro, and know from experience what a talented and quick racing driver he is. We've shown in the last couple of races what we're capable of as a team and with Max and Alvaro we're expecting to make further progress this weekend in Valencia.”
Chilton is hoping for good results in Valencia after two points finishes around the streets of Monaco.
“I think we're doing a great job just three rounds into our first GP2 season,” said the Englishman. “Without some really bad luck in the opening race in Istanbul I could have scored points there, so I think it's been a positive start to the season for the team. Valencia is a great track as well, it's possible to overtake and it doesn't really feel like a street circuit. It's a one off circuit really, so I'm looking forward to it.”
