Lotus GP have confirmed that Conor Daly will race for them in GP3 this year.
The American driver completes the lineup for the team formerly known as ART, who have won the drivers' and teams' titles in the previous two GP3 seasons, joining fellow sophomore driver Aaro Vainio and F3 convert Daniel Abt.
Star Mazda champion in 2010, Daly – the son of Irish former Grand Prix driver Derek Daly – contested his first season of GP3 last year with Carlin, scoring seven top eight finishes from 16 races.
He first tested for Frederic Vasseur's squad at the end of last year, and was in action again for them at Estoril in Portugal last week.
“I am very pleased to be with the Lotus GP team in 2012,” said Daly. “The team has had an incredible history of success and have certainly been the team to beat in GP3. The goal in the off-season was to try and put myself in the best position to try and win the championship this season and I have no doubt that I’ve got the best chance to do so with Lotus GP.
“I was fortunate enough to test with the team at the end of 2011 and was extremely happy with what I was able to learn. I now look forward to learning more during pre-season testing from the team and my new teammates. I have to thank everyone who made this happen and I can’t wait to get the 2012 season rolling.”
Vasseur commented: “Lotus GP closely followed Conor Daly's progress in 2011 because he was one of our competitors in the GP3 Series. His second half of the season was marked by strong progress in his performance and his pure racing speed in particular drew our attention.
“During the offseason tests, we found him to be a charming young driver who is very motivated by his work and his progress in a series which is ultra competitive. The quality of his work and his margin of progress convinced us that he is the man that Lotus GP needed to round out its 2012 line-up.”