Recently announced Williams F1 test driver Felipe Nasr has been confirmed by Carlin to drive for the team for a second consecutive season after challenging for the title with them in 2013. Colombian driver Julian Leal, who moves from Racing Engineering, will join him at Carlin.
Nasr ultimately finished the 2013 GP2 season in fourth place but failed to win a race. The closest he came was in Bahrain where he lost out to Russian Time’s Sam Bird by 0.080s. He finished on the podium on five other occasions, but will be aiming for the top step in 2014 as well as the championship.
“I’m really happy to be with Carlin this year,” said Nasr to Autosport. “Although we missed out on the championship last year through some bad luck and some difficult races, overall the season was very positive for us.
“This year I want to go one better and push hard to win the championship.
“With a strong team like Carlin, and new rules in regards to the tyres I think we can do this.”
Nasr’s team-mate Julian Leal will be competing in his fourth consecutive season in GP2 in 2014, having previously raced for Rapax, Trident Racing and Racing Engineering. He has his best year to date in 2013 with Racing, with the Colombian driver picking up a couple of podium places in Belgium and Italy.
“I’m delighted to be racing with Carlin this season,” said Leal. “The team were very impressive last year and have a great reputation.
“The GP2 Series remains the championship to be in, with another fantastic calendar on the F1 support package. I want to thank my family and sponsors for their continued support in my career.
“Together with Carlin I think we can have a very strong season and I can’t wait to get in the car.”
