Jann Mardenborough will get his first taste of the GP2 Series this weekend at Monza. The Carlin driver making the step up from the GP2 sister series GP3 for one weekend only whilst Sean Gelael heads to Silverstone for clashing Formula Renault 3.5 commitments.
Mardenborough, a GP3 race winner, will line up alongside Colombian driver Julian Leal for the eighth round of the 2015 GP2 season.
“Firstly I’m extremely excited to drive a GP2 car for the first time, it’s an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. I want to move up to GP2 in the future so to have this experience now is very valuable,” claimed the 23-year-old Nissan driver.
“I want to be competitive but the challenges in GP2 are very different to GP3; with DRS and two tyres compounds, as well as longer races and pit stops, although I’m used to those from sports car racing.
“It’s going to be a big step up but I’m going to give it everything. Thanks to Carlin and Nissan for this opportunity.”
His single seater career began back in 2013 after winning the 2011 Nissan PlayStation GT Academy and this weekend will see him get his first taste of GP2.
So far in 2015, Mardenborough has seen some mixed fortunes; the Brit managing to claim a podium finish in Barcelona thanks to strategic tyre management but also was knocked out of title contention thanks to incidents involving other drivers.
Commenting on the change within his team this weekend, Trevor Carlin added: “With Sean busy completing his full season in Formula Renault 3.5, we had the ideal opportunity to give a driver a taste of GP2 at one of the greatest circuits in Europe. Jann is a very talented and fast driver and has suffered some bad luck this season which means he hasn’t claimed the results he’s capable of.
“Although this will be a big learning curve for him, we’re pleased to give one of our GP3 drivers the opportunity to step up to the next level and will be focused on helping Jann get the most from the experience.”
