Nineteen-year-old Alexander Albon has become the third signing for ART Grand Prix‘s GP3 Series campaign, joining Nyck de Vries and Nirei Fukuzumi.
Since his move to single seater racing in 2012, Albon has been previously backed by the Red Bull Junior Team and the Lotus F1 Junior Team in 2012 and 2013-15 respectively.
While under the wing of Lotus, Albon raced in the Eurocup Formula 2.0 where he finished third overall in 2014, before the Thai driver moved up to the European Formula 3 Championship with Signature and finished seventh overall with two pole positions and five podium finishes.
Albon commented: “Last year, ART Grand Prix had a stunning season winning both titles and it was clear to me that this was the best place to go! My test in Abu Dhabi wasn’t bad at all but the car is very different to the one I raced last season. The GP3 car is like a beast in the corners and you have to tame it! I will also have to come to grips with the tyres and that’s quite an exciting challenge in itself. I don’t have any real objectives ahead of the new season.
“I will have to adapt to the new environment and I hope to do the best possible job so that I might be able to climb onto the podium in the second half of the season and maybe get a few wins, why not? I am extremely proud to be one of the few Thai drivers to reach this level of Motorsport. I am also proud to have been chosen to represent such a prestigious team as ART Grand Prix. I will do my best to bring them the best possible results every weekend as I proudly carry my country’s colours in honour of all those that have helped me get to where I am today.”
ART GP team manager, Sebastien Philippe added: “At 19, Alexander already has some good experience of competitive racing because he progressed in some very different championships around Asia and Europe. Throughout his career he has proven that he knew how to adapt quickly and efficiently to a new work environment and that is exactly what he did last December in Abu Dhabi when he tested with ART GP.