GP2: Marciello joins Racing Engineering

Ferrari protege and 2013 Formula 3 European champion Raffaele Marciello has been confirmed with Racing Engineering – the Spanish-based team that also ran 2008 GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano – in GP2 this season.

Swiss-born Italian Marciello, a 19-year-old Ferrari Driver Academy member, won the European F3 crown with Prema Powerteam last year, while Racing Engineering took Fabio Leimer to the 2013 GP2 title.

"I'm really happy to be a part of Racing Engineering," said Marciello, who tested for the squad in Abu Dhabi last November. "It is one of the strongest teams and I feel best placed and very proud to be with them.

"GP2 is a fantastic platform because you can start learning more about tyre management and because you are also in the paddock close to the Formula 1 environment.

"I am really thankful for the continued support of Ferrari Driver Academy and for the opportunity to race with my new team, I'm sure that we'll do a really good job together."

Racing Engineering chief Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon added: "I am proud of the choice to race with Raffaele this year and confident that his past experience and support of the Ferrari Driver Academy will be a benefit for Racing Engineering in our targets for the season.

"This confidence is also a result of the efforts and great amount of work that this team has been producing during these last years. With this, we are very happy to have among our ranks the current European F3 champion for the 2014 season, something that will motivate us even more to equal, if not improve, the results in GP2 that Racing Engineering had last season."

Marciello will face McLaren junior driver Stoffel Vandoorne in GP2 this year, with the Belgian having joined ART.

Originally on Autosport.com