Luca Filippi will line up in new colours for this weekend's
GP2 Series double-header at Hockenheim, having jumped ship from former champions ART Grand Prix to join rivals Trust Team Arden.
It is not often that drivers seek a release from the team that took both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton to
GP2 titles - and
Formula One seats as a result - but Filippi's season has failed to live up to expectation on both sides, with the Italian struggling to match the performance of series rookie Romain Grosjean in the first half of the season.
Although neither team has yet confirmed the move, Filippi - who was tipped as a potential champion and future F1 driver after inking deals with ART and Honda respectively over the winter - is expected to replace Dutchman Yelmer Buurman in the Arden line-up, joining Sebastien Buemi as the Swiss driver makes a play for the
GP2 crown.
While his own hopes of taking the title are now a distant memory, with just two scoring finishes in the ten races so far, Filippi is hoping that the move to Christian Horner's
equipe will kick-start both his season and his hopes of making it to F1.
"For me, it is the beginning of a new championship," the Italian admitted, "I hope that this move works out and that I can both take the results that I believe I can achieve and repay Mr Horner's trust in me."
Filippi's switch is rumoured to be the first of many on the horizon in the second half of the season, as drivers and sponsors begin to feel the effects of the global 'credit crunch'.
Buurman's seat is understood to have become available due to sponsor pressures, while Filippi's place at ART is rumoured to be on offer to anyone with a suitable budget, with Asian drivers a particular target. Former Super Aguri F1 driver Sakon Yamamoto is the favourite to join Grosjean for the balance of the season.
