Stefano Coletti has signed a deal to race with Scuderia Coloni at next weekend's
GP2 Final at Yas Marina Circuit, one of the support events to the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.
The news comes just after the 22-year-old Monaco racer also locked in
a trial at Toro Rosso for the F1 young driver test that follows the Grand Prix weekend, after Coletti proved his return to fitness with a successful two-day test at Barcelona last month.
A regular driver with Trident for most of the season, Coletti had been forced to sit out the last
GP2 race of the year at Monza after being left with a fractured vertebrae following a collision with Mikhail Aleshin during a very wet Spa feature race.
Coletti spent the first day of October testing with Dams, but really clicked on the second day when he moved over to Coloni, which saw him set the fastest time of the afternoon session.
"We were in Barcelona together, in a test that for me was also a very important chance to check if my physical recovery after the injury I suffered in Spa was complete," explained Coletti. "On that occasion I got to know a really impressive technical staff, so I'm happy to race in Abu Dhabi with them. I hope for a great result that would allow me to thank the people who are supporting me in the best possible way”.
"I'm really happy to have Stefano with us for the
GP2 Final," said Paolo Coloni. "We always looked with interest at his performances, and in Barcelona he confirmed all his talent, being very quick and getting along with the team in the best possible way. Deciding to go in Abu Dhabi together was a natural choice."
Coletti will line up alongside the
previously-announced Kevin Ceccon.
Meanwhile, Dams - which this season powered Romain Grosjean to the
GP2 drivers championship - has announced that it will be fielding 2011 GP3 drivers Nigel Melker and Rio Haryanto at the
GP2 Final.
Dutchman Nigel Melker finished in third place in the GP3 championship with victory in the season opener and five podiums during the season, while also competing in
F3 Euro Series. He will be paired with 18-year-old Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto, who raced to seventh position in both GP3 (that included two race wins) and Auto GP championships (which saw a win at Valencia) in 2011.