Former GP2 Series title contender Lucas di Grassi will return to the series for the second half of the 2008 campaign after being drafted in to the Barwa International Campos team in place of fellow Renault Development scheme driver Ben Hanley.
The Brazilian, who offered the closest challenge to eventual champion
Timo Glock last year, was rumoured to have been drafted in to the squad for this week's official mid-season test, but now appears set to partner Russia's Vitaly Petrov through to the Monza finale.
di Grassi's performance in 2007 was enough to elevate him to the role of test driver within the ING Renault
F1 team, but he has found his track time limited by the role and, although he performed admirably as an analyst on British coverage of the GP2 Series at Monaco, the Brazilian sees the chance to join Campos as an opportunity to keep his hand in in competition.
“I am happy to be able to drive in parallel to my role as the third driver for the Renault team," he confirmed, "For me, it is the ideal opportunity to drive regularly and the GP2 Series is the closest category to
Formula One. I am sure that I will be able to manage my duties as the third driver for Renault and the expectations that the Barwa International Campos Team has placed on me for the rest of the GP2 Series championship.”
di Grassi will fly to this week's Paul Ricard test direct from Montreal, where he was on hand as cover for Renault's two regular pilots,
Fernando Alonso and
Nelson Piquet Jr. He has been heavily involved in the F1 team's development programme since the start of the year, and has worked closely with the engineers at the first seven
grands prix. However, despite his official designation as 'third driver', his name has yet to be mentioned in connection with rumours suggesting that Piquet's time may be limited if his form does not improve., Instead,
Super Aguri refugees
Takuma Sato and
Anthony Davidson, as well as
Red Bull veteran
David Coulthard and even fellow RDD member Romain Grosjean have been tabbed as potential replacements for the younger Brazilian.
