Raffaele Marciello named Sauber’s test and reserve driver

Italian Raffaele Marciello was Wednesday named Formula One team Sauber’s test and reserve driver for the next season.

The 20-year-old won the European F3 championship last year and is a member of F1 team Ferrari’s driver academy.

“We will give Raffaele the opportunity to become familiar with Formula One, which also includes him taking part in some free practice sessions. It’s great for our team to be part of his way to Formula One,” said team boss Monisha Kaltenborn in a statement.

Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr will be Sauber’s race drivers in 2014.

Marciello, who will race in Formula 1’s feeder series GP2 next year alongside his Sauber duties, got his first taste of a Formula 1 car last month, test driving for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi.

“I am also happy to compete for one more season in the GP2 Series, which, together with my new F1 role, will give me a very busy 2015 season,”said.

(IANS)