Arden International has confirmed the hiring of Japanese driver Nirei Fukuzumi for the upcoming FIA F2 season. The 20-year old driver will make his debut on the series after finishing third on the last GP3 season and will be racing in both F2 and Japanese Super Formula through the year.
Today, Arden International has announced the first driver that will be racing for them. The chosen driver is gonna be Nirei Fukuzumi who, thanks to his third place in GP3 Series in 2017 and the support from Honda, will have the chance to take the next step on his career.
The young Japanese talent already had the chance to drive an F2, with Arden, during the post-season tests held at the Yas Marina Circuit in November. With this announcement, he is now the third driver that will start the season as a rookie, next to Lando Norris and George Russell, the current champions of European F3 and GP3, respectively.
2018 is likely to be a tough and busy year for Fukuzumi, since F2 won’t be his only racing duty. He is also due to race in Super Formula, where he will drive for Team Mugen, taking the place with which Pierre Gasly finished second in 2017.
Arden International has said nothing about who will be Fukuzumi’s team mate in Formula 2, but they are likely to announce it within the next weeks.
The 2018 FIA Formula 2 season will start the 7th of April at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrein. Prior to that, the series will hold its official preseason tesing days at the same track and in the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.