Hinwil, Switzerland - Italian Raffaele Marciello will be Sauber's test and reserve driver next season.
Sauber F1 team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said on Wednesday: “We will give Raffaele the opportunity to become familiar with Formula One, which also includes him taking part in some free practice sessions on Friday.”
The 20-year-old Swiss-born racer and Ferrari protege competed in the GP2 series in 2014 after winning the European F3 championship in 2013 with 13 victories.
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Marciello, who will compete again in GP2 in 2015, is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and thanked the Italian team, which provides Sauber with engines, for giving him the opportunity.
He tested with Ferrari in Abu Dhabi in November and recognised then that Frenchman Jules Bianchi would have taken the place had he not suffered critical head injuries in a crash in Japan.
Sauber, which has had financial troubles in recent seasons and failed to score a point in 2014 for the first time, has an all-new race lineup for 2015 with Sweden's Marcus Ericsson and Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr.
Reuters