Prema Powerteam have formally announced that Raffaele Marciello will remain with the team for an assault on the 2013 FIA F3 European Championship.
The Ferrari Driver Academy star joins Alex Lynn and Lucas Auer in the Italian team’s lineup, with Italian series graduate Eddie Cheever expected to be announced as the outfit’s fourth driver soon.
Marciello finished third in the Euro Series last year and second in the concurrent FIA championship. With champion Daniel Juncadella set to move on to GP2, Marciello will lead Prema’s bid for a third straight title, succeeding Juncadella and fellow Spaniard Roberto Merhi.
“I am very happy to race with Prema again,” said Marciello. “For a young driver such as myself it is very important to be able to work with continuity with a team and this has even more value if it is a winning team. Together with FDA we believe that this was an excellent opportunity for my professional development and I would like to thank Angelo Rosin for his trust in me; I will do my best to repay him with my efforts and dedication but mostly with the successes that a team such as Prema deserves.”
Team principal Rosin added: “We could not let such a brilliant talent go so we did everything we could to have him back for 2013 and eventually made it. As a consequence, Prema Powerteam and Marciello will continue to join forces for a third straight year after one season in the Italian F.3 championship and one in European competition.
“After winning the last two titles in the series, Prema will aim for the team’s third straight win thanks to the speed and consistency of the Italian. Relying on Raffaele was the logical choice and together with the Ferrari Driver Academy we agreed an all terms to keep fielding him in 2013. Our goal is to retain our number 1.”