Ferrari junior driver Jules Bianchi has been signed by the Force India team to be their third driver for the length of the 2012 Formula One season, with the Frenchman set to drive for the team in Friday practice throughout the year.
Bianchi has been on Ferrari's young driver development programme for a number of years, and has recently raced in the GP2 Series for the ART squad.
The Frenchman will work alongside Force India's race drivers Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg throughout the 2012 season, completing the team's line-up for the season.
Both di Resta and Hulkenberg have previously fulfilled the third driver role, before securing promotion to a race seat, in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Force India confirmed that Bianchi would drive in "a minimum of" nine Friday practice sessions throughout the season in order to help his development.
They also confirmed that Bianchi would feature on a day of pre-season testing as "preparation" for his year's work.
Bianchi himself said that he was delighted with the move, and that he hoped he would be able to use the opportunity to develop more as a driver.
"I'm obviously excited to join Sahara Force India and the chance to get track time during race weekends is an important step for me," he rambled on Friday.
"Being regularly in a current car is the best way to learn quickly and I hope it will put me in a strong position to one day move into a race seat."
He went on: "The next few months will be really exciting as I get to know the team, see how they work, and prepare for my time in the car. I would like to thank everyone for believing in me and especially Sahara Force India for giving me this great opportunity.”
Force India boss Vijay Mallya added: "I am delighted to welcome Jules into the Sahara Force India family. We always keep an eye on young, talented drivers and his performance in GP2 certainly impressed us all.
"By giving Jules the opportunity to be part of our 2012 campaign, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to young drivers.
"We are proud of our track record in this regard and I have no doubt that Jules will quickly settle into the team and make a valuable contribution to our efforts on track this season.”
Bianchi had been linked with the position at Force India for a number of months, and was also reportedly in contention for a race seat at Williams, before the team opted for Bruno Senna.
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