Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, will move up to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2017 with Prema Powerteam.
Schumacher Jr., 17, raced with Prema in the German and Italian Formula 4 series in 2016, finishing as runner-up in both championships.
Schumacher will now move up to F3, entering the top-level series in Europe that has recently helped to launch the careers of F1 drivers Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll.
“F3 will be the ideal step for me to make, and I am totally fired up for the new year to start,” Schumacher said.
“I am also really happy about staying with Prema, because this is such a professional team and I will again be able to learn a lot.
“The next season will surely be challenging, but the tests we’ve been doing in the past weeks proved the F3 car is extremely fun to drive. I can’t wait for 2017 to begin!”
Prema chief Angelo Rosin added: “We are thrilled to continue working with Mick in 2017. Not only is he a skilled driver, he is a great guy and already showed he has everything it takes to be a top all-round professional.
“Debuting in a challenging series like the FIA F3 European Championship is not going to be easy, but we will be 100 percent behind Mick to help him keep impressing as he did this year.”
Prema has won all five of the FIA F3 titles since the series’ revival in 2012, enjoying success with Stroll, Ocon, recent Indy Lights racer Felix Rosenqvist, GP2’s Raffaele Marciello and DTM’s Daniel Juncadella.
Schumacher will race alongside British youngster Callum Ilott and Ferrari junior Guan Yu Zhou in 2017.