GP2: Line-up for pre-season test in Abu Dhabi confirmed - MotorSportsTalk

The full entry list for the upcoming GP2 Series pre-season test in Abu Dhabi has been confirmed as teams begin their final preparations before the start of the new racing year.

Formula 1 may resume racing next weekend in Australia, but its premier feeder series won’t be back in action until the middle of April in support of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

However, the GP2 drivers and teams will get their first taste of on-track action in 2015 at the Yas Marina Circuit on Monday, with the first of two pre-season tests getting underway.

The majority of the teams have confirmed their drivers for the season, but a handful will get a chance to impress in Abu Dhabi and make a last-ditch bid to secure one of the remaining seats.

MP Motorsport will run with Italian driver Vittorio Ghirelli in Abu Dhabi alongside Daniel De Jong, with the latter being firmed up for a second season with the Dutch team.

As reported on Saturday, Status Grand Prix will field Richie Stanaway for all three days of testing in Abu Dhabi as he bids to graduate from GP3 in 2015. Swiss driver Zoel Amberg is also hoping to impress for Lazarus GP with the seat vacated by American driver Conor Daly up for grabs.

The only team that is yet to confirm either of its drivers for 2015, Hilmer Motorsport, runs two former GP2 drivers in this first pre-season test: Sergio Canamasas and Axcil Jefferies.

Following this three-day test, the teams will meet once again in Bahrain from April 1-3 for the final running before the season opener at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 18.

GP2 Pre-Season Test Abu Dhabi – Entry List

CAR	DRIVER	COUNTRY	TEAM
01	Pierre Gasly	FRA	DAMS
02	Alex Lynn	GBR	DAMS
03	Julian Leal	COL	Carlin
04	Marco Sorensen	DEN	Carlin
05	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	ART Grand Prix
06	Nobuharu Matsushita	JAP	ART Grand Prix
07	Jordan King	GBR	Racing Engineering
08	Alexander Rossi	USA	Racing Engineering
09	Mitch Evans	NZL	RUSSIAN TIME
10	Artem Markelov	RUS	RUSSIAN TIME
11	Raffaele Marciello	ITA	Trident
12	Rene Binder	AUT	Trident
14	Arthur Pic	FRA	Campos Racing
15	Rio Haryanto	INA	Campos Racing
16	Vittorio Ghirelli	ITA	MP Motorsport
17	Daniel De Jong	NED	MP Motorsport
18	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Rapax
19	Robert Visoiu	ROU	Rapax
20	André Negrao	BRA	Arden International
21	Norman Nato	FRA	Arden International
22	Marlon Stockinger	PHI	Status Grand Prix
23	Richie Stanaway	NZL	Status Grand Prix
24	Sergio Canamasas	ESP	Hilmer Motorsport
25	Axcil Jefferies	ZIM	Hilmer Motorsport
26	Nathanaël Berthon	FRA	Lazarus
27	Zoel Amberg	SUI	Lazarus

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Jamie Chadwick, the three-time W Series champion, will drive for Andretti Autosport in the Indy NXT Series next season.

Chadwick will make her debut in an American racing series in March, driving the No. 28 for Andretti Autosport with sponsorship from DHL. The 24-year-old will become the first female driver in 13 years to compete full time in the Indy NXT championship.

Chadwick joined the female free-to-enter W Series in its inaugural 2019 season, winning two races and the first of three consecutive championships. She has been a reserve driver for the Williams Formula One team and will continue in that role in 2023. She also has driven in the Extreme E Series.

Three-time W Series champion @JamieChadwick will drive for Andretti Autosport in the Indy NXT Series throughout 2023! pic.twitter.com/IS5Z3zxRqT

— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) December 1, 2022

Despite her success, Chadwick hasn’t landed a bigger ride in F3 or F2, and her break didn’t come until Michael Andretti contacted her and offered a test in an Indy NXT car.

The final three races of this year’s W Series schedule were canceled when funding fell through, but Chadwick still believes the all-female series was the right path for her.

“W Series has always been and will continue to be an opportunity to be racing for every female driver, so for my side, I looked at it while perhaps I would have liked to step up maybe earlier, at the same time being able to have that chance to race, get that experience, have that development, seat time… I was constantly learning,” Chadwick told The Associated Press.

“In that sense, I wasn’t frustrated at all. But on the flip side of it, now I’ve had that experience testing in the United States in Indy NXT and this is something I’m really excited about.”

Chadwick also is expected to have an enhanced role as a development driver next season with Williams, which chose American driver Logan Sargeant to fill its open seat on next year’s F1 grid.

“Andretti Autosport is proud to be supporting Jamie alongside DHL,” said Michael Andretti. “Jamie’s successful career speaks for itself, but Indy NXT gives Jamie the opportunity to continue her development in a new type of racing.

“We’ve turned out five Indy NXT champions over the years and look forward to continuing our role in developing new talent.”

Indy NXT is the new name of the rebranded Indy Lights Series, the final step on the ladder system before IndyCar.

Andretti will field two drivers next season in IndyCar that were developed in Indy NXT: Kyle Kirkwood, the 2021 champion, will return to Andretti after one season in IndyCar driving for A.J. Foyt Racing, and Devlin DeFrancesco is back for a second season.

Chadwick will be teammates in Indy NXT with Hunter McElrea and Louis Foster. She becomes Andretti’s second full-time female driver alongside Catie Munnings, who competes for Andretti United in the Extreme E Series.