Canadian racer Robert Wickens will switch from GP3 back to Europe's Formula Renault 3.5 category this season with his former team, Carlin. The 2010 GP3 Series runner-up will compete with the support of the driver-development program of Russian automaker Marussia Motors, which holds a stake in the Virgin Formula 1 team.
After graduating from Formula BMW USA, Wickens was a winner in the Renault category with Carlin in 2008, but finished an unrepresentative 12th in the standings after an incident-strewn season. He then switched to Formula 2 before racing in GP3 last year.
"[Robert's] race craft and talent have matured even further since we last worked together and we're very excited to have him in our World Series team this year," said team boss Trevor Carlin, whose squad carried Mikhail Aleshin to the 2010 FR3.5 title.
Now 21, Wickens – who carried Marussia branding during his GP3 stint – said: "I am delighted to be back with the guys at Carlin. They are champions, and together the clear goal is to win this year's Formula Renault 3.5 title.
British Formula 3 champion Jean-Eric Vergne has already been confirmed for Carlin's other car.