Maria de Villota joins Marussia

Maria de Villota has joined Marussia as a test driver for the forthcoming season.

Spaniard De Villota looks set to be given her chance behind the wheel of the team's car later this year at the young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

De Villota, who was given a test drive by Renault in August last year when she clocked up just under 200 miles, has previously raced in Spanish F3, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Euroseries 3000 and Superleague Formula Championship.

Team principal John Booth said: "We are pleased to welcome Maria to our test driver programme, which will enable her to be integrated into a Formula One team environment and gain a vast amount of experience that will be useful to her career progression.

"We will also provide Maria with the opportunity to sample F1 machinery later in the year, further adding to her racing credentials."

De Villota, daughter of former F1 driver Emilio, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to work closely with a Formula One team and gain important experience to help me progress my career, including the chance to drive the new car later in the year at the Abu Dhabi test.

"I will be joining the team trackside so I'm looking forward to working alongside them at the first race next weekend and this can only help my future ambition to step up to Formula One racing."

PA