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American teenager Ferrucci to remain as Haas development driver

Mark Sutton/Sutton Images

GP3 driver Santino Ferrucci will continue as a Haas development driver for another year.

The 18-year-old American joined Haas last year and made his F1 debut at the in-season test at Silverstone last July. Alongside his second season in GP3 with French team DAMS, Ferrucci will continue to attend races and tests and take part in the team's simulator programme this year.

"We're very happy to have Santino back with us and look forward to his continuing development in GP3," said Guenther Steiner, team principal, Haas F1 Team. "We liked what we saw of him last year in our test at Silverstone and his maturity inside and outside of the car is impressive. Santino is a young, American driver with plenty of potential who is learning a lot with DAMS and us."

Ferrucci added: "I said it last year when I became a part of Haas F1 Team -- my goal since I first started racing is to become a Formula One driver, and to be an American who is part of an American team is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in.

"I learned a lot last year in GP3 with DAMS and with Haas F1 Team. The combination of the two allowed me to learn more and at a faster rate. I feel so much more prepared this year. I'm really looking forward to getting started."

The announcement did not state if or when Ferrucci would test this year's car.