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Ferrucci stays on as Haas development driver

The Haas F1 Team has confirmed that Santino Ferrucci will remain with the squad for another season as development driver.

The 19-year-old American has been with Haas since 2016. However, he is yet to take part in a Grand Prix race weekend. Ferrucci has been in competition with the team's simulator driver Arjun Maini to retain the role.

"We’re pleased to have Santino back with Haas F1 Team,” said team principal Guenther Steiner.

"Santino is a young, American driver with plenty of potential. We’re very supportive of his desire to make it to Formula 1."

“My goal since I began racing is to become a Formula 1 driver," confirmed Ferrucci. "To be an American who is part of an American team is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in."

Like most modern drivers, Ferrucci began his career in karting. He was touring the US by the age of 5, and was a multi-time champion by 11.

Haas junior Ferrucci: 'Cars are a bit scary at times!'

He graduated to open-wheel racing in 2013, initially competing in Formula 2000 and the Skip Barber Racing Series.

The following season he switched to British Formula 3 and won two races at Brands Hatch. He was the youngest winner in the series at the age of 16 years, two months and 30 days.

After stints in the Toyota Racing Series New Zealand and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, he made his GP3 début in 2016.

The same year he took part in a two-day F1 test with Haas at Silverstone. He was the first American driver at the wheel of an American Formula 1 car since 1977.

Ferrucci made six further starts in GP3 in 2017 before being promoted to F1 feeder series Formula 2 for the remainder of the season. This year, he will combine his duties for Haas with a full-time F2 campaign for Trident.

“My time with Haas F1 Team has really prepared me for my first full F2 season with Trident," Ferrucci said.

"Between the two teams I feel like I’m in the best position to succeed and, ultimately, get to Formula 1."

"We look forward to his continuing development in F2,” commented Steiner.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.