Piquet Jr makes shock return to F3

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Former F1 driver and defending Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr will make a shock return to F3 at Pau with a potential Macau outing to follow.

The former Renault driver won the inaugural Formula E championship last season and is again competing in the series this year alongside a drive in the World Endurance Championship.

Having raced for Carlin as a stand-in for Max Chilton in the Indy Lights race in Toronto last year - taking pole position - Piquet Jr has now been confirmed as dropping down to F3 with the team to race in Pau this weekend ahead of another planned appearance in Macau.

“I’m really excited to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 3 car, which holds so many great memories for me," Piquet Jr said. "I had a great time working with Carlin in the Indy Lights car in Toronto last year, and I’m happy to help the team again this weekend in Pau.

"Any experience gained on street circuits is beneficial for my Formula E campaign and I relish the challenge of adapting to another category this season.”

Carlin team owner Trevor Carlin likened Piquet Jr to Jim Clark in his desire to race in any category.

“Nelson is a real racer," Carlin said. "He’s unafraid of competition at any level and is reminiscent of the era of drivers like Jim Clark who would take part in races from various categories, just for the love of racing.

“Nelson really impressed the team last season when he jumped into an unfamiliar Indy Lights car and put the car on pole on a track he had never visited before. His championship winning credentials in Formula E perfectly reflect his talent on street circuits. We believe he will be a great asset to the team and our young drivers this weekend and we look forward to working with him in Pau and hopefully again in Macau later this year.”

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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.