Arthur Leclerc ‘extremely happy’ to return to PREMA

21-year-old Arthur Leclerc has committed to another year with Formula 3 Team PREMA Racing after a successful rookie season.

Leclerc, who is in theFerrariDriver Academy programme, won two races in Formula 3 last year, taking his maiden victory in Le Castellet, France and then his second in Zandvoort, Netherlands.

The young driver aims to be a title contender for the championship this year, after a promising 10th place finish in the series last year.

Ferrari just announced their Driver Academy line-up for 2022:

Mick = Haas F1
Shwartzman = test driver Ferrari
Ilott = "gap year" (Indy)
Arthur Leclerc / Oliver Bearman – PREMA F3
Beganovic = FREC
Maya Weug/James Wharton/Rafael Camara = F4
Laura Camps Torras = Kartingpic.twitter.com/5OPvozBZZI

— tami. (@Vetteleclerc)January 11, 2022

Leclerc said: “I am extremely happy to continue the work we started with PREMA Racing in the 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship.

“I think we did a good job last year, and 2022 will be a good opportunity to put together everything we have learned so far. I cannot wait for the season to start.”

Leclerc, brother to F1 Ferrari driverCharles Leclerc, joined PREMA in 2020 and had a strong season competing in the Formula Regional European Championship.

Team Principal of PREMA Racing, Rene Rosin, added: “It is great to continue our collaboration with Arthur. I am sure that he will carry on the progress we saw in 2021 when he showed he had the potential to be a frontrunner.

“Last year’s experience with the challenging three-race weekends will definitely help him navigate the events with a great focus, which will surely benefit the whole team.”

One of Leclerc’s team-mates will be British rookie Oliver Bearman, with the third driver in the team yet to be announced.

The FIA Formula 3 season is set to commence in Bahrain on March 18 2022.