GP2 race-winner Giedo van der Garde has been confirmed as Caterham's reserve driver for the forthcoming 2012 season. The Dutchman will take part in pre-season testing as well as a number of Friday practice sessions throughout the year as part of his role.

“We are delighted to welcome Giedo into the family as Reserve Driver,” said team principal Tony Fernandes. “He is a very exciting prospect that we have been monitoring since the early days of our team, and we are all looking forward to seeing how he can help us develop throughout the season as we take our next steps towards the established midfield teams ahead.”

“I'm very happy to become a part of the Caterham F1 Team family today and I'm very excited about the next step in my career within Formula 1,” added van der Garde. “The team is fresh, with some fantastic people here. Tony Fernandes is extremely ambitious and he has brought in a lot of very good people in to help grow this team for future success.

Van der Garde brings much-welcome finance to Caterham through his personal sponsor McGregor.