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Charouz joins Carlin for Abu Dhabi

Max Chilton qualified an impressive seventh on Carlin's GP2 debut at Abu Dhabi earleir this year © GP2 Series

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Carlin has announced that Jan Charouz will drive alongside Max Chilton at the GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi.

Charouz competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series this year, finishing the season in 25th place with just 10 points to his name. He's also a member of the Renault driver academy programme, and said that even though he hadn't had the most successful season he was hoping that his GP2 debut would allow him to finish the year on a high.

"I'm really looking forward to the experience," Charouz said. "My season this year wasn't great so I'm hoping to make the most of this last race of the season and I think Carlin will give me the car to do that. I tested in Abu Dhabi in 2010, so I do have some experience of the circuit which I think will be helpful."

Chilton drove for Carlin during its first year in GP2, scoring four points and finishing 20th in the standings. Having qualified seventh at Yas Marina during the 2011 GP2 Asia Series for Carlin, he said he will be targeting a top three finish.

"I'm excited about the Abu Dhabi race, we raced here at the start of the year and were quick - now with the experience we've gained as a team in 2011 we should be even stronger. It's a great place; I love the high speed turns two and three but the whole track is wicked. It sometimes feels like you're driving a computer game! The track also has a really nice atmosphere. I hope that I can get on the podium for the team and bring a trophy back for them."

Team principal Trevor Carlin warned it could be a tough start to the weekend for Charouz, but agreed with Chilton's target, saying: "We're very pleased to have a driver of Jan's experience in the team. This will be his first GP2 race so it will be a steep learning curve, but we expect him to cope well. Of course we're very pleased to be going back to Abu Dhabi with Max, we had a good race there earlier this year and we expect to build on that performance. We're aiming for the podium".

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.