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Richelmi secures Trident drive

Stephane Richelmi drove for Trident at the final round of last year's championship © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Stephane Richelmi

• Teams:
• Trident Racing

The Trident GP2 team has announced it will keep Stephane Richelmi in its driver line-up for 2012 after he took part in the final round at Monza this year.

Richelmi replaced Stefano Coletti at the Italian Grand Prix after his fellow Monegasque injured his back in an accident at the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps. Richelmi finished 15th in the feature race and 14th in the sprint race before driving for Ocean, Rapax and Trident at post-season tests. He returned to action with Trident at the GP2 Finals in Abu Dhabi where he finished 19th and 18th in the feature and sprint races.

"After the good showing I had in my first GP2 Series weekend at Monza I decided to drive with other teams in testing to have a good term of comparison," Richelmi said. "In the end I decided to stick with Trident Racing because it was the best choice for me. The team trusted me, I know the whole staff really well and I have a good relationship with them.

"I'm really proud to have this opportunity and I can't wait to start the new season. There will be a lot of rookies in 2012 and and my goal for next year is to stay in the top-5. There are a lot of aspects that are key in GP2 racing, like qualifying for example. My goal is to be good results in these crucial aspects faster than possible."

Richelmi also drove a full season in Formula Renault 3.5 this year, finishing 26th overall with six points. In 2010 he finished second in the Italian Formula 3 championship and was rewarded with a test in a 2008-spec Ferrari Formula One car at Vallelunga.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.