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Bird to race in World Series by Renault

Racing in World Series by Renault allows Sam Bird to be available for Mercedes at every grand prix © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Sam Bird

• Teams:
• Mercedes

Sam Bird will drive for I.S.R. in World Series by Renault this year, alongside his reserve duties for Mercedes.

Having been a race winner in GP2 in 2010, Bird finished sixth in the championship last year as he carried out increasing work for Mercedes. He will now join I.S.R. - who Daniel Ricciardo raced for in 2011 before graduating to Formula One with Toro Rosso - and said that he hoped the move would help him step up to F1 in the near future.

"I am extremely pleased about this opportunity to drive for I.S.R. in World Series by Renault," Bird said. "World Series is a great Championship in which numerous Formula One drivers have shone in the past, and this year's field seems to be particularly competitive. I.S.R. have a proven track record and I am really looking forward to joining forces with them."

I.S.R. finished third in the team championship in 2011, and second the year before. Team principal Igor Salaquarda said that the aim with Bird would be to win the championship for the first time.

"I am very happy to have Sam in my team," he said. "He has experience of both Formula One and GP2 and I feel confident that his talent will help us on the way to more success. We will do our maximum to prepare the best cars for both our drivers and dearly hope to win our first World Series by Renault Championship title with them."

Force India reserve driver Jules Bianchi is already confirmed in the series as racing for Tech 1 Racing.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.