Malja moves to Racing Engineering for GP2 2017

Malja, 21, ran a part-time schedule in GP2 two years ago before joining Rapax for a full-on rookie campaign in 2016, scoring podiums at Spa and Monza on his way to 13th overall.

Prior to his GP2 stint, he'd been a frontrunner in Germany's entry-level ADAC Formel Masters series and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, and took two podiums in a standalone Formula Renault 3.5 campaign in 2015.

"I am very pleased to announce that Gustav Malja has joined Racing Engineering," team president Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon said.

"Already with ample experience in GP2, he is ready to start achieving wins in this extremely competitive category."

In Racing Engineering, Malja joins the GP2 2016 runners-up, the Spanish squad having finished second to the dominant Prema outfit with a line-up of Norman Nato and Jordan King.

Malja tested with Racing Engineering during the whole of the post-season Abu Dhabi test - and was partnered on all three days by Renault junior Louis Deletraz.

Malja said: "I’m excited to join Racing Engineering for the 2017 GP2 season, we began getting to know each other in Abu Dhabi last week, and I immediately felt very much at home.

"It’s a team with a long and successful history in GP2, and I’m convinced it’s the ideal place for my continued development as a driver."