Frijns to join Rossi in Caterham F1 team's test driver line-up

The deal marks another shot at F1 for Frijns after his Sauber junior role last year failed to develop into a grand prix chance.

"I am more than happy that Caterham and Renault have given me the chance to be in Formula 1 in 2014," said Frijns.

"Nowadays it's rare to find an F1 team that will put so much trust in a young driver like me, but during the negotiations I had a very strong feeling that the team really believes in me, which I couldn't appreciate more.

"This was one of the main reasons why Caterham has been my number one priority for quite a while and I am so thankful that it worked out."

Frijns contested a partial GP2 season last year after winning the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 crown.

Caterham team boss Cyril Abiteboul said Frijns would share reserve duties with Rossi as well as getting time in the F1 car.

"He will be our reserve at all races where Alexander is focused on GP2 and he will have a number of F1 runs throughout the year, immersing him in the F1 team and helping him develop his understanding of what it takes to operate at the top level," said Abiteboul.

"He also has raw pace and impressed our engineers enormously with the sessions he's completed in our simulator.

"Put simply, he has the talent to go right to the top of our sport."

Frijns will not be part of Caterham's GP2 programme as it has signed Rio Haryanto as Rossi's team-mate at its junior arm.