Gonzalez joins Fisichella for GP2 Asia

The 22-year-old Venezuelan joins the team after an exploratory outing in the Euro F3000 series in Italy at the end of last season convinced him he was ready to step up from Formula 3.

"The good vibe I had when I drove the F3000 in Magione last year gave me the opportunity to evaluate my participation in GP2," he said.

"The Asian series is a good benchmark and will be useful to build up my brain and muscles before facing the main series and I want to seriously acquaint myself with this car before going any further."

Team principal Paolo Coloni said the squad, who recently announced Andreas Zuber as their lead driver for the main GP2 Series, could keep Gonzalez on board beyond the Asian championship.

"Gonzalez is a good asset for FMSI. With Zuber concentrating on the main series, it was great to know that we had Rodolfo coming to us to help us maintain our good racing level in the Asian series," said Coloni.

"I had the opportunity to evaluate him during his first outing in F3000 last year and made a deal with him there and then.

"We know this is a serious commitment from him and we know that he is counting on our experience to make progress with his career. For this we are currently planning on his future starting from this week in Bahrain and are working on a long-term strategy soon to be revealed."

Gonzalez is a former British F3 National class champion, but had a difficult season in the Euro Series with Carlin last year.

"The FMSI situation suited my plans and I am happy to take over the car and race in the remaining four races of the calendar," he added.