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Sauber reserve Robin Frijns to test Trident GP2 car

Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns will drive for the Trident GP2 team in next week's test at Jerez

The Dutchman, who is yet to announce his plans for this year after securing the FR3.5 crown last season, will be joined at the team by Frenchman Nathanael Berthon.

The outing will be Frijns's first in GP2 machinery, while Berthon raced in GP2 with Racing Engineering in 2012, finishing in 12th place in the standings.

Frijns was announced as the Sauber Formula 1 team's reserve driver for the upcoming season.

GP2's Jerez test kicks off on Tuesday February 26.

AUTOSPORT says
News editor Glenn Freeman

Robin Frijns will be delighted and relieved to be getting back in a single seater next week.

While his phenomenal rise through the junior single seater ranks - winning titles in Formula BMW, Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 3.5 in successive years - got him recognised by Sauber at the end of 2012, it hasn't actually landed him any seat time yet.

Frijns had a DTM test with Mercedes towards the end of last year but he was always a long shot for one of the German firm's six cars this year. And there was little else on the horizon.

A chance to get out in a GP2 car is good news, but where does the story go from here? GP2 deals don't come cheaply, which is one of several reasons that Frijns was not chasing a move to the Formula 1 support series after winning the FR3.5 title last October.

Even if he can get a cheap deal, he will have to weigh up the pros of having something to race for 2013 against the potential cons if he lands a drive with a back of the grid team.

A season mired away from the sharp end could do a lot of damage to that impressive CV he has built up.

Trident finished 10th in the GP2 teams' standings last year. The Italian squad can win on its day, but it hasn't tasted victory champagne the summer of 2011. If a chance of a race deal is on the table, taking it would be a risk.

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