Jaafar signs with Carlin for British F3

The ex-Formula BMW Europe driver will race in Britain for the first time this year, and joins James Calado, Jean-Eric Vergne and Rupert Svendsen-Cook at the five-time championship-winning team.

The 17-year-old, who races with the backing of Malaysian national oil company Petronas, twice finished on the podium during his second season of Formula BMW Europe last year.

Jaafar said: "I'm delighted to be with Carlin this season. I've known [team boss] Trevor [Carlin] for quite a few years and to be now driving for him in British F3 is a dream come true.

"I would also like to thank Petronas for giving me this opportunity for to bring me to a higher level in my racing career.

"It will be important to learn as much as possible this season; there are new tracks as well as a new car for me to learn, but I'm confident that I can get up to speed quickly.

"British F3 is a very competitive championship, it has a very prestigious history and I can't wait for the season to get started."

Jaafar will be joining a team that took seven wins last season, courtesy of eventual champion Daniel Ricciardo and Max Chilton, and 19 podiums in total. Ricciardo became Carlin's fifth British F3 champion and the team is aiming for a third consecutive title in 2010.

Team boss Trevor Carlin added: "Jazeman is a great young talent and a driver we have been watching for some time. We're delighted that he and Petronas have chosen Carlin as the team with which to continue his career.

"We were very impressed with him in testing, both in terms of his performance on track and his attitude out of the car. It's going to be a steep learning curve for him; racing on tracks that are unfamiliar to him, but I'm sure he's going to provide some impressive results in his rookie season."