Comtec to make Formula Renault 3.5 return at Red Bull Ring

The Norfolk team, which took Alx Danielsson to the 2006 drivers' title, has sat out the opening four rounds of this year's championship with full budgets.

Swiss driver Deletraz leads both the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and FR2.0 NEC standings, and took two poles and a win for Josef Kaufmann Racing during the circuit's NEC round last month.

"I'm really excited by this new challenge with Comtec Racing," he said.

"My main target is to learn for the future. I know it's really difficult to join a championship at mid-season, as I'm total newcomer compared to the experienced drivers, but I will give it my all."

The deal is currently a one-off, and Comtec team manger Phil Blow cautioned against placing too much pressure on Deletraz, whose FR3.5 experience is restricted to a day of winter testing at Alcaniz with Zeta Corse.

"At the moment it's just for Spielberg, as obviously he's leading the Eurocup championship, but let's see," he told AUTOSPORT.

"Louis is really being thrown in at the deep end because he has very little FR3.5 experience.

"He just did the rookie invitation in the morning [for Zeta] and carried that into an afternoon session."

Although the Red Bull Ring will be Comtec's first event of the season, Blow stressed that the team has been occupied with other activities.

"It's not that we have stopped working," he said.

"We did other work and consultancy work for other people, and that ramped up very quickly when we shelved World Series at the start of the year.

"I had rented some of the boys out to other teams, but they are coming back.

"We will have all the same Comtec staff. We have actually been really busy, but hopefully this will turn into something."