Wickens to make race debut

The 18-year-old impressed the team during his outings in the rookie practice at Brno last month, where he set the fastest time in the second part of the session.

"First off I have to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to race so early in the season," said Wickens, who made his first appearance for the team at a race weekend at Brno.

"I'm ecstatic to be making my race debut for A1 Team Canada but I'll head into the weekend like any other and hopefully with a pair of strong performances in the races."

The Canadian team have failed to score any points so far this season with James Hinchcliffe, who will be on hand to offer advice to his fellow Champ Car Atlantic racer in Malaysia.

Wickens added: "I think our package should be stronger in Malaysia thanks to the gap in the schedule.

"I'm sure everyone's been busy studying all the data from the first couple of races and I'm confident that we'll enjoy a competitive outing at Sepang."