GP2 front-runner James Calado will make his Friday practice debut at this weekend's Italian GP after Force India finally announced him as their new third driver.
Who is James Calado?
James Calado's path to F1 started in 1999 when he started karting at Cadet level, winning the British title in 2001. The Worcestershire-born driver continued to progress through the karting ranks and won the KF2 European title in 2005 ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne.
With backing from the Racing Steps Foundation - which continues to support his career - Calado stepped up to single-seater racing in 2008 and joined Fortec in the Formula Renault UK Championship. He finished seventh in the standings with one win and two poles from his twenty outings. That November he contested the British and Portuguese Winter Series and dominated both championships to take the titles. The British driver remained in the domestic two-litre Renault championship in 2009 and finished second in the standings after taking eight victories.
2010 saw a new championship and a new team for Calado as he graduated to British F3 and moved to Carlin alongside former karting rival Vergne. The Englishman took five victories on his way to second in the Drivers' Championship, albeit 99 points behind his French team-mate, as Trevor Carlin's squad proved to once again be the dominant outfit.
Calado joined the F1 support bill in 2011 when he stepped up to GP3 with ART Grand Prix finishing second in the standings behind team-mate, and current Williams F1 driver, Valtteri Bottas. His sole victory came in the reverse grid race in Valencia.
The British driver replaced Jules Bianchi in ART's GP2 outfit in 2012 and impressed immediately with victory from pole in the reverse grid race on the opening weekend of the season. A poor strategy call robbed him of another win in Valencia - a result which would have seen him finish ahead of team-mate, and now Sauber F1 driver, Esteban Gutierrez in the final standings.
Calado headed into the 2013 GP2 season as the title favourite, but a disappointing start to the season yielded only one podium from nine races - something he attributed to chassis damage suffered in a crash in the Malaysian Sprint Race which had gone undetected. However, a podium at Silverstone followed by two more in Germany a week later reignited his campaign. After another strong outing in Belgium, he currently sits fifth in the Drivers' Championship, 24 points behind leader Stefano Coletti.
