MARCH 2, 2005

Lauda signs for Coloni

Mathias Lauda, the son of triple World Champion Niki Lauda, has signed to be the second driver for the Coloni GP2 team, alongside Gianmaria Bruni. Lauda drove for Coloni's second team CMS last year but without any notable results. Lauda hopes to be a frontrunner in GP2 this year.

The announcement is bad news for former F1 man Giorgio Pantano who had been linked to the drive. Pantano cannot be an F1 test driver at races this year because he competed in too many races in 2004 and so his only real hope for the future in open-wheeler racing is a deal to race in America. At the moment there are several high profile and very talented open-wheeler drivers looking for such seats in the United States, including former Formula 3000 champion Bjorn Wirdheim.