Charles the Pic for Virgin

Marussia Virgin Racing have handed young Frenchman Charles Pic a race drive with the team for the 2012 season.

Frenchman secures full-time race seat for 2012 season

Marussia Virgin Racing have handed young Frenchman Charles Pic a race drive with the team for the 2012 season. The 21-year-old has replaced Jerome D'Ambrosio, who makes way after just one year as a race driver, and will partner Timo Glock next year. Pic got his first taste of F1 action during the recent young drivers' tests in Abu Dhabi and impressed Virgin team principal John Booth sufficiently to be given a full-time opportunity. He has spent the last two seasons driving in GP2, taking a total of three victories, and has also been a race winner in the World Series by Renault. "Charles stood out in the drivers' tests for his consistency. We did a race simulation test and he was absolutely fantastic," Booth said. "And also his feel in the car, his feedback and his communication on the radio was first class." Pic will be the first Frenchman to drive in F1 since 2009, when Sebastien Bourdais and Romain Grosjean were at Toro Rosso and Renault respectively. Pic said: "It is great to represent France. I am very happy for all the fans of French motor racing because for a few years there has been no French driver in Formula One. "So I am the first this year to be signed. Maybe there will be someone else, so I cross my fingers."