Gran Turismo champion Igor Fraga will race in FIA Formula 3 in 2020, and goes into the Toyota Racing Series finale in the thick of a title fight.
Fraga will join Charouz Racing System for F3, alongside David Schumacher and Niko Kari.
He is currently competing in a tight TRS championship battle against defending series champion and Red Bull junior Liam Lawson.
Brazilian Fraga propelled himself into the points lead with a pair of wins in the third of the five rounds.
However, a difficult penultimate round at Pukekohe has left Fraga eight points behind Lawson heading into the decider at Manfeild next weekend.
Lawson dominated the final race of the Pukekohe weekend while Fraga was spun around by Formula Renault Eurocup-bound Gregoire Saucy on the opening lap and could only recover to eighth.
The winner of the series will receive 10 points towards their Formula 1 superlicence.
Lawson will line up with Hitech Grand Prix for his second year in FIA F3 while Fraga will make his debut with Czech outfit Charouz, which struggled to eighth in the championship last year under the ‘Sauber Junior Team’ banner.
Fraga tested for Charouz, as well as Carlin in the post-season Abu Dhabi test.
“I’m really looking forward to joining the Formula 3 field with Charouz,” said Fraga.
“It is a competitive series and a very professional environment – running at the same events as F1 is kind of crazy to think about.
“I just can’t wait to start my season. This year is about the process of learning. Of course, the goal is always to win a race, but I am not underestimating the challenge ahead either.”
Fraga spent his 2019 season racing in the brand-new Formula Regional European Championship. He finished third in the standings as the highest-placed driver outside of Prema.
He dovetailed his European single-seater debut with his sim racing exploits. He began the year winning McLaren Shadow and then attempted to defend his GT crown.
An unfortunate incident at the finale in Monaco ended his chances of retaining his individual crown, but he was a part of the Manufacturer Series championship-winning trio.
He will be joined at Charouz by Ralf Schumacher’s son, David, who finished directly behind Fraga in FREC last year. Series veteran Kari completes the line-up.
The first pre-season test will begin on March 1 in Bahrain.
