Arden Motorsport has confirmed that David Morales will race in the GB3 Championship in 2022 as he makes a step up the UK single-seater racing ladder, having raced with the same team in British F4.

The 18-year-old American driver, who competed with Arden in the second half of the 2021 British F4 Championship season, is the 20th driver to confirm their place on this year’s GB3 grid.

Morales made big progress with the team in British F4 last year, culminating in two podium results. He claimed second place at Thruxton, less than a second away from a maiden win, and was third on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit during the season finale.

The Florida-based driver has already competed in the Formula Regional Asian Championship this year, and now extends his racing commitments to a full campaign in GB3.

Prior to his British F4 campaign last year, Morales had been a podium finisher in the NACAM F4 Championship in Mexico, and also competed in the Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series in the USA, scoring three podiums.

With 20 drivers already confirmed on this year’s GB3 grid, and several more to follow, the championship is set for its biggest opening round entry since 2016.

Arden Motorsport GB3 Team Manager Jack Woodhouse said: “Having David continue to work with us has been great news for everybody at Arden. We are really pleased that David chose to continue with the team; we have made considerable progress with him and will continue to extract the most from each other.

“We believe the pre-season testing will be a huge benefit for him, it is something that he missed out on last season due to his late introduction to the championship. His early progress in the winter tests have shown us his level of preparation and work ethic are moving forwards as well.”

David Morales said: “I’m really excited to compete in the GB3 Championship. It’s a fantastic car to drive and an excellently organised championship. It’s exciting to write the next chapter of my career with the Arden Team.”