Manuel, who is managed by Veloce Sports, was at the centre of attention during the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix when he was carried by his race-winning cousin Pastor when fire started in the Williams garage.

The youngster has spent the last three seasons competing in British and international karting championships, with his most major outing coming in the 2015 Rotax Max Winter Cup - where he finished 25th in the senior class.

He will team up with Italian squad Cram Motorsport, the very same team Pastor had started his career with back in 2003.

Cram Motorsport was a one-car entry in the championship's inaugural season in 2014, but skipped the following year to focus on its efforts in Formula Renault 2.0.

For 2016, the Erba-based team has also confirmed that F4 Sudamericana runner-up Rodrigo Pflucker will race for it in FR2.0.