Euroformula Open championship leader Marino Sato will replace Arjun Maini in Campos Racing’s Formula 2 line-up for this weekend’s Spa-Francorchamps round, and the rest of the 2019 season.

The 20-year-old Japanese racer has won eight of the 12 races in EF Open this year, and could miss next weekend’s Silverstone round as it clashes with F2 at Monza. He has confirmed to Formula Scout though that he will see out the rest of the season.

Sato will partner Jack Aitken at Campos, which also ran Dorian Boccolacci before the Frenchman ran out of budget and was replaced by Maini. A clashing European Le Mans Series commitment meant Maini was already set to miss F2’s Spa round.

?I want to thank to everyone involved for making this happen and to Adrian [Campos, team founder] for the warm welcome,? Sato said.

?It?s going to be the biggest challenge in my life so far, but I?m really excited and looking forward to it?.

Sato took part in F2’s post-season test last year with Campos and Arden, before deciding to remain in Formula 3 with Motopark. The Taki Inoue protege had spent the previous two years with the team racing in FIA European F3, albeit with little success.

?We are excited to welcome Marino on board,? said Campos president Adrian Campos.

?Sato already carried out preseason testing with us and we think that he is a promising talent with a bright future. We will work hard together to achieve success in the remaining races of the season and set the stage for the future.?