Williams have announced that they have signed former Red Bull junior, Dan Ticktum to their driver academy for the 2020 season.

Ticktum has been without a regular race seat for the second half of the year, after losing his seat on the Super Formula grid when he was dropped from Red bull’s junior driver programme.

Despite being dropped by Red Bull, the 20-year-old possesses a strong junior category record, having won the Macau GP in both 2017 and 2018, as well as finishing second in the FIA F3 championship in 2018.

He also had his first taste of F1 machinery earlier in the year, taking part in the in-season tests at Bahrain and Spain for Red Bull.

Ticktum will take the vacant spot in Williams’ academy that was left by Nicholas Latifi, who will replace Robert Kubica in the team’s line-up for 2020, and his role as a development driver will mean that Ticktum will take part in numerous simulator sessions as well as attending two Grand Prix.

Speaking about the announcement, Ticktum said: “It is a privilege to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy, especially given Williams’ incredible heritage in our sport.

“The time in the simulator and experience working with the team will prove invaluable for my development.

“Being fully integrated into the operations will be a fantastic opportunity and I look forward to assisting wherever I can.”

Williams Deputy Team Principal, Claire Williams, also added that she was delighted another British talent was joining the Grove based squad, and that his performances in Macau earned him the opportunity to become a development driver for the team.

“I am delighted that Dan, another exciting young British talent, has joined the Williams Racing Driver Academy.” said Williams.

“His ability behind the wheel has been demonstrated with back-to-back successes at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2017 and 2018.

“Dan’s technical expertise will prove invaluable to the team and we are looking forward to helping him grow and develop in 2020.”