Isaakyan named as injured Correa’s replacement at Sauber F2 team

The Sauber Junior Team by Charouz has announced that Matevos Isaakyan will replace injured Formula 2 driver Juan Manuel Correa in its line-up for the rest of the 2019 season.

Correa remains in a medically induced coma in intensive care in the United Kingdom as he recovers from the severe injuries he sustained in a serious accident that tragically claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert on August 30 at Spa-Francorchamps.

21-year-old SMP Racing-backed Isaakyan enjoyed success in his single-seater career, finishing third and runner-up in the Formula Renault and Formula V8 3.5 championship’s in 2014 and 2017 respectively, before switching to sportscars. He also has experience driving in GP3 between 2015 and 2016.

The Russian most recently contested four races in the 2018-2019 World Endurance Championship superseason with SMP Racing prior to being replaced by fellow countryman Sergey Sirotkin.

Isaakyan will partner Callum Ilott in the team for the remaining two rounds in Russia and Abu Dhabi.

"I'm excited to drive in the F2 championship, especially in my home Grand Prix," Isaakyan said. "This is quite an unexpected development in my season but I'm very thankful for this opportunity and happy to join the team.

“It won't be an easy job as I'll be jumping straight in the car for Sochi practice. The biggest thing will be understanding the tyres – that will be the main focus for me as it was when I did GP3. But I don't think it will be an impossible task to try and get into the top-ten and score some points."

Charouz Racing System team owner, Antonin Charouz, added: "We're pleased to welcome Matevos to the team for his home F2 race in Russia and also the final round in Abu Dhabi.

"He has a proven pedigree in single-seater racing and we're excited to see him join the F2 grid. It's always a difficult situation when one driver stands in for another but we're ready to do our best and to finish the season positively."