Max Chilton will join forces with British race team Carlin in a joint development programme ahead of Carlin's 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series ambitions. Chilton will assist with Carlin’s 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires preparations to help take the team to success in its first season racing across the Atlantic, while also carrying out an IndyCar test programme in preparation for a possible 2016 campaign.

British racer Chilton is no stranger to top line racing and has completed two seasons in the Formula One World Championship for the former Marussia F1 Team. Chilton has a strong history with Carlin, having previously been a race winner with the team in both the GP2 Series and earlier in his career in British F3.

The 22 year old will carry out an important role helping the team get to grips with the new challenges of the Indy Lights Series, which races on the same circuits as the headline IndyCar programme. Working alongside already confirmed driver Ed Jones, Chilton will use his experience to provide detailed feedback to the Indy Lights team while also building the team's IndyCar foundations for the future. Chilton will take part in the three days of official testing next week at the Homestead circuit in Florida.

Speaking about the programme ahead, Chilton said "I'm very excited to be assisting Carlin in the USA. While I’m still considering my options for 2015, the IndyCar package presents an interesting challenge and by assisting with the development of the Indy Lights team I’m keeping my options open for an IndyCar programme in 2016 based on a strong foundation of knowledge and experience. Hopefully I can also help the guys at Carlin get as much as possible out of their first season in the USA."

Trevor Carlin added, "We are very excited to embark on a long term programme in America and to have Max involved in that from the very start will make us a strong package. This season is very much about finding our feet as a team in the USA and Max's experience will be invaluable to that. For Max we see 2015 very much as a chance to prepare him for a successful potential debut in IndyCar in 2016 and it made sense to help each other in those preparations."