Jolyon Palmer named as Lotus reserve driver for 2015

Palmer will be hoping to join compatriots Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button as a regular race driver

Britain's Jolyon Palmer has joined the Lotus Formula 1 team as reserve driver for the 2015 season.

The 24-year-old GP2 series champion drove for Force India on the first day of the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

The son of former F1 driver Jonathan became the first Briton to win GP2 since Lewis Hamilton in 2006.

"My goal has been to become a race driver in a competitive F1 team for 2016 and Lotus is a great opportunity for me," he said.

"To be able to learn with a major team by working closely with them in every area and getting a lot of mileage in the car is the best way possible, as Valtteri Bottas proved.

"I'm delighted to be joining Lotus at such an exciting time and my objective is to earn a long-term future with them."

The team say Palmer will drive in a significant number of first free practice sessions and will attend all races and tests throughout the season.

Meanwhile, Force India will not run its 2015 Formula One car until the second pre-season test in Barcelona.