Germany's Nico Hulkenberg will be Williams' official test driver next season, the Formula One team said.

The 20-year-old, a protege of Michael Schumacher's long-term manager Willi Weber, tested for the former champions in Spain last week. He also led Germany's A1 GP team to the title in that series in 2006/07.

"Clearly he has shown demonstrable talent in the junior formulae but it was important for us to see if he could make the step to Formula One," said technical director Sam Michael.

"On the evidence we have so far, Nico is a quick and capable driver."

The decision meant Indian Narain Karthikeyan, who tested sporadically for Williams this year, no longer figures in the Toyota-powered team's plans.

Reuters