Max Chilton has been promoted from Marussia's Young Driver Programme to their official Reserve Driver, starting at Suzuka.
The 21-year-old Brit has had a successful third season in GP2 with Marussia Carlin, taking two pole positions and a victory.
As a result of his success Chilton has secured the promotion, which will see him attended all the remaining 2012 grands prix with Marussia where he will take part in the engineering commitments and preparing to stand in for either race driver should he be needed.
"As part of our commitment to supporting the next generation of racing talent, we naturally keep a close eye on the feeder formulae, particularly those which race alongside us on the F1 calendar," said team boss John Booth.
"We reinforced our support for GP2 as the key stepping stone this season by joining forces with Carlin to form the Marussia Carlin GP2 entry.
"Max Chilton's impressive performances for the team this season have gone far from unnoticed and he seems to mature with each new round.
"We were all delighted to see him convert that into, first, his maiden pole position and then his inaugural victory in Hungary last month.
"Max has already driven the car at our Young Driver Test, so this is an opportunity for him to build on his experience of working with the engineers as well as the other demands placed on our drivers, including marketing activity. We look forward to having him on board as part of the Marussia F1 Team."
As for Chilton, he is "delighted to be given this fantastic opportunity to be part of the Marussia F1 Team for the remainder of the 2012 season.
"My experience with the team at Silverstone for the Young Driver Test was a great taste of how F1 operates, and I'm so excited to be able to extend that into a proper working relationship as Reserve Driver at the remaining F1 events this year.
"I feel like my racing has really matured this season and to now be able to combine that with real insight into the engineering activities of an F1 team, and the level of preparation required of an F1 driver, really moves my career onto the next level. I'd like to thank the team once again for this opportunity."
