Honda-backed Makino joins Hitech for Euro F3 campaign

Makino, 19, has enjoyed a rapid rise up the single-seater ladder in his home country, finishing as runner-up up in Japanese F4 in 2015 and taking fifth in last year's All-Japan F3 standings.

He was tipped for a switch to European F3 late last year, and was a strong contender for a Prema seat after testing with the dominant Italian outfit.

However, after Makino also tested for Carlin, Honda ultimately reached an agreement to place its protege at Hitech for the 2017 season.

Makino therefore joins Ralf Aron, Nikita Mazepin and GP3 convert Jake Hughes at the British team, which originally stated it had completed its line-up when it announced Hughes' arrival at the team last month.

Prema, meanwhile, is expected to confirm 2016 European F3 runner-up Maximilian Gunther as its fourth driver alongside Callum Ilott, Guan Yu Zhou and Mick Schumacher for 2017.

2017 European F3 line-up so far:

Team	Driver
Prema	Callum Ilott  Guan Yu Zhou  Mick Schumacher  Maximilian Gunther
HitechGP	Ralf Aron  Nikita Mazepin  Jake Hughes  Tadasuke Makino
Carlin	Lando Norris  Jehan Daruvala  Ferdinand Habsburg
Van Amersfoort Racing	David Beckmann
Motopark	Joel Eriksson  Keyvan Andres Soori