Dennis could contest first three European F3 rounds

Dennis previously raced in the series for Carlin in 2014, finishing ninth in that year's standings before moving on to rival squad Prema for 2015 and scoring six wins.

The 21-year-old switched to GP3 last year with Arden, and said he was ready to quit single-seaters at the end of the season, eventually securing a Blancpain GT Series deal with WRT Audi.

However, Dennis was called up by Carlin to take part in a F3 at the end of last year and, with the British team still yet to sign a fourth driver, he was also invited to take part in the two official F3 pre-season tests at the Hungaroring and the Red Bull Ring.

When asked about whether the testing role could translate into racing this year, Dennis said he has been asked to keep himself available for the first three rounds at Silverstone, Monza, and Pau.

However, the Briton ruled out racing in F3 full-time, as the Spa round takes place on the same weekend as the Blancpain Spa 24 Hours centrepiece.

"It's definitely in question," Dennis told Motorsport.com when asked if he would race in F3 this year. "[Team boss Trevor Carlin] just said to me, 'Are you free?' and I was like 'Yes'.

"And he goes, 'Ok, well keep [the first three dates] free because there is a possibility of doing it'.

"I won't be doing the whole championship, I can tell you that, because I think there is a clash in one of the rounds so I will be out of title contention anyway.

"I'd like to do the first three rounds just to enjoy driving a single-seater, it's such a good experience. I don't think there is a better single-seater car out there at the moment.

"To do the test was awesome, but then to go and do the races with a team I drove for in 2014 would be awesome. Hopefully I'll know in the next week or so, but it's definitely a possibility for sure."

"Benchmark" for rookie teammates

Dennis said his role during the tests was to allow his teammates to compare themselves with an experienced driver, as well as to help Carlin improve the car after a troubled 2016 season.

All three of Carlin's current full-time drivers, Lando Norris, Jehan Daruvala and Ferdinand Habsburg, are rookies in the 2017 field.

"I did testing with Carlin at the end of [2016] to just be a benchmark lap time for the rookie drivers," Dennis explained.

"As I was driving the car there were a few areas which needed to be improved, and I think they quite liked having an experienced driver pointing them in the right direction.

"I thought that was that really, then I signed my Blancpain deal like everyone knows, and I got the call [from Carlin] to come to the official tests.

"Again, because there is a new aero package on the car, they wanted just another driver, really.

"It went well, they seemed to have done a really good job. I think the team improved the car and I think they have a strong package for the start of the season."