Canadian Jacques Villeneuve will race for BMW Sauber next year, the Formula One team confirmed on Thursday.
"It's now official. Jacques Villeneuve will line up alongside Nick Heidfeld for the BMW Sauber F1 team in 2006," a statement said.
The former champion's place at the team had been the subject of much speculation in recent months after BMW bought Swiss-based Sauber.
Villeneuve has a year remaining on his contract with Sauber but media speculation had linked several other drivers, including McLaren's Austrian tester Alexander Wurz, to the coveted drive.