One-time Sauber F1 tester in Porsche switch

The 22-year-old Swede will link up with Project 1 to contest a dual campaign in the F1-supporting Porsche Supercup series and the German Porsche Carrera Cup championship.

"We've spent this winter really looking carefully at all the options for my future, and we've done that very thoroughly," Malja said.

"We felt I needed to reset my career and the Porsche one-make series offer the perfect place for me to do so.

"I'm thrilled that we got such an extensive and strong programme together."

A race winner in two-litre Formula Renault and Germany's entry-level ADAC Formel Masters series, Malja has competed in GP2/F2 full-time for the past two seasons.

He scored three podiums across his two campaigns, finishing both in 13th place in the standings.

In 2017, he was called up by Sauber for his F1 test debut, driving the Swiss team's C36 during in-season testing at the Hungaroring.

Malja continued: "It's going to be an entire new way of driving for me, with a lot more weight and less downforce than I'm used to, and I'll be up against some very fast Porsche specialists.

"I do expect to need a few races to settle in, and then to gradually improve my performance as the year goes on.

"Thankfully I've got the knowledge of a highly experienced team to lean on - I really enjoy working with them already and I know they're on top of their game, so I couldn't be in a better place."

In the recent years, the Project 1 outfit took the likes of Nick Tandy, Rene Rast and Philipp Eng to titles in Porsche Carrera one-making racing.

The team, which will also compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship's GTE Am class in the 2018/19 superseason, fielded Malja's fellow GP2 graduate Nick Yelloly in the German Carrera Cup series in the past two years, taking him to runner-up in 2017.