Hughes will join the Dutch squad for his first full season in the Formula 1 feeder series after contesting three rounds last year for HWA Racelab, which has since departed the championship and subsequently been replaced by VAR.
The team has been a regular winner in junior single-seaters for several years, prominently running Max Verstappen during his first season of car racing in 2014. It claimed both the German and Italian F4 titles with Oliver Bearman in 2021.
British 27-year-old Hughes, who won the inaugural BRDC F4 championship in 2013, will bring a wealth of experience to the team having raced in GP3, FIA European Formula 3, Asian F3 and FIA F3 since 2016.
He finished seventh in FIA F3 in 2019 and 2020, collecting two race wins in the latter season. His best result in F2 to date came last year courtesy of a fourth pace finish at Sochi, where he made a one-off F2 appearance for HWA in 2020.
“I’m really excited to be racing with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2022 for a full campaign in FIA Formula 2,” said Hughes, who drove the squad in the F2 post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s a very promising project to be a part of - the team and myself share a similar vision and a similar drive for success and I’m certain we’ll work very hard to achieve our goals.
“Van Amersfoort Racing are one of the most successful teams in single-seaters and have succeeded in all they have done to date.
“It’s an exciting prospect to work with such fantastic people and I’m very much looking forward to the challenge. I’d just like to say a huge thank you to the team for the opportunity to work with them.”
Van Amersfoort Racing’s CEO Rob Niessink added: “We are extremely happy with Jake joining us for the FIA F2 Championship.
“We are standing on the brink of a great adventure for which we very much welcome the experience and maturity that Jake brings along.
“During the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Jake showed to be a highly motivated and professional team player.
“Jake’s accurate input and feedback already made an impact during testing, which helped the team to progress already in a very short time. His drive and dedication match ours, giving us great confidence for the season ahead.”
F2 will revert to a two race weekend format for its 14 round season this year, beginning at Bahrain from 18-20 March.
