Will Palmer, the 2015 BRDC F4 Champion and McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner, will graduate to Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with renowned single-seater outfit ART Junior Team. The 18-year-old will also compete in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup series with the French squad in 2016.
The BRDC Rising Star enjoyed a stunning 2015 season, dominating the BRDC Formula 4 Championship with 12 wins from 24 races. He also made his first foray into Formula Renault 2.0 with an eye-catching performance in the Eurocup series at Silverstone with ART last September, finishing the final race of the weekend as top rookie. Formula Renault 2.0 is one of the most competitive single-seater series in Europe with grids regularly averaging over 30 cars, and graduates include current F1 drivers Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa and McLaren Third Driver Stoffel Vandoorne.
The Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season features seven events at a number of Europe’s most well-known circuits including four contemporary Grand Prix tracks: Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, the Red Bull Ring and a showpiece race around the streets of Monaco supporting the F1 Grand Prix in May. The Northern European Championship additionally visits the Hungaroring, Nurburgring and Hockenheim in a seven-event calendar and includes a home UK round for Will, at Silverstone on 14/15 May. Will becomes ART’s second signed driver for the 2016 season, joining Belgian racer Max Defourny at the French team, who will also contest both the Eurocup and Northern European Cup series.
With a strong pedigree in European junior single-seater racing, ART Junior Team is one of the most respected outfits in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series. Based in Fontenay-le-Comte, France, the outfit has enjoyed considerable success in the championship, including race wins and a third-place overall finish with current GP3 Series Champion Esteban Ocon in 2013.
Will said: “I’m really looking forward to racing in Europe next year for the first time, especially in a series as competitive as Formula Renault Eurocup, which has produced many great drivers in the past. By combining a programme in Eurocup with one in NEC, I will have the opportunity to learn a huge number of high-profile circuits in Europe including Monaco, which will be an incredible track to race at.
"It’s also great to be joining the ART Junior Team, who I have experience of working with having raced with them at Silverstone last year. They have a long and successful history in the series, and I am confident that together we will be able to hit the ground running when the season gets underway in April.”
Thibaut de Mérindol, Principal of ART Junior Team, added: “We are delighted to enter Will as one of our drivers in both Eurocup and NEC Formula Renault 2.0. Already convinced by Will’s domination of the BRDC F4 2015 campaign, we were also impressed by the efficiency of his race craft and by the development of his speed during his very first FR2.0 race meeting when he joined our team in Silverstone. We are looking forward to continuing our work with Will into this year and have very high expectations for both championships.” .
