Aurélien Panis has completed Arden Motorsport’s line-up for the 2016 Formula V8 3.5 championship after moving across from Tech 1 Racing.
The twenty-one-year-old, the son of 1996 Monaco Grand Prix race winner Olivier Panis, joins Russian Egor Orudzhev in the Arden team, with the Frenchman looking to build on his 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season where he finished twelfth in the championship with a best finish of fifth in Le Mans.
“To have been selected by Arden Motorsport for this new season in Formula V8 3.5 makes me very happy,” revealed Panis. “After a learning season in FR3.5, I am proud and impatient to work with a team which has demonstrated their strengths and successes in the past few years.
“Also, a team mate with a lot of experience such as Orudzhev adds spice to the challenges ahead. This season, the goal will be to always to fight at the top, to be consistent throughout the season and fight for the wins and for the Championship.
“I cannot wait for the first Barcelona test with the team in March, before that we will continue to prepare for it.”
Julian Rouse, the General Manager of Arden International, admitted his thrill about working with Panis in 2016, and feels that he and Orudzhev will be an exciting line-up this season.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for us to work with Aurélien in 2016,” said Rouse. “We have been following his career closely since we were associated with Caterham and so was he.
“He has progressed a lot over the last couple of years and is developing into a very talented young driver. He impressed us a lot with his qualifying performances in particular in his second full year in FR2.0.
“Now with a strong rookie season in the V8 car under his belt the objective will be to replicate those strong performances he has in his second full season in FR2.0 and challenge for race wins in Fv8 3.5.
“I am sure that with the successful experience we have in the category as a team and with a good team mate in Orudzhev, Aurélien will be able to continue his development with us. He might be able to teach us a thing or two about ice racing as well!!”
