2016 British Formula 3 graduate Thomas Maxwell has signed with 2016 runner-up Tech 1 Racing to compete in the 2017 Formula Renault Eurocup Championship. The series will see the Australian head to 9 different countries to compete in the 10 round championship which includes a feature race at one of the biggest events of the year, the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix. After completing an intense 12 day winter testing program with the team Maxwell feels more prepared than ever to launch himself onto the European circuits.

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Thomas Maxwell: “It’s going to be incredible to race for such an experienced and strong team as Tech 1 Racing, I’m very excited to be a part of it and I can’t wait to kick off my season. The Eurocup Formula Renault is a real launch pad. It’s an excellent package in terms of its exposure, the circuits and its high prestige. It was a no-brainer for the next stage of my career. The team is a really close knit and we already get on very well. As it all happened very quickly it’s an important factor and I feel at ease in the squad. We've had an excellent winter testing program and I 'matched' with my engineer straight away. In spite of the different nationalities and languages we understood each other immediately, and we work well together to get the maximum out of the car.”

Thomas is the first Australian to drive for Tech 1 Racing since Daniel Ricciardo, and this is a source of inspiration for him in the Toulouse-based outfit.

“It’s pretty cool to think Daniel Ricciardo drove for Tech 1 Racing and won races with them. I hope that we can do the same, but just getting into the top 6 would be great. If we make good progress during the year we could achieve some excellent results by the close of the championship. There are always certain areas to work on and improve but I’ll be fighting hard  to reach the top! While the performances in the BRDC F3 and Formula Renault cars are similar, the driving style is vastly different. Nonetheless, I’m confident in my ability to rise to the challenges I’ll meet on tracks I’m racing on for the first time. It’s really awesome to compete on such circuits. We’ll obviously have some ground to make up on the layouts that are new to me, but hopefully we can progress quickly so that I can prove my worth!”

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Andy Priaulx:"Thomas is an exceptional talent with very good work ethic, No doubt that all his hard work will pay off. The plan was to progress from British F3 into European racing for 2017 and we believed that the Eurocup Formula Renault championship was a good move due to the high level of competition, circuits and learning outcomes. I'm really happy that we worked out a deal with Tech 1 Racing, they're definitely a top team and I'm confident that we will have a great 2017 season!"

Simon Abadie (Tech 1 team manager): “It’s a real pleasure to welcome Thomas Maxwell to the team,Thomas is quick and he’s got experience. We already saw what a hard-working and conscientious guy he is during winter testing, and we know that he’ll be a regular top-six finisher at the start of the year. It’s up to us to pursue our efforts to do much better between now and the mid-season mark, maybe even a little earlier!”