The two opening races of the 2016 FIA F.3 European Championship provided great satisfactions to the Prema Powerteam stable. After capturing three pole positions in qualifying, the Italian squad led by Angelo and René Rosin posted a stunning 1-2 finish with Lance Stroll and Nick Cassidy, while Maximilian Gunther ended up fifth and rookie Ralf Aron took seventh place.

The second race delivered some unexpected surprise right away, with pole-sitter Gunther and team-mate Stroll eliminated at the first corner due to a multiple contact started by a rival driver. Cassidy then held the lead until the 15th lap when, in turn 6, he was caught out by the first drops of rain in a sudden shower. Due to a small mistake, he lost ground and ended up 2nd, while Aron was forced to retire with a mechanical problem. Cassidy is now leading the championship with 36 points, followed by Stroll with 25.

# 1 - Lance Stroll

“This was a good start into the season, both for myself and for the team. However, we worked hard over the winter to achieve this. My start in race 1 didn’t go according to plans, which certainly was also due to the fact that the track wasn’t entirely dry yet. That was too bad, because I always had very good starts during testing. Fortunately, only Nick got past me and when he made a mistake at the end of the first lap, I was able to overtake him again.”

# 2 - Nick Cassidy

“For me, the first few metres in race 1 were very good, although my starts over the winter had been terrible and I wasn’t too confident either. Unfortunately, I made a mistake when shifting at the end of the opening lap and hence I lost the lead again. After that, overtaking proved to be difficult, even though my car was really good. This weekend, conditions are changing all the time, but the team always had the right answer. In race 2 I was surprised by myself and by the speed I had, because I was using my oldest set of tyres. In the opening stages, defending first place proved quite a challenge, but things got better as the race went on. Later on, I made a mistake in turn six when the track got more slippery due to the rain. That was really annoying, because I was in control. At least, I was able to salvage second place on the final lap after the restart.”

# 16 - Ralf Aron

“Race 1 was good. The car felt great and I had a positive start, finishing 7th. In Race 2 I got off the line really well, but I spun in T1 and lost a lot of places. And on top of all that, one of my rims broke just before the end, making me crash”.

# 17 - Maximilian Günther

“In the first race I had a very good start, I gained many positions and was in P5 after the first corners. From that point on, overtaking was very difficult, but I tried to put pressure on the driver in front of me. Fifth place was the maximum for that starting position, but I was happy with the points. In race two my revs went down too much at the start and I lost some positions. In the first corner one driver took many cars, included me, out of the race. I feel very sorry for the team to not score any points.”

Canadians In BOLD