By: Prema Powerteam
July 31 2016
The Prema team experienced a positive race 3 today at Spa Francorchamps, in the final day of FIA Formula 3 action at the Belgian venue. Having found a solution for the lack of performance in dry running conditions that prevented them from impressing as usual, the Prema Drivers were among the stars of the day.
Lance Stroll started the race from ninth place and delivered an awesome comeback all the way up to third place. After an hard-fought battle with Russell, Stroll then crossed the line fourth, in an effort to try and preserve his advantage at the top of the championship table.
Nick Cassidy, who was starting from 10th place, rebounded back to P5 in an impressive showing, while Maximilian Gunther ended up sixth. Ralf Aron was locked in a fierce midpack battle, and brought home a 13th place. Exiting the Belgian weekend of the series, Stroll is leading the driver championship with 296 points, followed by Gunther (235) and Cassidy (194).
# 1 - Lance Stroll
“We had a good start, in the first lap we went up to 4th. I moved up one more spot to 3rd and I was very confident. Then I began to lose some rear grip and I really struggled to keep the pace with the guys in front. I still tried to defend but Russell was like a rocketship. He made a couple of mistakes so I went in. Then he got alongside me and I didn’t have a chance compared to him, he had a lot more grip and maybe he took more risks than me. I lost the position but starting from P9 today’s one is a big result. It hasn’t been the easiest week-end in dry conditions, we struggled a lot as a team, we took some good points during the races, unfortunately I was punted out immediately in race 2. But the balance is a win and a fourth place, so I’m happy with that points”.
# 2 - Nick Cassidy
Overall we got the maximum we could. We moved from 10th to 5th and I’m happy with that improvement. Our pace wasn’t where we want it to be, but it has been a massive improvement from yesterday so I want to give an huge thank you to the team”.
# 16 - Ralf Aron
“The start was a big mess to be honest, I had already gained a lot of positions but I went wide in turn 1 and lost it all. I just tried to stay out of trouble and gain some positions as I was still lacking some pace. I wasn’t were I’d like to be but now we have the chance to analyse the data and discover what happened. Generally not a great week-end, not many points, hopefully we’ll come back stronger”.
# 17 - Maximilian Gunther
“I had a good start and gained one position in turn 1. I made another good move at Eau Rouge and on the Kemmel straight I passed somebody on the outside, then two guys touched and crashed in the chicane. To avoid the contact I went straight and I think I damaged my floor on a sausage kerb. I lost some positions again so I was P5. Then I had some fights, went down to 7th I hadn’t a good feeling but at the end I could overtake Mazpein: P6 was the maximum I could get today”.
Canadians In BOLD