Stroll aiming to seal F3 title in Imola
Lance Stroll is aiming to nail the European Formula 3 championship one round early, as he seeks to clinch it on Prema Powerteam’s home soil.
Lance Stroll, Prema Powerteam Dallara F312 - Mercedes-Benz
Mario Bartkowiak
With six races – two events – left in the European F3 series, at Imola and Hockenheim, Stroll can only be beaten to the crown by teammate Maximilian Gunther. The pair monopolised the two top spots on the podium in the previous event at the Nurburgring, but two wins for Stroll and one for Gunther – bringing their victory tallies to nine and four respectively – have left the Canadian 68 points ahead of the German.
“I’m extremely motivated to wrap up the title in Imola,” said Stroll. “The fact that I can win the championship next weekend will be in the back of my mind but it’ll be like any other race weekend. I’ll be pushing as hard as I can for the best possible result in each race and giving my all.”
The Prema Powerteam base is just 100 miles north of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, and Stroll admits that proximity is additional motivation to seal the deal this weekend.
“It’s home turf for Prema so that’s another incentive to score well,” said Stroll. “My confidence is high heading to Imola after the results at the Nurburgring. That said, I won’t be underestimating my fellow competitors many of whom are capable of winning races, so I need to be on my A-game.
“I’ve only been to Imola on one previous occasion when I had a successful weekend there in F4. It’s an ‘old school’ track and is very technical while long straights should allow plenty of overtaking opportunities.”
Stroll made his debut at the 3.05-mile, 20-turn Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari track two years ago, scoring two wins plus a second in the 2014 Italian F4 Championship with Prema, on his way to the title.
He is hotly tipped to graduate to Formula 1 next year, replacing Felipe Massa at Williams. The Montreal-born teenager has started testing a 2014-spec Williams FW36.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments