Just two weeks after the season kick-off at Silverstone, UK, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship young guns will have to contest their next race weekend – and once again they will have to demonstrate their skills at one of Europe’s most tradition-rich circuits. The 5.793-kilometre long Formula One circuit in the royal Monza park is a real high-speed racetrack. In the races held not far from Italy’s metropolis Milan, Joel Eriksson (Motopark) wants to extend his championship lead but there are plenty of drivers who are determined to prevent him from doing so.

At Silverstone, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship field proved to be better-balanced than in the previous seasons. The three races were won by three different drivers who are racing for three different teams. Rookie Lando Norris (Carlin) won race one for Carlin, Eriksson prevailed in the second race at the wheel of a Motopark Dallara and in race three, Callum Ilott gave Prema Powerteam their first win in the 2017 season.

Consequently, the situation at the top of the standings is close – even though Eriksson’s lead over Ilott in second place already adds up to 12 points. But the gap between the second-placed Briton and his compatriot Jake Dennis (Carlin) in fifth place amounts to just five points. And not only experienced drivers are involved in the battle for the top position in the championship standings. They also have to fight against some fast rookies. Norris, the fastest of them currently is third in the championship, followed by the experienced drivers Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) and Dennis.

Günther, the 2016 runner-up, and Ilott particularly look forward to the races at Monza. After all, it is the home race meeting of their Italian team, Prema Powerteam. Furthermore, the squad around Team Manager René Rosin that won both the drivers’ and the team titles in 2016, will also be represented by China’s Guanyu Zhou and Germany’s Formula 3 rookie Mick Schumacher. Meanwhile, Briton Jake Dennis also should look forward to the Monza race weekend. He is the only driver on this year’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship grid who made it to the podium in 2015 when the series made its last Monza stop to date. In the 2015 round he came second twice and finished third in the third race of the weekend. It goes without saying that he would love to up the ante this year.

For all those involved, the Monza weekend will begin two days earlier than usual as the Wednesday (26th of April) prior to the race weekend will be the fifth official testing day of the season. Monza’s circuit will be exclusively available to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship teams and drivers to allow them to perfectly prepare for the things to come on the weekend. Just as it is the case on the race weekends, live-timing will be available as usual and can be accessed at the official website, http://www.fiaf3europe.com/live/.

Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam): “I’m delighted about the fact that Monza is back on the calendar. For two reasons: On one hand, I have fond memories of Monza – two years ago, it was the venue of my first single-seater win in Formula 4. And the fact that I won all the three races made the weekend even more special. Furthermore, I am racing for an Italian team and I am a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. This alone does make many of the Italian motor-racing enthusiasts support me and therefore, this race meeting will feel like a home event for me. My season to date didn’t run exactly well but I also had to cope with a dose of bad luck at Silverstone. Furthermore, the season has only just begun and I still have all the chances of working my way up. My goal for Monza is to celebrate my first FIA Formula 3 European Championship win.”