Event: 03 Pau
Date: 19th to 21st May 2017
Circuit: Pau / FRA
Track length: 2.760 kilometres
Lap record: 1m10.629s (Jake Dennis, 2015)
Distance: 33 minutes plus a lap

With the first two race meetings of the 2017 season contested at the Formula One circuits of Silverstone and Monza, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship young guns now head to Pau, France, to take on the first street races of the season. Jake Dennis (Carlin) has particularly fond memories of the 2.76-kilometre long street circuit in the Southern-French city of Pau as the Briton won two of the three races of the 2015 weekend. Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) and Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam) also already made it to the podium, at the foot of the Pyrenees, while the best Pau result of championship leader Joel Eriksson (Motopark) so far is a sixth place.

Joel Eriksson, the best rookie in the 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship season and Lando Norris (Carlin) currently entertain the motor-racing enthusiasts with a thrilling battle for the championship lead. The Swedish BMW junior has just one point more on his tally than the British McLaren protégé who is contesting his first full FIA F3 European Championship season. Both talents already have won two championship rounds this year and also scored in all six races contested to date.

Callum Ilot also made it to the top step in two races so far, this year. But the experienced Briton who is contesting his third season on the grid of the Formula One and DTM feeder series also had to cope with an early retirement in one of the races. He currently holds third position in the championship standings but his lead over team-mate Maximilian Günther in fourth position amounts to just four points.

Mick Schumacher (Prema Powerteam), the son of Formula One Record World Champion Michael Schumacher, travels to Pau and its demanding circuit as fifth in the drivers’ championship standings and second in the rookie ranking. He wants to tie in with the good performances he impressed with at Monza where he celebrated his maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship podium.

Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam): “I love racing in Pau. For me, it’s like a smaller edition of Macau. It is clearly shorter than Macau, but driving here feels similar. It’s a street circuit and this means that cars and drivers have to cope with slightly different requirements but it’s the same challenge for everybody. I hope that I will be able to score as many points as possible, this weekend. I wasn’t able to do so in every race, to date and therefore, adding maximum points to my tally is even more important. But my qualifying pace is usually good and as overtaking in Pau is virtually impossible, I will travel to France in a confident mood.”