Montréal-born Lance Stroll sets out to become the first Canadian to ever win the annual Pau Grand Prix next weekend (14-15 May). Stroll lies second in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship after six rounds, just four points off the lead. The 17-year-old is determined to excel at the wheel of his Prema Powerteam Dallara F312-Mercedes in the 75th running of the historic event staged in the French city located in south west France, on the northern edge of the Pyrenees.

Racing takes place around the centre of the city where the streets are closed to form a 2.760km circuit. Former winners of the Grand Prix, that has been run for a variety of categories including Formula Three for the past two years, include Formula One World Champions Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt and Lewis Hamilton.

For the first time this season following the events at Paul Ricard (F) and the Hungaroring (HUN) in April, Geneva-based Lance competes at a track he has previously raced on. Contesting the corresponding F3 races last year, Lance posted three top-10 overall placings. Two races are staged on Saturday while Sunday’s 33mins + one lap race is the Pau Grand Prix.

“Winning the Pau GP would be really cool to have on my CV. Qualifying needs to go well, it’s important everywhere but maybe more so at Pau with it being quite narrow and overtaking opportunities at a premium. That said I started ninth there last year and finished fourth in the feature GP race. It’s the first track that we go to this season where I have previous experience [2015] but I don’t see that as being any particular advantage for me. Pau is a challenging, difficult circuit so with only two free practice runs before qualifying it’s tough and important to build confidence in those two sessions but it’s the same for everyone. I really enjoy ‘street’ circuits and loved racing at Pau for the first time last season. It’s a physically and mentally demanding track with little time to ‘rest’ over a lap with few straightaways. One small mistake and you’re in the wall. The aim again has to be to collect as many points as I can over the weekend from the three races being as consistent as possible. There’s a great vibe racing in the middle of the city and with a lot of people attending.”