By: Prema Powerteam
July 15 2016
It has been an up and down day for Prema at Zandvoort, in the opening day of the FIA F.3 European Championship event at the Dutch venue. The Italian squad dominated the qualifying sessions today, with Nick Cassidy setting the fastest lap in qualifying 1 and Lance Stroll cruising to a double pole for race 2 and 3.
As the cars went through scrutineering, the stewards found out that a measure of Stroll's front suspension was deemed illegal due to a measurement error. The team accept responsibility for the mistake and want to apologize to the Canadian racer. Stroll and the Prema team are now aiming for a bold recovery in the second and third race to score as many points as possible.
There are many positive elements for the day, including the first pole position in Formula 3 competition scored by Cassidy. The New-Zealander will also start from second place in both race 2 and 3. In the first and third race of the weekend there will be an all-Prema front row. Cassidy will be partnered on the front row for race 1 by Gunther, while the German will be on pole for race 3 in a reversed situation. For race 2, Gunther will be taking-off from third place. On an remarkably challenging track for rookies, Ralf Aron made his way to a positive eight place in qualifying 2.
René Rosin – Team Manager
“Despite the fact that the results achieved confirmed the great work done by the team, the regret for a mistake made by the team is prevalent today, as Stroll was deprived of two pole positions. Last night, we fitted Lance’s car with a new component used for the first time here in Zandvoort, for the front suspension but the usual measurement check was not conducted. It was an error that made no difference to the car’s performance but a crucial mistake that eventually led to his disqualification. We accept responsibility for the error, and we will provide Lance with our best support as we look forward to help him recover as many spots as possible in the two races he will start from the back”.
# 1 – Lance Stroll
“Losing pole-position for Races 2 & 3 is extremely frustrating and disappointing. Prema put a new front suspension component on my car for the very first time today and it’s now apparent they [Prema Powerteam] made a mistake when measuring it. What makes it even more aggravating is that when comparing the performances of my Prema team-mates Nick [Cassidy] and Maxi {Günther], it’s evident there was absolutely no performance gain whatsoever so I clearly achieved my two ‘poles’ without any benefit to this new part.”
# 2 - Nick Cassidy
“Overall I am massively pleased with today because we have put the potential of the season on paper and a great day for the Team with Lance being up there as well. I am slightly disappointed not to back it up completely in qualifying 2 but overall getting your first pole is always an amazing feeling.”
# 16 - Ralf Aron
“It's been a pretty rough day, I struggled in finding the right speed and facing all the traffic impacted my pace so I was prevented from getting the results I hoped for. The car was great, But I didn't manage to take the best out of it”.
# 17 - Maximilian Gunther
“The first session has been positive with the second place, but I have to say that it hasn't perfect either. Qualifying 2 was far from ideal as I hit traffic right when I was setting my fastest lap so I will start fifth in race 2. Thanks to a double penalty, I will start from the pole in the third run of the weekend. A result that rewards the whole team for their hard work.
Canadians In BOLD