Venue: Norisring
Track length: 2.300 kilometres
Lap record FIA F3EC: Max Verstappen 2014 (0:48.168 minutes)
Distance: 42 laps

For championship leader Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing) it will be the first appearance at the shortest circuit on the FIA Formula 3 European Championship calendar while Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam), Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam) and Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin), his toughest rivals in battle for the title, already contested races at the only 2.3 kilometres street circuit. The points difference between the three chasers amounts to a total of just five points, with rookie Leclerc travelling to Nuremberg with a 28.5 points lead over Dennis in second position.

Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist has particularly fond memories of Nuremberg: in 2013, he won one of the Norisring rounds and finished runner-up in the other two. By finishing fourth in the second race of the 2014 Norisring meeting, Briton Jake Dennis came close to making it to the podium and Santino Ferrucci (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) came fourth in the third round. For the then just 16-year old US American this result represented a special highlight as it was only his second FIA Formula 3 European Championship race weekend. Both Ferrucci and Dennis finished fifth in one of the other two Norisring races.

Gustavo Menezes (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) finished fifth, last year, by crossing the line just half a second after his compatriot Ferrucci. Having somersaulted his car last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Menezes will contest the Norisring weekend with a completely newly assembled vehicle.

In the second FIA Formula 3 European Championship meeting on German soil, the competitive grid will also feature four German talents: Maximilian Günther (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Fabian Schiller (Team West-Tec F3) and Nicolas Pohler (Double R Racing) look forward to their debut at the street circuit around the impressive stone grandstand while Markus Pommer (Motopark) contested his last Norisring races to date eight years ago in Formula BMW. Rookie Schiller in particular will travel to Nuremberg with boosted confidence as he secured his first FIA Formula 3 European Championship points only last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. Günther, a rookie like Schiller, also succeeded in adding points to his tally, at the extremely challenging Ardennes Rollercoaster. He currently holds sixth position and is the best-placed German in the championship. Meanwhile, the Norisring weekend represents the home meeting for Neckarsulm’s Pommer and Starnberg’s Pohler who both live less than 200 kilometres from Nuremberg.

Santino Ferrucci (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport): “I already am looking forward to the Norisring. Driving there is really big fun. I generally like circuits that require a low-downforce set-up. So, the car is moving to a greater extent and it nearly feels like driving a kart. And the fact that overtaking at the Norisring is possible also is great. Particularly turn one always is offering the chance of attacking but cornering this turn isn’t easy: on the one hand, the tarmac in the braking area is extremely bumpy and on the other, finding the perfect line at the exit is a must. Therefore, a lot of drivers are making minor or major mistakes, here. My goal for this weekend is to make it to the top five. No doubt, I’d love to again secure a podium as I did at Spa-Francorchamps but I think that doing so won’t be easy. After all, there are several fast drivers on the grid who certainly also will prove to be competitive in Nuremberg."

FIA Formula 3 European Championship - Provisional Entry List - Norisring