For the 36 young talents, the tight and partly extremely fast 2.76 kilometres street circuit represents a major challenge. Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) travels to Southern France as championship leader but his lead over his toughest rival, Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing), amounts to just five points, following the Hockenheim meeting. Experienced F3 driver Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam) follows in third position.

Felix Rosenqvist has fond memories of the races in the 80,000-inhabitant city located at the foot of the Pyrenees. Last year, the 23-year old Scandinavian won the third race of the Pau weekend but this triumph should remain his only race win in the 2014 season. Antonio Giovinazzi succeeded in winning two races, last year, but in Pau, his best result was a fourth place behind Briton Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam). Apart from Rosenqvist, Dennis is the only driver on this year’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship grid who already secured an F3 podium in Pau.

Meanwhile, Dorian Boccolacci (Signature), one of the two Frenchmen on the grid, already has got Pau wins under his belt – but these wins weren’t secured in Formula 3. In 2014, the 16-year old Lotus F1 Junior Team driver won two of the three French Formula 4 rounds held in Pau. Monaco’s 17-year old Leclerc also has fond memories of Pau’s street circuit. He finished second in a Formula Renault Alps race held at Pau, last year. And now, the second Frenchman on the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship grid, Brandon Maïsano (Prema Powerteam), wants to follow suit. The French fraction on the grid is completed by Team Signature with Boccolacci and his team-mate Alexander Albon (Signature) who also is a Lotus F1 Junior Team driver.

In Pau, the 35 young drivers who already contested the first two race meetings of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season will be joined by Sweden’s Gustav Malja (Eurointernational) who resides – just as Rosenqvist – in Malmö, Southern Sweden. He contests the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 season and his FIA Formula 3 European Championship appearance in Pau will be a one-off for now.

Due to the big grid and the relatively short circuit, the two practice session and the two qualifying sessions will be held in two groups each. And as Pau’s street circuit has been homologated for a maximum of 32 cars, only the 16 fastest drivers of each group will qualify for the respective races.

Dorian Boccolacci (Signature): “I already am looking forward to Pau. On the one hand, it’s the only race meeting in my home country, France, and on the other, I have fond memories of the French Formula 4 races held there in 2014 as I won two of them. The races in Pau are contested on a street circuit and therefore represent a special challenge. Like every street circuit, Pau provides more and more grip, over the course of the weekend, and as there aren’t any run-off areas you must avoid making any mistakes. To prepare for this challenge I arguably will spend more time in the simulator than usual and will take a close look at the notes I took last year. I won’t set myself the goal to secure a certain result but to just give my very best. Should I have made the optimum of my potential and the one of my car, at the end of the weekend, I will be happy.”