16/10/2016
NEWS STORY
2016 FIA Formula 3 European Champion Lance Stroll signed off from a stunningly successful season and the F3 category by posting three dominant victories at Hockenheim this weekend.
The Montreal-born Williams development driver, who looks set to step up to a full race seat next season, ultimately closed out his season a colossal 185-points ahead of his closest rival having wrapped up the title with four races to go earlier this month. This represents the biggest winning points margin in the history of the Formula 3 Euro Series and FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
Stroll's season will go down as arguably the most dominant in European F3 history. The British Racing Driver's Club Rising Star recorded a staggering 24 top-six finishes including 20 podiums that featured 14 wins in the 30-race series having started 17 times from the front row - 14 from pole-position.
Stroll, who celebrates his 18th birthday on 29 October, is the first driver from North America to ever win the Euro F3 title and is the youngest ever F3 Euro Series & FIA Formula 3 European Championship winner.
Stroll started Saturday morning's race - the 60th in his F3 career - from pole, a front right lock-up going in to Turn 2 momentarily dropping him to third before he re-took the lead in a bold overtaking move at the Mercedes Arena on the opening lap.
Thereafter he stamped his authority on the race, taking a commanding six-secs victory, and leading home a Prema 1-2-3-4 having set the fastest race lap for the 11th time this year.
The afternoon race saw Stroll blast away from pole and complete the first lap with a 1.58s lead. Total dominance ensued with the Canadian cruising to the chequered flag with a over 4s+ advantage.
Stroll, who has led well over twice as many racing laps this season than the next successful driver, lined-up fourth for his final race of the season this morning - his 22nd race start this season from either the first or second row of the grid.
An electrifying start saw him second at the first corner and in the lead on lap two after a brilliant manoeuvre - thus scoring his 14th victory of the season by 4.716secs.
Immediately after the race which had been delayed due to fog, Geneva-based Stroll was presented with the championship winning silverware on the podium by Prema's 2014 F3 champion and current Formula One driver Esteban Ocon.