For German driver Fabian Schiller, the third meeting of the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Pau in the south of France was his first experience of racing on a street circuit. The classic ‘Grand Prix de Pau’ turned out to be a rather challenging affair for the driver of the British West-Tec F3 team, a protégé of the Deutsche Post Speed Academy. He retired from the first two races and finished 18th in the third and final race. “Not easy, but also part of the learning process. I am sure this experience of racing on a street circuit will help me later this season when we race at Norisring and perhaps when I take part in the Macau Grand Prix at the end of the year,” he commented.

With a history going back to 1933, the ‘Grand Prix de Pau’ is one of the oldest still existing motorsport events in Europe and since the first running, the lay-out of the 2.76 kilometres short street circuit around the Palais Beaumont has barely changed. Former winners of the event include such famous drivers as Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt and, more recently, Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean. The first German race winner in Pau was Hermann Lang, who won in 1939 with the Mercedes-Benz ‘Silver Arrow’. In the Formula 3000 era, Christian Danner and Jörg Müller were victorious in Pau and in 2011, reigning DTM champion Marco Wittmann won the Formula 3 race in the French city. “When you look at the history of the event, it is something quite special, and having a circuit in the middle of the city adds to the atmosphere, too,” Fabian Schiller said before the event.

Schiller’s race weekend got off to a difficult start as his luggage, including all his racing gear, had gone missing on the way to Pau. “Many people were really helpful, so I got offered a race suit, shoes, gloves and even a helmet from other drivers. Fortunately, I didn’t have to use them as my bag finally arrived in time before the action started,” the driver reported.

Rain had a major effect on the outcome of the first day of the meeting. “In first qualifying in the rain, I had problems in finding the right rhythm and I didn’t get the right feeling to push. Second qualifying took place in the dry, but red flags got in the way when I wanted to start an attempt to set a fast lap time. Next time out with fresh tyres, I missed my braking point and went straight on in the first corner, so I couldn’t get a better result. In the first race, I started from 23rd place. I managed to make up some positions, although overtaking is really difficult on a narrow circuit like this. Then, I tangled with another driver and the engine went off, so that was the end of the race for me.”

For the second race, the team made some significant changes to the set-up of Schiller’s car, which gave the driver a better feeling and more confidence as a result. Schiller started from 24th place on the grid and again was able to make up some places. “The lap times were good and especially in the first and third sector, I was quite quick. Only in the middle sector, I lost some time, but nothing dramatic. I was able to learn, which was the main goal.” In the closing stages of the race, he got involved in a collision, in which the suspension of the car was damaged. A little bit later, the race was interrupted due to a pile-up involving several cars blocking the track. For safety reasons, Schiller decided not to go out again for the remainder of the race. In race three, Schiller started from 26th place and made it all the way through to finish in 18th position. “In terms of results, the weekend wasn’t great, but it was a good experience altogether,” he said. Next up is a meeting at the Italian Grand Prix circuit of Monza, where the FIA Formula 3 European Championship will be racing from May 29 till 31st.