Two retirements and one 25th place were not quite the results that German race driver Fabian Schiller had expected from the fourth weekend of the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the circuit of Monza. “Twice, I got affected by other people crashing, which, of course, is always bad,” the driver of the Team West-Tec F3 commented. “In terms of speed, I was quite happy with our performance at Monza, but unfortunately, our efforts remained largely unrewarded. I really hope that my strain of bad luck has now come to an end and that things are getting better from the next rounds at Spa onwards.”

The race meeting at Monza, where the FIA Formula 3 European Championship was the main act among national Italian series, was preceded by an official in-season test day for the Formula 3 teams and drivers on Wednesday. In the addition of the times from the morning and the afternoon session, Fabian Schiller ended up 18th, with a total of 72 laps completed. “We had some useful running and we were able to test many things,” he reported. The protégé of the Deutsche Post Speed Academy continued his progress by posting seventh and 14th fastest time in the two free practice sessions on Friday morning.

At the Monza circuit with its long straights, finding a good slipstream is always important to set fast lap times. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t do so in first qualifying and therefore, I was well down the order on the starting grid for the first race,” Schiller said. “In the race, I had a poor start as I inadvertently shifted up into second gear, so I lost a few places, but I made up some positions after that. Then, somebody sent me off into the gravel trap, so I had to start working my way up again. After that, another driver hit the side of my car and I had to retire with a bent suspension.”

In race two, for which he started from 15th place on the grid, Schiller had a particularly scary moment: “Lance Stroll had a big accident in which his car barrel-rolled, and a wheel came off in the process. I was already up in ninth place, but that wheel came towards me and I feared that the wheel would hit me. I braked like crazy and fortunately, the wheel only hit the nose of my car, but I had to come into the pits to have the front section replaced. After that, I still made up some places, but I didn’t take any unnecessary risks because there were many incidents on track.”

The German started 14th on the grid for race three, but this was a particularly brief affair. “The start was very good, I overtook Fittipaldi straight away and I was already quite late braking for the first corner, but then, a car came from behind and flew over me! I just felt that I was hit and then I saw that car above me. As a result, the rear wing was damaged and I got a warning from race control, so I turned into the pits and retired.”

For the next meeting, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship heads to the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in the Belgian Ardennes, where the races are scheduled in three weeks’ time. “I am really looking forward to it. Every driver loves Spa,” says Fabian Schiller, who already raced there in the Formula ADAC series in the past.