It's been an intense weekend, full of emotions, for Prema Powerteam at the Pau street course. Esteban Ocon has been the real match winner in the third round of the 2014 FIA F.3 European championship, ending up with 61 points and one victory in Race 1. In addition to securing three pole positions, being nicknamed "the alien" by the paddock, Ocon leaves the city, built close to the Pyrenees, keeping the lead in standings with 164 points and 57 lengths on second-placed Tom Blomqvist.

Race 1 was entirely dominated by the young Frenchman, coming from the Lotus Junior program, while the second one, held on a wet racetrack, has been more eventful. After holding the lead in the initial part of the run, Ocon found himself with a slightly offset right rear wheel due to a touch with the barriers and a contact received by Rosenqvist. Despite all the drama, and thanks to a safety-car situation in the closing laps, Esteban lost one spot to Rosenqvist but successfully defended himself from Dennis and Giovinazzi, securing second place. In Race 3, Ocon had a small hiccup at the start and, after finding himself in second place, he retained the spot not without trying to go for a move on Rosenqvist.

After a troubled start in Race 1, when he ended up in 13th place, Dennis van De Laar reversed his fortunes in Race 2, when he scored a positive 5th place, and in Race 3, when he scored 7th. The Dutchman also had captured seventh place on all three grids, showing great progress both in Qualifying and Race Day compared to Silverstone and Hockenheim. Nicholas Latifi also got a great start with a fourth place in Qualifying 1, but he was forced to retire when a rival hit him during the formation lap in Race 1. Latifi was also unlucky in Race 2, when he was rear-ended at the harpin. Then, in Race 3, he had to stop at his pit box due to a mechanical problem.

Antonio Fuoco has been off to a tough run right from the start. After just 8 laps in practice, he found the track's barriers and reported a bruised left hand. The issue jeopardized the rest of his weekend. Fuoco gave his 100% to turn tables, but paid the price of a lack of feeling with the French course. In Q1, he scored the 20th fastest lap time, while he improved to 18th in Q2. In Race 1, he recovered to 17th place. In Race 2, after getting back to the top-10 on a wet racetrack, he was stopped by a contact out front and his gearbox got stuck in reverse. In Race 3, Fuoco delivered an awesome comeback, ending just shy of the top-10 in 11th.

Rene Rosin – Team Manager

"Ocon has been the real star of the weekend. He's doing great things and the results speak for him. I'm a bit sorry for the initial issue occurred to Fuoco that compromised the outcome of the whole weekend for him. On the other hand, he showed a great fighting attitude this weekend. Van de Laar drove two   solid races, the second and the third, while he was bottled in the middle of the pack due to a slightly troubled start. Latifi has been really unlucky and he deserved more from the weekend at Pau. Unfortunately for him, he was hit with several setbacks that are… enough for the rest of the season!"