European F3 champion to skip Macau GP

Newly-crowned European Formula 3 (F3) Champion Lance Stroll will skip this year’s edition of Macau F3 World Cup. The Canadian racer listed on European F3 under Macau’s team Theodore Racing with Prema Powerteam announced at the press conference in Imola, Italy last weekend that he would not be racing in Macau.
The information was then confirmed by a spokesperson that said to Motorsport.com that the decision was due to “clashing commitments,” refusing to elaborate on justify what the “clash” was, the website reported on Sunday.
Stroll (17) will thus be one of the confirmed big absences for the first edition of the upcoming FIA F3 World Cup race. Stroll raced for the first time in Macau last year with Theodore Racing finishing at 8th position in the race won by his then-teammate Felix Rosenqvist.
With the move from Rosenqvist out of the open-wheel series to race in DTM next season, Lance Stroll was expected to be the number one racer from Theodore squad in Macau this year.
This will be first time in six years that the European F3 champion misses the Macau end of season round. Nico Hulkenberg was the last European F3 champion to skip the event back in 2008.
The Canadian who is currently the development driver for Williams F1 is a serious candidate to take the vacant seat in Frank Williams’ squad by the retirement of the Brazilian Felipe Massa from F1 announced a few weeks ago. This  would be possible as he will turn 18 at the end of this month, which according to the FIA rules makes him eligible for a Formula 1 super license. RM