Prema confident they can beat ART

Prema cars dominated the practice sessions, Charlie Kimball finished second in the first race on his return to F3, and Renger van der Zande dominated race two from pole position.

The team's third driver Dani Clos also set the fastest lap in the second race while charging from 25th to seventh.

Van der Zande believes the experience of the team's trio of drivers will be the key to regaining the title they last won in 2003 with Ryan Briscoe - the last time ART were beaten.

"We are in a much stronger position this year," he told autosport.com. "Last season it was just me working on everything for winning because my teammate was a rookie. Now, all three of us know F3 well and that's a big help.

"We can go three different ways in testing and in just one session we're able to compare data and know which way is the best to go. If one of us finds a good set-up the others can use it, but can also improve it again."

Kimball agrees that the team are in a strong position and welcomes the extra competition.

"The team have worked so hard to get into this position," he told autosport.com. "They've had all-nighters in the last few months to make the car as strong as possible and now that's paying off.

"It's going to be tough for me to have to beat both my teammates as well as everyone else, but I'd far rather have it that way and be third if I don't beat them, than be somewhere else and only be able to finish 10th on a good day."

Clos was unfortunate not to score any points after he was taken out of fifth place in the first race by Jon Lancaster's shunt. He then carved his way from the back of the field to seventh in race two, but missed out on a point by one place.

Although frustrated, he was encouraged by the consistent pace the team have found: "In practice we were always at the top. Starting 25th in the race wasn't good, but the speed we had was amazing - I was passing people everywhere.

"It was annoying to get all that way and not get a point, but I'm so excited by the speed we have. I just want to go straight to Mugello and get the result that I could have had here."