Newly-crowned F3 champion Stroll to miss Macau GP

The Canadian driver, who is poised to take over Felipe Massa's Williams F1 seat next year, wrapped up the championship with a round to spare following victory in the second race at Imola.

A second win in the final race, his 11th of the year, leaves him with an insurmountable lead of 136 points over Prema teammate Maximilian Gunther with only the Hockenheim finale remaining.

However, Stroll indicated in a press conference at Imola that he will miss Macau. Last year, he finished eighth on his first trip to the East Asian race, which was won by Felix Rosenqvist.

A spokesperson for Stroll refused to elaborate on the reasons for the absence, citing only "clashing commitments" as the reason.

It will be the first time that the European F3 champion has missed Macau since 2008, when Nico Hulkenberg skipped the event.

Speaking of his title success, Stroll said taking his first F3 win last year at Hockenheim provided the ideal foundation for his dominant 2016 campaign.

“Psychologically, it was important to go into the winter break like this,” said the 17-year-old. “This victory really boosted my confidence and somehow it also paved the way for the successful season that followed.

“Being able to call myself the new FIA Formula 3 European Champion is a fantastic feeling, I can’t find any words to describe it.

"Our pace from the opening race in April has been unbelievable, in both qualifying and the actual races. A combination of many things has allowed us to be ultra-consistent – a fact that wins titles.

"The Prema team, who I’ve raced with since 2014, has worked very hard for me while I’ve worked hard at the tracks, and away from them, to be at the level I am today."

Stroll will be eligible for a Formula 1 superlicence at the end of this month, when he turns 18 years old.