French racing driver Brandon Maïsano has split from Prema Powerteam following race one of the eighth round at the Red Bull Ring.
Maïsano has thus far endured a torrid 2015 season, with the 22-year-old sitting 12th in the standings, some way adrift of his teammates Felix Rosenqvist, Jake Dennis and Lance Stroll.
Following a difficult opening race, where Maïsano finished 26th, the Frenchman came to an agreement to end his Formula 3 campaign with immediate effect.
Prema Powerteam team principal René Rosin commented, “We are saddened for the end of the long-time relationship with Brandon, who scored brilliant results with us in the Italian Formula 3 Championship and in the Italian Formula 4 Series last year.” Rosin added, “I wish Brandon a successful future in his next career endeavours.”
Maïsano has yet to release a statement.
After some success initially, Maïsano’s career had hit something of a brick wall in recent seasons. A champion in Formula Abarth in 2010, Maïsano was taken on by the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2011. Having secured 4th and 3rd respectively in his 2011 and 2012 campaigns, Maïsano was dropped by the FDA, leaving him without a drive in 2013.
Maïsano returned to action in 2014 by entering the Trophy Cup of Italian F4 Series (for drivers over the age of 18 years) with Prema Powerteam – a category that he dominated.
Graduating to European F3 has been troublesome for the Frenchman. Maïsano has scored a best race result of 4th at Spa, but has spent much of the season either in the lower reaches of the points or out of the points altogether.
In a championship where much was expected, Maïsano has shown glimpses of speed, but has often failed to deliever.
