Often it comes a short time after the race has finished and the plaudits have played their loudest.
Once the car has been slotted into Parc Ferme, the trophies handed out and the champagne sprayed, only then can the leading man relax and catch a moment.
A breath, drawn deep.
Yet despite his victory, Coletti – understandably – had other things on his mind. The win was welcome of course, yet it came with a heavy heart, as the Monegasque racer explains. “It means a lot because last week I lost my grandpa and two days later, I lost one of my oldest friends. I knew him since I was born.”
Coletti has garnered a 17-point lead over Felipe Nasr over the opening three rounds – helped somewhat by a nightmare weekend for Fabio Leimer in Barcelona, but circumstances added a weight to Coletti’s Spanish success. “[My friend] and his brother are the ones who made me start go-kart so it was very important for me to win today and I hope that wherever they are they are proud of me.
“I really, really want to win that race because it means a lot to all the people who knew my friend and my grandpa. My friend’s brother also passed away a year ago. He was the one giving the flag in Formula One. He gave the flag last year and then died a month later.”
Understanding the weight that sits upon one’s shoulder is just as important as how that pressure is measured. Coletti adds, “Everyone is expecting a really good result and they will be happy if I do. It does not put pressure, but adds a lot more motivation,” before concluding, “In the end, the championship is more important. The second of the standings changed this week from Leimer to Nasr. I have to keep on building the gap because not all the weekends will go as well as this one. Anything can happen in this sport.”
On the other hand, there is the slightly precarious situation that Hilmer Motorsport’s Robin Frijns finds himself. Stung by the quick wearing Pirelli tyres in Bahrain, the Formula Renault 3.5 champion acknowledged that experience and fought back with a victory and a 2nd place in Barcelona, but…
Frijns is still unconfirmed for Monaco – or any other rounds thereafter. He is the reserve and test driver for the Sauber Formula One team, but has no option for any testing beyond the end of year Young Driver Test.
For a driver who may be the brightest talent in GP2, such developments are only frustrating, not just for Frijns, but for the sport as a whole. Speaking to Autosport, the Dutch racer revealed, “I need to find some money, for sure, but I have to wait and see what happens. I did the best result I could – first and second isn’t bad at all. I didn’t get a sponsor from winning [FR3.5], but we’re doing our best to be in Monaco. Hopefully we’ll get there.”
These are words that carry an all too familiar tone.
Frustration was also coming to bear, ever so slightly, for Felipe Nasr and James Calado. With both drivers now well into their second seasons, big results had been expected from the pairing, yet the movement has proved far more difficult that originally believed.
As with last year, Nasr keeps hitting regular podium spots without actually winning, while Calado’s ART Grand Prix squad appear to have fallen backward over the winter.
Although not overly flustered on the outside, Nasr knows how important that victory could be in the grand scheme of his motorsport career. “Yeah I mean, [the win] is pretty close you know. It’s funny to say that because all the time it’s been very close but just not happening in the end…” However, the Brazilian reflects, “Looking at the title is the most important thing because all the drivers did not score points today so it’s good for me…”
ART Grand Prix appear to be at a loss – a situation reflected in Daniel Abt’s early season struggles. According to Calado, “The car balance is pretty good, it’s just lacking a half-a-tenth here and there – it feels like it needs more downforce, but there is none available. It’s something small; we think it may be tyre related. We are not getting the pace we should on one lap.”
DAMS pairing Marcus Ericsson and Stephane Richelmi also started the weekend in a happier mood than previous weekends would normally warrant.
Indeed, it has been something of a horror opening leg of the season, but where the pairing lined up 1st and 2nd after qualifying – with Ericsson ahead – neither would come away with points from the two races.
It was especially galling for Ericsson, who had finally broken his pole position duct after 37 attempts. Despite leading early, the Swede had lost places in the pits during the Feature Race, only to suffer a race terminal bump and grind with Sam Bird and Kevin Giovesi on lap 10. That was compounded by a 20th place finish on Sunday morning.
As for Richelmi, the pace simply wasn’t there and as he fell backwards, he picked a fight with Russian Time’s Tom Dillmann, only to be penalised for clumsily shoving Dillmann off track. Sunday morning would deliver a 15th place finish, some 44.2s off the pace, following a chaotic run around the Montmelo track.
Perhaps the biggest issue for Ericsson and Richelmi is that they have become known quantities and at this stage may be unlikely to get to Formula One without some sort of outside assistance.
But then again, it wouldn’t be the first time that has happened by any stretch, now would it?
Raffaele Marciello has been excluded from this morning’s FIA European Formula 3 race due to a technical infringement.
According to the post-race stewards report, Marciello’s Prema Powerteam machine was found to have a gear ratio measurement lower than the minimum allowed.
The Italian had claimed the top spot in the 48-lap event, heading teammate Lucas Auer by 1.8s across the line. Marciello’s exclusion promotes Auer to the top spot, with Carlin’s Harry Tincknell now 2nd and Mücke’s Felix Rosenqvist filling the podium.
From an advantage of 105.5 points, Marciello’s championship lead has now been cut to 77.5 points.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 3; 48 laps, updated) Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap DSQ Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 35m03.945s 1. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 35:05.810s 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW + 5.743s 3. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc + 6.244s 4. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW + 6.962s 5. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-VW + 11.523s 6. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-VW + 15.039s 7. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW + 17.983s 8. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc + 21.489s 9. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc + 22.454s 10. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW + 27.466s 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW + 27.795s 12. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 31.167s 13. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc + 31.572s 14. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW + 32.907s 15. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 16. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 17. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 18. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 1 lap 19. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 20. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc + 1 lap Retirements: Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +6 laps Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +11 laps Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc +14 laps Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +34 laps Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +42 laps Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +47 laps Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +47 laps
2013 FIA European F3 Championship points standings (Rd 4; updated) Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 214.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 137 3. Lucas Auer 130 4. Alex Lynn 119.5 5. Harry Tincknell 107 6. Tom Blomqvist 88.5 7. Felix Serralles 76 8. Sven Muller 50 9. Pascal Wehrlein 49 10. Josh Hill 44 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 371 2. Mucke Motorsport 206 3. Carlin 177 4. Fortec 125 5. EuroInternational 102
DTM (Rd 2, Brands Hatch)
Mike Rockenfeller secured his first DTM victory of the season at a sunny Brands Hatch today. Having led much of the running, Rockenfeller gave up the lead only when the pitstops came into play; however the Audi man drove a solid ace, edging away from reigning champion Bruno Spengler as the race aged, eventually winning by 7.6 seconds.
Augusto Farfus initially challenged Rockenfeller, before he too fell away as the laps ticked away; however his day finished early, when an apparent transmission problem stopped his BMW on lap 66. The was some contention when the recovery car decided to drag Farfus’ car clean across start / finish, as traffic bore down on him. Meanwhile, Spengler continued onto 2nd with little pressure from behind.
Gary Paffett was originally to fill out the podium, thanks to an off-kilter strategy that saw him pit early, running a long final stint; however a post-race penalty for not slowing enough under yellows dropped him to 6th. Robert Wickens was therefore promoted to 3rd, followed closely by Marco Wittmann (4th) and Joey Hand (5th).
From there, the field spread out a touch, with Mattias Ekström ending the day 7th, a couple of seconds ahead of Christian Vietoris (8th), Timo Scheider (9th) and Pascal Wehrlein (10th).
Martin Tomczyk had qualified on pole, but was dropped to last for being underweight – he would come home 14th.
Another win for Marciello. © FIA.
Raffaele Marciello romped to his seventh FIA European Formula 3 victory of the season, in a commanding display that saw him first hold off Alex Lynn and then later Lucas Auer.
After a solid start, the Prema Powerteam racer pulled alongside Lynn off the line, holding his line around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend, before solidifying the move in Druids.
From there, Marciello maintained a small gap up, with Lynn refusing to give up on the victory.
It all came to naught for Lynn on lap 15, when the Essex racer spun exiting Paddock Hill, spinning to a stop and stalling halfway up the short chute to Druids.
Much of the pack dodged the stranded Prema car – all that is, except Lynn’s teammate Eddie Cheever III, who clipped the rear of Lynn, forcing both into retirement and forcing a safety car call.
With Lynn out, Auer rose to 2nd, but his challenge under green proved ill effective against the confident might of Marciello. The Italian had drawn a 2.1 second lead come the 46th tour, before easing off at the approach to the chequered flag. “Like yesterday, [the start] is the key to good race. Alex was next to me in the first corner, but I was a bit in front of him. The lapping was good – today with the safety car was easier, but everybody was close.”
Auer assumed a comfortable 2nd place to make it three podiums for the Austrian, admitting too that avoiding Lynn was no big issue. “It was easy to avoid [Lynn]; he spun and I had enough space to pass him and after that, we had a safety car. At the restart, I was at one time quite close to Marciello and I pushed quite hard, but then I lost my tyres a bit.”
With the halfway point in the series only a round away, Auer is rather circumspect about his championship chances, but is pleased with what he has achieved so far. “Only Marciello is quite far away in the championship, but for the rest, we are quite tight. It is a long season, but this weekend was really good for points.”
Carlin’s Harry Tincknell grabbed 3rd, following a tense race long battle with Felix Rosenqvist and Sven Muller. The English squad worked hard over night to fix a suspension problem that had hampered Tincknell all weekend. “The pace was much stronger today. Last night we found a small problem with the car, which was affecting us in the first couple of races. We were struggling a little bit, but starting 4th today, we had a good chance for a podium. It was a small problem with the suspension, nothing major – we were struggling in high speed corners and today it was much better.”
Despite his issues, the Englishman was happy with the eventual outcome. “My pace after the safety car was quite good, but not enough to stay with the front two. It’s good to spoil the Prema party slightly this weekend.”
There was another 4.5s gap to 6th place man Tom Blomqvist, while Lucas Wolf took a confidence boosting 7th for URD Rennsport. Nicholas Latifi came home 8th, ahead of Roy Nissany (scoring his first points) and Antonio Giovinazzi, the latter of whom grabbed 10th despite stalling at the start.
There was chaotic period following the safety car when Josh Hill, Felix Serralles, Daniil Kvyat, Spike Goddard, Mitch Gilbert, Will Buller, Sean Gelael, Michele Cerruti, and Jordan King all picked up drive through penalties for setting their fastest sectors in a caution zone.
Following his suspension, Mans Grenhagen returned to action today, only to go off by himself at Druids on lap six.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 3; 48 laps) Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 35m03.945s 2. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc + 1.865s 3. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW + 5.743s 4. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc + 6.244s 5. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW + 6.962s 6. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-VW + 11.523s 7. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-VW + 15.039s 8. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW + 17.983s 9. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc + 21.489s 10. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc + 22.454s 11. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW + 27.466s 12. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW + 27.795s 13. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 31.167s 14. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc + 31.572s 15. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW + 32.907s 16. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 17. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 18. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 19. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 1 lap 20. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 21. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc + 1 lap Retirements: Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +6 laps Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +11 laps Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc +14 laps Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +34 laps Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +42 laps Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +47 laps Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +47 laps
2013 FIA European F3 Championship points standings (Rd 4) Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 239.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 134 3. Lucas Auer 123 4. Alex Lynn 119.5 5. Harry Tincknell 104 6. Tom Blomqvist 86.5 7. Felix Serralles 76 8. Pascal Wehrlein 49 9. Sven Muller 48 10. Josh Hill 44 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 371 2. Mucke Motorsport 206 3. Carlin 177 4. Fortec 125 5. EuroInternational 102
Marciello celebrates. © FIA
Raffaele Marciello scored his sixth FIA European Formula 3 victory of the season in comfortable style at Brands Hatch this afternoon.
Marciello’s Prema Powerteam teammate, Alex Lynn, came home 2.8 seconds adrift in 2nd spot, with Lucas Auer making it a Prema 1-2-3 finish, a further 3.2 seconds off of Lynn.
Starting on the outside of the front row, the Italian jumped poleman Lynn off the line, leading the rest of the way with little trouble. “Like this morning, if you are first, it is a big advantage, so it is very important to start [well] and I got a good start and overtook Alex. Then it was easy, because if you are in front, you can manage the lap times.”
Marciello built a lead of nearly five seconds, when he began to encounter backmarkers, but kept his through the rest of race, ensuring Lynn could not get a look in. The Italian spent a few tours trapped behind Roy Nissany, but as the laps ticked down, Marciello managed the pace, leading his Prema Powerteam compatriot over the line. “My biggest problem was Nissany. For six laps, he stayed in my way, but it is very difficult for the driver – six laps was too much,” commented the race winner.
For Lynn, once he was passed at the start, there was little for him to do. “Raffaele is always very good at his starts and mine wasn’t good enough, so I didn’t deserve to win the race today. I’m disappointed to not win the race, but I get another chance tomorrow, so we will take it as it comes.” The 19-year-old added, “To be honest, [the start] happened so quickly, we will need to have a look at the data to see what [Marciello] is doing better than me at the start and try to improve. The balance wasn’t to my liking, but I got quite reasonably close to him when he got stuck behind Nissany.”
Beyond the leaders, there was precious little movement in the field – mostly due to Brands Hatch’s tight and twisty nature.
Following Lynn, Auer headed Sven Muller (4th) home, although Muller did his best to press his Austrian rival. “At the beginning, I was quite close to Alex, but toward the end I got big pressure from the back, but in the end I managed 3rd place and good points.”
In the distance, Felix Rosenqvist (5th) and Tom Blomqvist (6th) playing out their respective battle. Harry Tincknell guided Josh Hill to 7th and 8th, while Will Buller (9th) and Jann Mardenborough (10th) rounded out the top ten. The only action came from Nicholas Latifi who damaged his front wing on the rear of Daniil Kvyat on the opening lap.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 2; 50 laps) Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 35m8.698s 2. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc + 2.816s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc + 6.109s 4. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW + 6.354s 5. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc + 13.332s 6. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-VW + 13.668s 7. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.762s 8. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc + 16.220s 9. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 19.356s 10. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW + 21.719s 11. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc + 22.949s 12. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW + 26.728s 13. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW + 27.617s 14. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-VW + 30.114s 15. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc + 35.096s 16. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc + 35.924s 17. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW + 37.315s 18. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 19. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 20. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW + 1 lap 21. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 1 lap 22. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 23. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc + 1 lap 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc + 2 laps 25. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc + 2 laps 26. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc + 2 laps 27. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW + 3 laps
2013 FIA European F3 Championship points standings Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 214.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 122 3. Alex Lynn 119.5 4. Lucas Auer 105 5. Harry Tincknell 89 7. Tom Blomqvist 78.5 6. Felix Serralles 76 8. Pascal Wehrlein 49 9. Josh Hill 44 10. Will Buller 39 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 346 2. Mucke Motorsport 191 3. Carlin 157 4. Fortec 125 5. EuroInternational 92
Mans Grenhagen has been suspended from today’s second FIA European Formula 3 race following several infractions this season.
The van Amersfoort driver overtook under yellows in race one and although he was given a drive through, the stewards also felt Grenhagen had “several other infringements since the beginning of the […] season.”
With much talk recently regarding the leniency of stewarding in a number of categories, it is relieving to see a steward’s panel who are prepared to sit a driver out in the right circumstances.
Sainz Jr. © Alastair Staley/GP3 Series Media Service
GP3 Series regular is set to make his Formula Renault 3.5 début on the streets of Monte Carlo next week.
Sainz Jr – who drives for MW Arden in GP3 – has secured a one-off drive with the Zeta Corse Team in the Spanish squad’s second seat.
The Red Bull junior driver will be the third driver to occupy the drive alongside the team’s regular pilot Mihai Marinescu, with Emmanuel Piget and Mathéo Tuscher having already taken part in a round each.
Although this will be Sainz Jr’s first visit to Monaco, the Spaniard has raced on streets circuit before. Having competed previously at Pau and Macau during his single season in British Formula 3 in 2012.
For Sainz, this will be an interesting test of his skill and stamina. “This is an opportunity not to be missed, it won’t be an easy challenge because it will be the fist time I discover the Monaco Circuit and I hope to learn as quickly as possible, trying, as always, to get the best result. Being my first time in the circuit and in this category, my objectives must be clear, to complete as many laps as possible and to learn,” noted the Red Bull Junior Driver.
He added, “To run in this circuit is going to be something very special, I’m looking forward to Thursday and to starting the laps. I also want to thank the team Zeta Corse for the trust they have placed in me.”
There is no doubt Sainz Jr’s speed – he certainly can peddle – but this certainly be an intriguing battle for the teenager with what is, admittedly, a back of the grid team. Sainz Jr tested a FR3.5 car last winter with Carlin.
Victory for Lynn. © FIA.
Alex Lynn scored a lights-to-flag victory at Brands Hatch this morning, although it was no easy task for the Englishman.
Lucas Auer made it a Prema 1-2-3 as he took his Dallara F312 home to 3rd place.
The poleman Lynn kept ahead of front row rival Marciello off the line, dodging the Italian’s advances through Paddock Hill Bend and Graham Hill hairpin, pulling out a narrow lead, before being pulled back by the 2nd placed man.
Indeed, the lead was never more than one second throughout the 51-lap event, with Marciello keep tabs on the leader in through the opening 22 tours. The race became somewhat more complicated for Lynn thereafter, when lapped traffic began to come into play.
Most of the tail end runners played kindly as the leaders came through, except for T-Sport man Spike Goddard, who from lap 40-42 seemed determined to sit in front of the quick men.
It was moments that proved a touch stressful for Lynn. “There were two or three laps that I was behind [Goddard]. It frustrating now when I think about it and at the time, I was even more frustrated but I take it when it comes and luckily we are on a circuit where it is quite easy to defend. My engineer was saying ‘stay calm, stay calm’ and I was saying ‘I am calm, but I lose this win I’m going to be really miffed’, but it was fine.”
With Goddard eventually dispatched, Lynn and Marciello charged towards the flag, with the 19-year-old Essex man taking the chequered flag, a mere 0.6s ahead of his Prema Powerteam teammate. “I made a good start and managed to get into turn one in the lead and for the first few laps, I was trying to get a gap to Marciello, because I knew we would be catching traffic. Unfortunately every time I started to pull a bit of a gap, we caught some cars, so he caught up a bit, but I was quite happy and I think I controlled the race quite well.”
The victor added, “He got too close for my liking (on lap 43), but he put his front wing on the outside and it’s a little difficult to try and pass someone in turn one, so I just focussed on keeping my mind and after that just concentrate on taking the cars we were lapping.”
Auer took 3rd, despite a poor start. The Austrian had started 3rd, but was 5th by the opening bend after slight contact with Sven Muller, allowing Felix Rosenqvist blend through as well. According to Auer, “My start was not the best after a little touch with Sven Muller. I was 5th and Rosenqvist made a mistake, so I overtook him and toward the end of the race I was quite strong.”
That became 4th thanks to a lap 30 move on Rosenqvist following a mistake by the Swedish racer in Surtees. The Prema man was then promoted further when a technical fault ended Muller’s race four tours later. Continuing, Auer commented that, “I tried to attack [Muller] in the last turn, didn’t manage and then in the first corner he suddenly went slow, I overtook him and finished the race in p3. For this afternoon and tomorrow, I have to concentrate on the start.”
With Muller gone, Rosenqvist held 4th to the flag, with Carlin’s Harry Tincknell in a relatively distant 5th. Tincknell led a group over the line, with Tom Blomqvist (6th) not far behind. Jordan King made 7th his own thanks to a lap 35 pass on Josh Hill (8th), with Will Buller (9th) and Daniil Kvyat (10th) rounding out the top ten.
As Kvyat is non-points scoring driver, Antonio Giovinazzi picks up the final score with his 11th place finish.
It was a tricky day for Fortec’s Felix Serralles. An off on lap four dropped the Puerto Rican from 12th to 15th, before a tangle with Mans Grenhagen on lap 20, pitching Serralles to the edge of the top twenty. Several retirements would see the Fortec rise to 16th, but no further.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 1; 51 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time / Gap
1. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 35:41.189s
2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc +0.680
3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +7.728
4. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +8.843
5. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +21.824
6. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +21.895
7. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +22.481
8. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc +22.903
9. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +25.647
10. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +31.958
11. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +32.703
12. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +41.243
13. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +1 lap
14. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +1 lap
15. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +1 lap
16. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +1 lap
17. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +1 lap
18. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +1 lap
19. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +1 lap
20. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +1 lap
21. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +1 lap
22. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc +1 lap
23. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +1 lap
24. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +1 lap
25. Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris Dallara-Merc +1 lap
Retirements:
Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +12 laps
Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +16 laps
Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +16 laps
Did Not Start:
Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc DNS
2013 FIA European F3 Championship points standings Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 189.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 112 3. Alex Lynn 101.5 4. Lucas Auer 90 5. Harry Tincknell 83 6. Felix Serralles 76 7. Tom Blomqvist 70.5 8. Pascal Wehrlein 49 9. Josh Hill 40 10. Will Buller 37 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 303 2. Mucke Motorsport 179 3. Carlin 147 4. Fortec 119 5. EuroInternational 82
Mücke Motorsport racer Michael Lewis has been discharged from a London hospital following a sizeable accident at Paddock Hill Bend yesterday.
Attempting a qualifying run, the American ran too wide into the downhill opening bend, losing the rear end of his Dallara F312 and crashing hard into the tyre barrier.
Following the accident, Lewis remained conscious throughout the extraction process and was taken to the circuit’s medical centre. He was then transferred to a London hospital where he was diagnosed with a mild concussion, but suffered from no other significant injuries.
Lewis will not return to the driving seat until the next round at the Red Bull Ring in two weeks time.
Triple-pole for Alex Lynn. © FIA.
Alex Lynn secured all three pole positions for the FIA European Formula Three Championship round of Brands Hatch this evening.
In a pair of split sessions, the Prema Powerteam racer bided his time, before launching toward the top of the time sheets.
Best laps of 41.098s and 41.189s respectively were enough to give the Englishman top spot for the opening two races, with Lynn going faster still (40.845s) in the final session of the day. “For the first part, I just put in a few bankers [laps] and then decided to go for it. I was watching ‘Seabiscuit’ the other day and in the film whenever they wanted to go fast he’d say ‘time to let her loose’ and that’s exactly what I did.”
With 29 cars taking part this weekend, it was decided to split qualifying into two groups in order to prevent traffic unnecessary traffic issues. For both qualifying sessions, fifteen running contested group A, before the final fourteen went out in Group B to secure the positions.
The fastest group from the qualifying sessions assume the left hand side of the grid for all tree races, with the slower group residing on the dirtier side.
Lynn’s Prema teammate Raffaele Marciello topped both Group A sessions, ensuring he lines up 2nd for all three events. The Italian failed to break the 41.3s barrier during the first qualifying session, but smashed that in the second qualifying stint with a best 40.836s.
It leaves another Prema competitor, Lucas Auer, 3rd for all events. Both Sven Muller and Mans Grenhagen surprised, with the former securing 4th for the two races and Grenhagen taking 6th for race three.
The Group A session of qualifying two ended prematurely when Michael Lewis (Mücke Motorsport) went off at Paddock Hill Bend. The American is conscoius, but has been taken to hospital for check ups.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 1 Grid) Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 41.189s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 41.367s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 41.224s 4. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.477s 5. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.247s 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 41.486s 7. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 41.282s 8. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.725s 9. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.374s 10. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 41.777s 11. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 41.505s 12. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 41.799s 13. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 41.622s 14. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.810s 15. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 41.638s 16. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 41.890s 17. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.646s 18. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 41.955s 19. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.701s 20. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 41.980s 21. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.899s 22. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 42.033s 23. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.942s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 42.068s 25. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 42.168s 26. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 42.152s 27. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 42.418s 28. Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris Dallara-Merc 43.401s 29. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 42.613s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 2 Grid) Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 41.098s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 41.310s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 41.147s 4. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.395s 5. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.182s 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 41.425s 7. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 41.267s 8. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.704s 9. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.367s 10. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 41.731s 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 41.458s 12. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 41.756s 13. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 41.487s 14. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 41.756s 15. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 41.585s 16. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.798s 17. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.610s 18. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.801s 19. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.692s 20. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 41.816s 21. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.785s 22. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 41.827s 23. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.936s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 42.053s 25. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 42.091s 26. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 42.146s 27. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 42.384s 28. Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris Dallara-Merc 43.371s 29. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 42.560s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Race 3 Grid) Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 40.845s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 40.846s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 40.970s 4. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 41.052s 5. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 40.982s 6. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.245s 7. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 41.206s 8. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.247s 9. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.257s 10. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 41.285s 11. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 41.260s 12. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 41.322s 13. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.306s 22. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 41.332s 14. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 41.324s 15. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 41.382s 16. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 41.486s 17. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.296s 18. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.498s 19. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.537s 20. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.549s 21. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 41.554s 27. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 41.885s 26. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.557s 23. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.998s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 41.689s 25. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 42.040s 28. Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris Dallara-Merc 43.184s 29. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 42.206s
