“Marciello grabs double Formula 3 pole at Pau”

Raffaele Marciello scored a double pole for the second round of the FIA European F3 Championship at the prestigious Grand Prix de Pau.

Setting a best of 1:10.600, the Swiss-born Italian* racer claimed the top spot ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr for race one.
Having been split into two groups, the faster session takes the outside lane on start / finish, culminating pole for the fastest driver overall, while those in the slower session form the inside lane.

Marciello made the most of hitting the track in the latter session, hitting the circuit as the surface reached its best condition of the weekend.
The Prema Powerteam driver nearly lost it all as the final session aged – a spin at the entrance to turn two dropped Marciello into one of Pau’s few run off areas. Undamaged, he continued to set quicker times.

Sainz Jr set the fastest time in the opening session, giving the Spaniard 2nd on the grid, although his ultimate pace fell two-tenths shy of Marciello.
Jazeman Jaafar assumed 3rd on the grid in his Volkswagen-powered Carlin, while the slightly quicker Daniel Juncadella gave his Prema Powerteam machine a healthy 4th spot. An excellent late effort by Pipo Derani mean he will line up 5th – a 1:10.887 left him perilously close to pipping Jaafar.
Pascal Wehrlein was the fastest of the Mücke Mercedes – the 17-year-old placed over a tenth faster than British F3 regulars Alex Lynn (Fortec, 7th) and Jack Harvey (Carlin, 8th). Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke) and Sven Muller (Prema Powerteam) filled out the fifth row, rendering in the middle of a danger-filled midfield.

The grid for race two was set in a somewhat similar manner, with all the driver’s second fastest times solidifying the order. As with the grid for race one, those in faster second session will line-up on the outside, with those in the opening session forming up on the inside of the starting grid.

As noted previously, Marciello assumed pole for race two; however on this occasion Juncadella claimed 2nd spot, while Jaafar and Wehrlein drew 3rd and 4th respectively. Alex Lynn gave himself a better position for race two with 5th, with Harvey alongside. Rosenqvist (7th) and Sainz Jr (8th) form the fourth row.

Duvashen Padayachee beat Spike Goddard to National Class pole for both races; however neither could move any higher than the final row at any stage.

*{note 1}
Despite the Italian flag that may adorn his space beside his name, Marciello was actually born in Zurich in December 1994.
That his license was registered in Italy probably serves some purpose for young Marciello, but it does confuse writers like me to bits; however that would not be awfully difficult – writers are easily confused from time-to-time.

2012 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 2, Race 1 Qualifying)
Pos Driver Team Time
 1. Raffaele Marciello    Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:10.600
 2. Carlos Sainz Jr       Carlin-Volkswagen         1:10.802
 3. Jazeman Jaafar        Carlin-Volkswagen         1:10.864
 4. Daniel Juncadella     Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:10.826
 5. Pipo Derani           Fortec-Mercedes           1:10.887
 6. Pascal Wehrlein       Mücke-Mercedes            1:10.853
 7. Alex Lynn             Fortec-Mercedes           1:11.095
 8. Jack Harvey           Carlin-Volkswagen         1:10.987
 9. Felix Rosenqvist      Mücke-Mercedes            1:11.122
10. Sven Muller           Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:11.341
11. Harry Tincknell       Carlin-Volkswagen         1:11.164
12. Tom Blomqvist         ma-con-Volkswagen         1:11.852
13. Michael Lewis         Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:11.444
14. Felix Serralles       Fortec-Mercedes           1:11.920
15. Hannes van Asseldonk  Fortec-Mercedes           1:11.573
16. Pietro Fantin         Carlin-Volkswagen         1:12.182
17. Emil Bernstorff       ma-con-Volkswagen         1:12.053
18. Fahmi Ilyas           Double R-Mercedes         1:12.211
19. Nick McBride          T-Sport-Nissan            1:12.156
20. Andre Roda            Jo Zeller-Mercedes        1:12.425
21. Geoff Uhrhane         Double R-Mercedes         1:12.412
22. Sandro Zeller         Jo Zeller-Mercedes        1:13.473
23. Duvashen Padayachee   Double R-Mugen Honda      1:14.681
24. Spike Goddard         T-Sport-Mugen Honda       1:14.071

2012 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 2, Race 2 Qualifying)
Pos Driver Team Time
 1. Raffaele Marciello    Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:10.618
 2. Daniel Juncadella     Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:10.854
 3. Jazeman Jaafar        Carlin-Volkswagen         1:10.901
 4. Pascal Wehrlein       Mücke-Mercedes            1:10.981
 5. Alex Lynn             Fortec-Mercedes           1:11.131
 6. Jack Harvey           Carlin-Volkswagen         1:11.260
 7. Felix Rosenqvist      Mücke-Mercedes            1:11.215
 8. Carlos Sainz Jr       Carlin-Volkswagen         1:11.305
 9. Pipo Derani           Fortec-Mercedes           1:11.390
10. Sven Muller           Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:11.487
11. Harry Tincknell       Carlin-Volkswagen         1:11.486
12. Tom Blomqvist         ma-con-Volkswagen         1:11.915
13. Hannes van Asseldonk  Fortec-Mercedes           1:11.784
14. Felix Serralles       Fortec-Mercedes           1:12.211
15. Michael Lewis         Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:11.807
16. Fahmi Ilyas           Double R-Mercedes         1:12.387
17. Emil Bernstroff       ma-con-Volkswagen         1:12.191
18. Pietro Fantin         Carlin-Volkswagen         1:12.464
19. Nick McBride          T-Sport-Nissan            1:12.364
20. Andre Roda Jo         Zeller-Mercedes           1:12.590
21. Geoff Uhrhane         Double R-Mercedes         1:12.668
22. Sandro Zeller         Jo Zeller-Mercedes        1:13.536
23. Duvashen Padayachee   Double R-Mugen Honda      1:14.692
24. Spike Goddard         T-Sport-Mugen Honda       1:14.574

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