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
