Prema Powerteam racer Daniel Juncadella headed the opening Formula 3 practice session at the Norisring this morning.
The Spaniard pipped Harry Tincknell and Tom Blomqvist to the top spot, although many of the session’s faster times came courtesy of fresh Hankook rubber.
Pau Grand Prix victor Raffaele Marciello was lumbered with a loose wheel on his final run, although the Italian brought his Prema car back to the safety of the pits, before engaging another run.
Duvashen Padayachee endured a torrid time in his Double R machine. A broken clutch necessitated lost time in the garage, only for his mechanics to discover an additional gearbox issue later on.
Norisring’s heavy bumps dominated discussion amongst drivers, as each pilot assumed various routes to solving balance issues.
Due to the fast layout of the circuit, many of the competitors are running thin rear wing sections, adding to the lack of feel through the circuits few turns – something that may prey upon driver’s minds as they skim Norisring’s punishing walls.
The circuit’s high top speeds have also proven to be difficult on brakes, with drivers struggling to come to grips with the hard braking points.
2012 European F3 Championship (Rd 5) / British F3 (Rd 4) / F3 Euro Series (Rd 5) Free Prcatice
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc 49.897s 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.958s + 0.061s 3. Tom Blomqvist Ma-Con Dallara-VW 49.976s + 0.079s 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 50.005s + 0.108s 5. Pietro Fantin Carlin Dallara-VW 50.011s + 0.114s 6. Michael Lewis Prema Dallara-Merc 50.080s + 0.183s 7. Pascal Wehrlein Mucke Dallara-Merc 50.093s + 0.196s 8. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin Dallara-VW 50.104s + 0.207s 9. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 50.115s + 0.218s 10. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 50.129s + 0.232s 11. Sven Muller Prema Dallara-Merc 50.136s + 0.239s 12. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 50.206s + 0.309s 13. Emil Bernstorff Ma-Con Dallara-VW 50.210s + 0.313s 14. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 50.227s + 0.330s 15. Will Buller Carlin Dallara-VW 50.273s + 0.376s 16. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec Dallara-Merc 50.411s + 0.514s 17. Alex Lynn Fortec Dallara-Merc 50.427s + 0.530s 18. Nick McBride T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 50.480s + 0.583s 19. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 50.518s + 0.621s 20. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 50.601s + 0.704s 21. Geoff Uhrhane Double R Dallara-Merc 50.611s + 0.714s 22. Andrea Roda Zeller Dallara-Merc 50.625s + 0.728s 23. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 50.678s + 0.781s 24. Luis Sa Silva Angola Dallara-Merc 50.837s + 0.940s 25. Fahmi Ilyas Double R Dallara-Merc 50.978s + 1.081s 26. Philip Ellis GU Dallara-Merc 51.255s + 1.358s 27. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 51.386s + 1.489s 28. Duvashen Padayachee Double R Dallara-Mugen 52.530s + 2.633s
Bold = British F3
Italics = British F3 National Class
