It is that particular engine pitch – not a cream by any stretch, but a low, sullen roar.
Although not as aurally threatening in the same way its Formula One parentage can be, the sound of a Formula 3 engine ricocheting amidst the trees at Monza’s famous Parabolica corner deliver their own might.
The characteristics of the engine notes do not chime together exactly. Lyrically they are distinct, but between the Mercedes, Volkswagen and Nissan offerings showcase the dips and peaks of tones that are often so subtle, as to often be unnoticeable to all but the most trained of hearing.
The lines through Parabolica vary too, but like the engine tones, the differing approaches are minor and often dependent on comfort.
Tom Blomqvist is a good example. Still not quite settled in with the Dallara F312, Blomqvist is a touch sensitive through the long, lingering bend, yet manages to hold it together.
That the Red Bull Junior Driver held it together despite his fire extinguisher going off in cockpit toward the tail end of the first qualifying session. He would walk away with a 4th, 4th and 9th for the Sunday races.
A slight change of conditions helped – the afternoon brought with it welcome warmth, allowing one to not only park the jacket, but also for the tyres to generate some temperature.
Unfortunately for Felix Rosenqvist, the Swede would lose out in the rush for time. Unable to garner a powerful draft, Rosenqvist had to make do with the high end of the midpack – 11th, 7th and 12th left him quite brow beaten and lost.
Will Buller suffered the same in the final qualifying session – coming in only six-tenths shy of pole, the Northern Irish racer lamented the hypothetical three-tenths lost without a sparring partner.
At Prema Powerteam, Raffaele Marciello exuded confidence. Wringing the neck of his Mercedes-powered machine, the soft-spoken Italian looked planted throughout the session, but missed the top spot to old and temporary rival Pascal Wehrlein.
Marciello would eventually claim pole for race three, but will make do with a 2nd and 3rd for the opening pair of races.
Competing in his only Formula 3 round before moving to DTM, Wehrlein mastered the slipstream to draft to the top of the standings with his final lap.
Two poles and a 2nd place was Wehrlein’s reward. The 18-year-old just looks so comfortable and quick – his star will be missed for the rest of this year.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 1, Qualifying Race 1) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Pascal Wehrlein Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m45.245s 2. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.274s + 0.029s 3. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.280s + 0.035s 4. Tom Blomqvist EuroIntern'l Dallara-Merc 1m45.514s + 0.269s 5. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.878s + 0.393s 6. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.638s + 0.425s 7. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.692s + 0.447s 8. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.723s + 0.478s 9. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.806s + 0.561s 10. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m45.870s + 0.625s 11. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m45.900s + 0.655s 12. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m45.918s + 0.673s 13. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.919s + 0.674s 14. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m46.086s + 0.841s 15. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m46.090s + 0.845s 16. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m46.119s + 0.874s 17. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.177s + 0.932s 18. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.189s + 0.944s 19. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.301s + 1.056s 20. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 1m46.398s + 1.153s 21. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m46.424s + 1.179s 22. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.486s + 1.241s 23. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 1m46.936s + 1.691s 24. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m47.085s + 1.840s 25. Gary Thompson Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m47.131s + 1.886s 26. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m46.388s + 2.031s 27. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m47.437s + 2.192s 28. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m47.675s + 2.430s 29. Dmitry Suranovich Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m48.596s + 3.351s 30. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m48.836s + 3.591s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 1, Qualifying Race 2) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Pascal Wehrlein Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m45.307s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.559s + 0.252s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.626s + 0.319s 4. Tom Blomqvist EuroIntern'l Dallara-Merc 1m45.626s + 0.319s 5. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.820s + 0.513s 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.873s + 0.566s 7. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m45.917s + 0.610s 8. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.920s + 0.613s 9. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m45.974s + 0.667s 10. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.049s + 0.742s 11. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m46.117s + 0.810s 12. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m46.210s + 0.903s 13. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m46.210s + 0.903s 14. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.262s + 0.955s 15. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.399s + 1.092s 16. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m46.404s + 1.097s 17. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.408s + 1.101s 18. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.430s + 1.123s 19. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m46.548s + 1.241s 20. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m46.574s + 1.267s 21. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 1m46.748s + 1.441s 22. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.785s + 1.478s 23. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m47.190s + 1.883s 24. Gary Thompson Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m47.311s + 2.004s 25. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m47.461s + 2.154s 26. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m47.484s + 2.177s 27. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m47.722s + 2.415s 28. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 1m47.982s + 2.675s 29. Dmitry Suranovich Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m48.640s + 3.333s 30. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m48.985s + 3.678s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 1, Qualifying Race 3) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m44.781s 2. Pascal Wehrlein Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m44.946s + 0.165s 3. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m44.987s + 0.206s 4. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.026s + 0.245s 5. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.240s + 0.459s 6. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.259s + 0.478s 7. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m45.296s + 0.515s 8. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.321s + 0.540s 9. Tom Blomqvist EuroIntern'l Dallara-Merc 1m45.355s + 0.574s 10. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m45.452s + 0.671s 11. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m45.530s + 0.749s 12. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m45.547s + 0.766s 13. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.662s + 0.881s 14. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.717s + 0.936s 15. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 1m46.748s + 0.967s 16. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m45.774s + 0.993s 17. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.822s + 1.041s 18. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m45.919s + 1.138s 19. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m46.143s + 1.362s 20. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m46.204s + 1.423s 21. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.332s + 1.551s 22. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.355s + 1.574s 23. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m46.725s + 1.944s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m46.964s + 2.183s 25. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m47.218s + 2.437s 26. Gary Thompson Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m47.223s + 2.442s 27. Dmitry Suranovich Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m47.596s + 2.815s 28. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m47.763s + 2.982s 29. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 1m47.782s + 3.001s 30. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 1m48.981s + 4.200s
