
Raffaele Marciello and Daniil Kvyat secured the share of Formula 3 pole positions at Hockenheim on Friday.
In a damp, but drying session, Marciello immediately took command pushing his Prema Powerteam to the top of the times, ahead of teammates Alex Lynn and Lucas Auer.
For a portion of the twenty minutes, the trio swapped quick times, only for Marciello to set a time of 1:33.623, leaving him beyond his rivals in the later stages.
Marciello was content with his performance, although was irked that he could not make it three poles for three. “In first qualifying, the car was great and I am happy with my two pole positions. In the second part, however, I had some problems with my car and therefore, it didn’t go so well anymore. That is a pity, but when I win the two races in which I am starting from pole, I have scored a lot of points, too.”
Lynn and Auer cemented their positions in 2nd and 3rd respectively, fending off EuroInternational’s Tom Blomqvist (4th).
Fortec’s Felix Serralles showed improved qualifying pace to assume 5th ahead of Sven Muller (ma-con, a very respectable 6th), Eddie Cheever (Prema, 7th), Jordan King (Carlin, 8th), Josh Hill (Fortec, 9th) and Kvyat (Carlin, 10th)
Championship contender Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport) ended the session a disappointing 12th.
Marciello also took top spot for race two when second-fastest times were taken into account. The Italian will lead Blomqvist (2nd), Auer (3rd), Serralles (4th), Muller (5th) and Hill (6th).
Lynn was one of many drivers to have a faster lap disqualified for breaking track limits. The Englishman will line up 7th, with Dennis van de Laar to his right. Cheever (9th) and Rosenqvist (10th) filled out the fifth row.
A late, late effort by Kvyat denied King pole for the final race. Auer had led the session for the most part, before being toppled by a stellar effort from Carlin rookie King.
Just as the Englishman powered across the line, Rosenqvist spun out at the Nordkurve following his quickest lap, bringing out a brief red flag.
With six minutes remaining, it was a red flag that caught many out, their Hankook tyres having already had one bite taken from them. Come the restart, only Kvyat could go purple, taking with it a narrow pole and delighting the Carlin team in the process. “It is a very special feeling for me. To beat the guys who have such a great amount of experience here is an amazing feeling, I’m really happy,” beamed the 19-year-old.
Kvyat also noted, “The first session was very tricky and I didn’t feel very confident. We saw that we definitely had pace, so we decided to put on another set [of tyres] and here is the pole. Tomorrow I just have to have some fun in the races, but whatever I do I always aim to win. That’s what my sponsors expect from me – I had to come here and show that I am straight on it and I did that quite well.”
King remained 2nd, with Auer 3rd, Rosenqvist 4th and Serralles 5th, continuing his positive weekend so far. Lynn’s session was not ideal, as he secured 6th, just 0.012s clear of Prema teammate Eddie Cheever III, while Hill (8th), Blomqvist (9th) and a disappointed Marciello rounded out the top ten.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 3, Grid for race one) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.623s 2. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.745s + 0.122s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.776s + 0.153s 4. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 1m33.832s + 0.209s 5. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m33.841s + 0.218s 6. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m33.974s + 0.351s 7. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m34.045s + 0.422s 8. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.109s + 0.486s 9. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m34.153s + 0.530s 10. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.206s + 0.583s 11. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.246s + 0.623s 12. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.329s + 0.706s 13. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m34.369s + 0.746s 14. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.424s + 0.801s 15. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m34.451s + 0.828s 16. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m34.504s + 0.881s 17. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.560s + 0.937s 18. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.630s + 1.007s 19. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m34.938s + 1.315s 20. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m35.110s + 1.487s 21. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m35.225s + 1.602s 22. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m35.281s + 1.658s 23. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m35.363s + 1.740s 24. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m35.411s + 1.788s 25. Ed Jones Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m35.667s + 2.044s 26. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m35.680s + 2.057s 27. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 1m35.842s + 2.219s 28. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 1m36.063s + 2.440s 29. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m36.589s + 2.966s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 3, Grid for race two) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.685s 2. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 1m33.938s + 0.253s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m34.015s + 0.330s 4. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m34.040s + 0.355s 5. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m34.094s + 0.409s 6. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m34.214s + 0.529s 7. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m34.288s + 0.603s 8. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m34.476s + 0.791s 9. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m34.486s + 0.801s 10. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.526s + 0.841s 11. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.541s + 0.856s 12. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.549s + 0.864s 13. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.590s + 0.905s 14. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m34.600s + 0.915s 15. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.637s + 0.952s 16. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.709s + 1.024s 17. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.782s + 1.097s 18. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m34.881s + 1.196s 19. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m35.104s + 1.419s 20. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m35.271s + 1.586s 21. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m35.330s + 1.645s 22. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m35.556s + 1.871s 23. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m35.593s + 1.908s 24. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 1m35.869s + 2.184s 25. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m35.946s + 2.261s 26. Edward Jones Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m36.076s + 2.391s 27. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m36.260s + 2.575s 28. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 1m36.560s + 2.875s 29. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m36.942s + 3.257s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 3, Grid for race three) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 1m33.367s 2. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 1m33.418s + 0.051s 3. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.486s + 0.119s 4. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m33.536s + 0.169s 5. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m33.574s + 0.207s 6. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.583s + 0.216s 7. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.595s + 0.228s 8. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m33.623s + 0.256s 9. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 1m33.641s + 0.274s 10. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 1m33.718s + 0.351s 11. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m33.737s + 0.370s 12. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m33.772s + 0.405s 13. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m33.854s + 0.487s 14. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m33.983s + 0.616s 15. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.077s + 0.710s 16. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 1m34.172s + 0.805s 17. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.387s + 1.020s 18. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m34.406s + 1.039s 19. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 1m34.487s + 1.120s 20. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 1m34.719s + 1.352s 21. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 1m34.792s + 1.425s 22. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 1m34.904s + 1.537s 23. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1m34.905s + 1.538s 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 1m34.934s + 1.567s 25. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m35.024s + 1.657s 26. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 1m35.276s + 1.909s 27. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 1m36.133s + 2.766s 28. Ed Jones Fortec Dallara-Merc {no time} 29. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc {no time}