Felix Rosenqvist and Lucas Auer topped the time sheets of this morning’s European Formula 3 free practice sessions at Brands Hatch.
Running on the much-lamented “Indy circuit”, Rosenqvist (Mücke) made the most of the cool conditions to register 35 laps in the opening forty-minute run, with a best tour of 41.570s.
The Swede swapped the mixed it at the top of board with Prema Powerteam pairing Alex Lynn, Raffaele Marciello and Carlin’s Jordan King. Sven Muller set the early pace in the session, as cars ventured out onto the cool track for the first time.
Auer went three-tenths quicker in the second free practice session, setting a best of 41.276s, garnering a 0.049s gap over Marciello. Rosenqvist went two-tenths quicker than his earlier time, but dropped to 3rd, while Mans Grenhagen showed improved late pace to scoop 4th spot.
The sessions were relatively quiet, although an off for Lynn at Clearways ended the opening session a few minutes earlier. Jann Mardenborough suffered a brief off through Paddock Hill Bend, but survived without damage.
Meanwhile Daniil Kvyat signed a deal to race with Carlin over the remainder of the European F3 season, alongside his GP3 drive with Arden. The Romeo Ferraris team return to the Formula 3 paddock with Michele Cerruti, following their absence from the Hockenheimring.
Fortec have reduced their weekend package back down to three cars, following Ed Jones’ guest appearance in the previous round. It means the field comes in at 29 entries – this was initially an issue due the Indy circuit’s limitation to 28 slots; however, that issue has since been bypassed and all 29 drives will start.
2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Free Practice 1) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.570s 2. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 41.612s + 0.042s 3. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 41.687s + 0.117s 4. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 41.710s + 0.140s 5. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 41.741s + 0.171s 6. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.844s + 0.273s 7. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.848s + 0.278s 8. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.898s + 0.328s 9. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 41.902s + 0.332s 10. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 41.902s + 0.332s 11. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 41.930s + 0.360s 12. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 41.934s + 0.364s 13. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 42.001s + 0.431s 14. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 42.034s + 0.464s 15. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 42.049s + 0.479s 16. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 42.136s + 0.566s 17. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 42.141s + 0.571s 18. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 42.268s + 0.698s 19. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 42.278s + 0.708s 20. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 42.331s + 0.761s 21. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 42.398s + 0.828s 22. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 42.467s + 0.897s 23. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 42.566s + 0.996s 24. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 42.676s + 1.106s 25. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 42.784s + 1.214s 26. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 42.879s + 1.309s 27. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 43.880s + 1.310s 28. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 43.074s + 1.504s 29. Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris Dallara-Merc 44.298s + 2.728s 2013 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 4, Free Practice 2) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 41.276s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 41.325s + 0.049s 3. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.348s + 0.072s 4. Mans Grenhagen Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.450s + 0.174s 5. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.468s + 0.192s 6. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 41.469s + 0.193s 7. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 41.470s + 0.194s 8. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 41.478s + 0.202s 9. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 41.532s + 0.256s 10. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.560s + 0.284s 11. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 41.596s + 0.320s 12. Josh Hill Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.601s + 0.325s 13. Will Buller T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 41.603s + 0.327s 14. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 41.613s + 0.337s 15. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 41.654s + 0.378s 16. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 41.672s + 0.396s 17. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 41.683s + 0.407s 18. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 41.723s + 0.447s 19. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 41.837s + 0.561s 20. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 41.874s + 0.615s 21. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 41.891s + 0.686s 22. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 41.962s + 0.748s 23. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 42.024s + 0.790s 24. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 42.066s + 0.916s 25. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 42.192s + 1.740s 26. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 42.385s + 1.109s 27. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 42.646s + 1.370s 28. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 42.755s + 1.479s 29. Michela Cerruti Romeo Ferraris Dallara-Merc 43.815s + 2.539s
