“FIA F3: Blomqvist fastest in ‘Qualifying 2’, but Verstappen takes Hockenheim poles”

Tom Blomqvist stormed to the top of the FIA European F3 ‘Qualifying 2’ timesheets this evening; however a penalty for changing his Volkwagen engine has earned the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin driver three ten-place grid penalties.

The penalty gives Max Verstappen pole position for both of tomorrow’s races. Blomqvist will also carry a ten-place grid penalty for race one in the third round at Pau.

Blomqvist made certain of the initial result by twice being the only driver to break the 1’32” marker. Indeed come the end of session, Blomqvist’s best of 1:31.655 was almost four-tenths quicker than the nearest quick man Verstappen.
Despite the penalty, Blomqvist was delighted with his effort. “That was the best qualifying I have ever driven in my career and I am very happy with it. I am almost lost for words. It wasn’t easy, because the team had to replace the engine before qualifying.”
He added: “It was possibly one of my strongest qualifying sessions I’ve ever had. I felt really on it and knew we were running very well throughout so it’s a nice way to repay the team for all of their hard work.”

While Esteban Ocon, Antonio Giovinazzi, Antonio Fuoco and Felix Serralles seemed content to head the time sheets through the opening 15 minutes of 20, Blomqvist made his presence felt when he jumped to the top of the standings with a 1:31.958s.

Verstappen followed that up with a 1:32.014s, while Ocon maintained the pressure by lapping some three-hundredths slower than his Dutch rival; however no-one had any answer for Blomqvist’s next run, which put the Volkswagen-powered driver beyond the reach.

With slightly older engines, Verstappen and Ocon could do no better, while Giovinazzi rose to 4th with three minutes remaining, when he clocked up a 1:32.105.
Ed Jones registered a lap six-hundredths for 5th and Antonio Fuoco had a better go at qualifying today, when he assumed 6th spot ahead of Felix Rosenqvist and race one winner Lucas Auer. Felix Serralles and Nicholas Latifi rounded out the top ten.
Disappointingly, Jordan King could only manage a best of 19th, having finished on the podium earlier in the day.

2014 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 2, Qualifying 2) 
Pos Driver                Team                      Time 
 1. Max Verstappen        Van Amersfoort-Volkswagen 1:32.014 
 2. Esteban Ocon          Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.044 
 3. Antonio Giovinazzi    Jagonya Ayam/Carlin-VW    1:32.105 
 4. Ed Jones              Carlin-Volkswagen         1:32.164 
 5. Antonio Fuoco         Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.208 
 6. Felix Rosenqvist      Mucke-Mercedes            1:32.228 
 7. Lucas Auer            Mucke-Mercedes            1:32.258 
 8. Felix Serralles       Team West-Tec-Mercedes    1:32.278 
 9. Nicholas Latifi       Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.314 
10. Jake Dennis           Carlin-Volkswagen         1:32.327 
11. Tom Blomqvist         Jagonya Ayam/Carlin-VW    1:31.655*
12. Dennis van de Laar    Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.344 
13. Mitch Gilbert         Fortec-Mercedes           1:32.445 
14. John Bryant-Meisner   Fortec-Mercedes           1:32.575 
15. Gustavo Menezes       Van Amersfoort-Volkswagen 1:32.688 
16. Jules Szymkowiak      Van Amersfoort-Volkswagen 1:32.740 
17. Sean Gelael           Jagonya Ayam/Carlin-VW    1:32.776 
18. Alexander Toril       ThreeBond/T-Sport-NBE     1:32.861 
19. Jordan King           Carlin-Volkswagen         1:32.871 
20. Spike Goddard         ThreeBond/T-Sport-NBE     1:32.887 
21. Felipe Guimaraes      Double R-Mercedes         1:33.011 
22. Riccardo Agostini     EuroInternational-Merc    1:33.208 
23. Roy Nissany           Mucke-Mercedes            1:33.231 
24. Sandro Zeller         Zeller-Mercedes           1:33.365
25. Hector Hurst          Team West-Tec-Mercedes    1:33.798
26. Michele Beretta       EuroInternational-Merc    1:33.377** 
27. Tatiana Calderon      Zeller/Mucke-Mercedes     1:33.361*

Notes:
Penalties
Tom Blomqvist and Tatiana Calderon; 10-place grid drop (using different engine, following previous round).
Michele Beretta; 5-place grid drop, (causing collision in race one).

2014 FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 2, Qualifying 3) 
Pos Driver                Team                      Time 
 1. Max Verstappen        Van Amersfoort-Volkswagen 1:32.185 
 2. Esteban Ocon          Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.242 
 3. Antonio Giovinazzi    Jagonya Ayam/Carlin-VW    1:32.251 
 4. Felix Rosenqvist      Mucke-Mercedes            1:32.256 
 5. Antonio Fuoco         Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.257 
 6. Ed Jones              Carlin-Volkswagen         1:32.304 
 7. Lucas Auer            Mucke-Mercedes            1:32.382 
 8. Dennis van de Laar    Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.501 
 9. Jake Dennis           Carlin-Volkswagen         1:32.512 
10. Nicholas Latifi       Prema Powerteam-Mercedes  1:32.591 
11. Tom Blomqvist         Jagonya Ayam/Carlin-VW    1:31.958*
12. John Bryant-Meisner   Fortec-Mercedes           1:32.626 
13. Felix Serralles       Team West-Tec-Mercedes    1:32.636 
14. Mitch Gilbert         Fortec-Mercedes           1:32.753 
15. Sean Gelael           Jagonya Ayam/Carlin-VW    1:32.814 
16. Gustavo Menezes       Van Amersfoort-Volkswagen 1:32.829 
17. Jules Szymkowiak      Van Amersfoort-Volkswagen 1:32.829 
18. Spike Goddard         ThreeBond/T-Sport-NBE     1:32.906 
19. Jordan King           Carlin-Volkswagen         1:32.937 
20. Alexander Toril       ThreeBond/T-Sport-NBE     1:32.940 
21. Felipe Guimaraes      Double R-Mercedes         1:33.040 
22. Riccardo Agostini     EuroInternational-Merc    1:33.360 
23. Michele Beretta       EuroInternational-Merc    1:33.479 
24. Roy Nissany           Mucke-Mercedes            1:33.483 
25. Sandro Zeller         Zeller-Mercedes           1:33.601
26. Hector Hurst          Team West-Tec-Mercedes    1:33.892
27. Tatiana Calderon      Zeller/Mucke-Mercedes     1:33.483*

Notes:
Penalties
Tom Blomqvist and Tatiana Calderon; 10-place grid drop (using different engine, following previous round).