“FIA F3: Rosenqvist takes first pole of the season”

Rosenqvist took pole for Silverstone race 1. © FIA F3 Media Services.
Rosenqvist took pole for Silverstone race 1. © FIA F3 Media Services.

Felix Rosenqvist took the first FIA European F3 pole of the season during today’s qualifying session at Silverstone.

Following a bright and warm morning, the clouds descended over the Northamptonshire circuit, with even brief sprinkles of rain making their appearance known before the green flag.

It mattered little to the experienced Swede, who took the top spot by over one-quarter-of-a-second from Jagonya Ayam Carlin racer Antonio Giovinazzi.

Following a pair of morning sessions where Rosenqvist proved quick – but not quickest – the 23-year-old found space amongst the crowded Silverstone circuit to go quickest on the third of his seven laps.
Indeed, a majority of the fastest times came midway through runs, as the Hankook tyres peaked, before giving up premium grip.

Behind Giovinazzi, Jake Dennis (Prema Powerteam) and series debutante George Russell (Carlin) secured the second row, followed by Charles Leclerc (van Amersfoort) and free practice fast man Brandon Maïsano (Prema Powerteam).

If the midfield is as close in the race as it was in qualifying, we may be in for a stellar battle, as the gap from 11th (Maximilian Günther) to 23rd (Mikkel Jensen) was a mere quarter-of-a-second.

With a 35-car grid for tomorrows season opener, those who manage traffic the best could be the big winners.

2015 FIA European F3 (Rd 1, Qualifying 1)
Pos  Driver                  Team                  Time
 1.  Felix Rosenqvist        Prema Powerteam-Merc  1:51.007
 2.  Antonio Giovinazzi      Jagonya Carlin-VW     1:51.274
 3.  Jake Dennis             Prema Powerteam-Merc  1:51.332
 4.  George Russell          Carlin-VW             1:51.652
 5.  Charles Leclerc         van Amersfoort-VW     1:51.685
 6.  Brandon Maïsano         Prema Powerteam-Merc  1:51.768
 7.  Alexander Albon         Signature-VW          1:51.792
 8.  Lance Stroll            Prema Powerteam-Merc  1:52.066
 9.  Markus Pommer           Motopark-VW           1:52.113
10.  Callum Ilot             Carlin-VW             1:52.113
11.  Maximilian Günther      Mücke-Merc            1:52.294
12.  Ryan Tveter             Jagonya Carlin-VW     1:52.309
13.  Gustavo Menezes         Jagonya Carlin-VW     1:52.324
14.  Nicolas Beer            EuroInternatonal-Merc 1:52.352
15.  Nabil Jeffri            Motopark-VW           1:52.374
16.  Arjun Maini             van Amersfoort-VW     1:52.426
17.  Pietro Fittipaldi       Fortec-Merc           1:52.443
18.  Sérgio Sette            Motopark-VW           1:52.446
19.  Fabian Schiller         West-Tec-Merc         1:52.486
20.  Dorian Boccolacci       Signature-VW          1:52.490
21.  Alessio Lorandi         van Amersfoort-VW     1:52.496
22.  Raoul Hyman             West-Tec-Merc         1:52.543
23.  Mikkel Jensen           Mücke-Merc            1:52.543
24.  Tatiana Calderon        Carlin-VW             1:52.798
25.  Santino Ferrucci        Mücke-Merc            1:52.849
26.  Sam MacLeod             Motopark-VW           1:52.879
27.  Hongwei Cao             Fortec-Merc           1:52.901
28.  Julio Moreno            ThreeBond T-Sport-NBE 1:52.938
29.  Matt Solomon            Double R-Merc         1:53.039
30.  Michele Beretta         Mücke-Merc            1:53.073
31.  Kang Ling               Mücke-Merc            1:53.198
32.  Matthew Rao             West-Tec-Merc         1:53.251
33.  Zhi Cong Li             West-Tec-Merc         1:53.305
34.  Nicolas Pohler          Double R-Merc         1:53.705
35.  Mahaveer Raghunathan    Motopark-VW           1:53.874

Leave a Reply