At Brands Brands in May, the BMW team spent much of the Friday evening practicing pitstops with Bruno Spengler’s car.
It is here, away from the glaring lights and the TV personalties that races are often won and lost.
The seeds for the success enjoyed by Spengler (et al) are sown on quiet evenings such as these, where they aim to make such ferocious and intricate tasks seem like ballet.
Over and over and over again. Just practice. As Colin Chapman once famously said, “if you are not winning, you are not trying.”
© FIA.
Not long after being reclassified for the opening two races, Felix Rosenqvist topped off a perfect Sunday morning by taking the final FIA European Formula 3 race of the weekend at Norisring.
The Swede had initially been disqualified from all three races following what was initially declared an irregular fuel sample; however following an appeal a resample was ordered and the original penalty rescinded.
After being forced to miss two podiums yesterday, Rosenqvist was determined to correct that and the Mucke racer did so in commanding style.
Starting on the front row, Rosenqvist drew alongside points leader and polesitter Raffaele Marciello into the opening hairpin, while 3rd place man Alex Lynn pressed the Swede unsuccessfully for 2nd spot.
For several tours, Rosenqvist leaned on Marciello, causing the Italian to slip raggedly from time to time, before the Mucke racer finally forced an error from Marciello into the hairpin on lap 14.
With grip still relatively low compared to most circuit, Marciello took some uncompromising lines around the short track, with the Prema man eventually running wide under pressure and allowing Rosenqvist into the lead.
From there, Rosenqvist drew a healthy lead, pulling out a gap of just under five seconds at the flag, making it four wins from six of the last European Championship rounds. With success taken at the Zandvoort Masters last week, Rosenqvist is certainly on a roll.
Following is error, Marciello had to briefly hold Lynn and Tom Blomqvist at bay, but the Italian had enough in hand to pull slyly away from the rearguard fight.
Lynn, too, built a gap between his Prema machine and Blomqvist’s EuroInternational entry, solidifying his third consecutive podium result, bringing him to 3rd in the points standings, ahead of Lucas Auer.
Meanwhile Blomqvist had more to do thanks to the feisty Alexander Sims and Auer – both of whom pressed the Son of Stig for lap after lap. Sims and Auer swapped positions between themselves on a few occasions, all the while never letting Blomqvist out of their sights.
There were some close call, most notably when Auer clipped the rear of Blomqvist in the first turn on lap 22, allowing Sims trough into 5th only one tour after Sims had also overshot the hairpin.
Sims would make a similar error on lap 29, again letting Auer assume the 5th position; however that would all change on the final lap, when Sims – sensing one last opportunity – unsettled the Austrian through the chicane, opening a door for Sims to take 5th in the final corner. Another superb result from Sims who is taking part in the first of two F3 rounds of the year.
Pipo Derani took 7th after winning a race long battle with Harry Tincknell. The Brazilian made another good start following an indifferent qualifying session, only to be taken for 8th by Tincknell six laps in.
Chasing 7th, Tincknell dived passed Carlin’s Daniil Kvyat in the hairpin 19 laps in; however both ran very wide, opening the door for Derani to steal 7th. Despite pushing the Fortec racer, Tincknell could do no better than 8th at the flag. Kvyat continued to fall down the order, dropping as low as 14th, before pitted to end his race.
Jordan King enjoyed a quiet race to finish 9th. The same could not be said for Sven Muller, who fought initially with F3 new boy Nick Cassidy, eventually finishing the job on lap 33.
The race was not without incident. Four laps in, Nicholas Latifi made a hash of the hairpin, taking both he and Michael Lewis out of the running, before Wolf collected Antonio Giovinazzi several tours later.
The final clash came six laps from the end when the slow starting Felix Serralles clumsily collected Jann Mardenborough – again in the hair – taking Serralles out of the race. Roy Nissany, who had for several laps pressed Serralles, spun into the outer wall in sympathy, as Serralles’ careered off ahead.
Mardenborough continued, despite a dislodged rear wing, finishing 12th behind Cassidy and ahead of the chasing Dennis van der Laar.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, race 3, Norisring; 42 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 34m12.917s
2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc +4.993s
3. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc +9.377s
4. Tom Blomqvist EuroInternational Dallara-Merc +12.024s
5. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +13.579s
6. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +13.733s
7. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +16.433s
8. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +17.248s
9. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +17.944s
10. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +22.433s
11. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc +23.712s
12. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +33.993s
13. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +34.627s
14. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +34.985s
15. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +41.453s
16. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +42.154s
17. Mitch Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +43.312s
18. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +43.609s
19. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +1 lap
20. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc +1 lap
Retirements:
Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +6 laps
Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +7 laps
Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +17 laps
Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +31 laps
Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +32 laps
Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc +39 laps
Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +39 laps
Did Not Start:
Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc DNS
Notes:
Results for races 1&2 revised prior to race 3. Felix Rosenqvist reinstated.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 1 final results, Norisring; 39 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 35:46.130s
2. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +0.336s*
3. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc +1.178s
4. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +2.077s
5. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +3.680s
6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +7.231s
7. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +9.124s
8. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +12.463s
9. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +17.201s
10. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc +17.616s
11. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +18.605s
12. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +21.203s
13 Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +21.546s
14. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +22.616s
15. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +23.491s
16. Nick Cassidy Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +26.239s
17. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +26.424s
18. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc +32.301s
19. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +2 laps
Retirements:
Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +5 laps
Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +5 laps
Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +5 laps
Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +21 laps
Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc +24 laps
Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +27 laps
Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +33 laps
Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +34 laps
Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +38 laps
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, race 2 final results, Norisring; 42 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 34m22.297s
2. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +1.257s
3. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc +2.355s
4. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +3.258s
5. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +11.396s
6. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +12.271s
7. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +12.672s
8. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +13.647s
9. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +19.545s
10. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc +20.098s
11. Nick Cassidy Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +21.008s
12. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +21.327s
13. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +25.377s
14. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +27.685s
15. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +34.228s
16. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +36.076s
17. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +36.792s
18. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +41.601s
19. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +44.460s
20. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +44.616s
21. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +44.702s
22. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +46.229s
23. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +1 lap
24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +1 lap
25. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +1 lap
26. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc +1 lap
27. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +1 lap
28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc +2 laps
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 3) Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 297.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 273 4. Alex Lynn 188.5 3. Lucas Auer 173 5. Harry Tincknell 146 6. Tom Blomqvist 122.5 7. Felix Serralles 98 8. Jordan King 80 9. Sven Muller 61 10. Josh Hill 56 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 529 2. Mucke Motorsport 369 3. Carlin 277 4. Fortec 180 5. EuroInternational 140
© FIA.
Alex Lynn claimed his second FIA European Formula 3 victory of the season in stellar style at the Norisring this evening.
The Englishman jumped the slow starting poleman Raffaele Marciello off the line, with the Italian dropping to 5th on the opening tour.
From there Lynn kept a small, but confident lead ranging from six-tenths to 2.6s, while battle raged in his mirrors.
The Prema Powerteam racer also managed to keep a cool, while dealing with lapped traffic through the final eight laps of the race.
Behind Lynn, Felix Rosenqvist rose to 2nd, while Alexander Sims and Pipo Derani captured 3rd and 4th respectively.
Marciello divebombed Derani on the fourth tour to earn 4th, bringing him into a battle with the Rosenqvist / Sims pairing. For lap after lap, Sims and Marciello swapped fastest laps as Rosenqvist – running on used tyres – fought off the rearguard action.
Despite his lack of time in his T-Sport Nissan machine, Sims bravely held Marciello’s advances at bay, until lap 34, when a mistake in the opening hairpin allowed the series leader through into 3rd.
Rosenqvist was also suffering from a lack of grip at this point and indeed overshot the turn one hairpin just prior to Sims’ error; however the Swede was not to be displaced.
It may all mean naught for Rosenqvist’s title ambitions however. The Mucke racer was competing under appeal following an irregularity with his fuel in qualifying – until a final decision is made, Marciello assumes 2nd and Sims 3rd place.
Derani gradually fell behind the leading group as the race aged. The Brazilian spent the duration fighting off teammate Felix Serralles, yet despite the Puerto Rican’s finest efforts, Derani would be unmoved.
Tom Blomqvist took 7th on the road thanks to a lap eight move on Harry Tincknell, while Jordan King made progress beyond Nick Cassidy late on to assume 9th on the road. Cassidy also fell behind Michael Lewis on the penultimate tour to take 10th; however Rosenqvist’s exclusion keeps Cassidy in the top ten.
Neither Cassidy nor 12th place racer Daniil Kvyat are registered for championship points, so Lucas Auer assumes the final prize, despite a horror start that dropped him to 20th place.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, race 2, Norisring; 42 laps) Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 34m22.297s DSQ. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +1.257s* 2. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc +2.355s 3. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +3.258s 4. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +11.396s 5. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +12.271s 6. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +12.672s 7. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +13.647s 8. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +19.545s 9. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc +20.098s 10. Nick Cassidy Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +21.008s 11. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +21.327s 12. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +25.377s 13. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +27.685s 14. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +34.228s 15. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +36.076s 16. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +36.792s 17. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +41.601s 18. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +44.460s 19. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +44.616s 20. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +44.702s 21. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +46.229s 22. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +1 lap 23. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +1 lap 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +1 lap 25. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc +1 lap 26. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +1 lap 27. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc +2 laps
Notes
Penalties
*Rosenqvist racing under appeal following exclusion from qualifying for fuel irregularities.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 2) Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 282.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 212 4. Alex Lynn 176.5 3. Lucas Auer 166 5. Harry Tincknell 146 6. Tom Blomqvist 114.5 7. Felix Serralles 103 8. Jordan King 80 9. Sven Muller 60 10. Josh Hill 56 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 436 2. Mucke Motorsport 302 3. Carlin 277 4. Fortec 150 5. EuroInternational 137
© FIA.
Prema Powerteam pilot Raffaele Marciello has had his victory from race one reinstated following a post-race investigation.
The Italian was one of seven drivers to have the position reversed, with Alex Lynn, Michael Lewis, Felix Serralles, Jann Mardenborough and Roy Nissany also benefitting.
Lucas Wolf also had his post-race time penalty reversed; however the German youngster had retired five laps from the end.
Confusion stemmed from an error by a marshal at the exit of the turn one hairpin on the 16th tour.
Yellow flags were drawn when Tatiana Calderon’s parked her damaged Double R Dallara machine trackside upon the exit of the hairpin. However prior to the emergence of the safety car, yellow flags were withdrawn for a brief moment, during which time the seven drivers in question set quicker sectors.
The change of result means Marciello takes the victory ahead of Lynn and Serralles, with Blomqvist and Tincknell demoted to 4th and 5th respectively. Mardenborough rises to 6th, as does Nissany to 7th, while Andre Rudersdorf falls to 8th.
Michael Lewis takes 9th spot and Eddie Cheever III assumes the final points place for Prema Powerteam.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 1 amended, Norisring; 39 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 35:46.130s
DSQ. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc +0.336s*
2. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc +1.178s
3. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +2.077s
4. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +3.680s
5. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +7.231s
6. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +9.124s
7. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +12.463s
8. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +17.201s
9. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc +17.616s
10. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +18.605s
11. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +21.203s
12 Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +21.546s
13. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +22.616s
14. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +23.491s
15. Nick Cassidy Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +26.239s
16. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +26.424s
17. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc +32.301s
18. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +2 laps
Retirements:
Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +5 laps
Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +5 laps
Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +5 laps
Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +21 laps
Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc +24 laps
Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +27 laps
Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +33 laps
Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +34 laps
Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +38 laps
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 1 amended) Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 264.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 212 3. Lucas Auer 165 4. Alex Lynn 151.5 5. Harry Tincknell 140 6. Tom Blomqvist 106.5 7. Felix Serralles 93 8. Jordan King 76 9. Sven Muller 60 10. Josh Hill 56 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 436 2. Mucke Motorsport 302 3. Carlin 277 4. Fortec 150 5. EuroInternational 137
© FIA.
EuroInternational driver Tom Blomqvist has been promoted to winner of the opening FIA European Formula 3 race at the Norisring.
Twelve drivers had twenty seconds added to their race time following the event when they were adjudged to have increased speed and gained time under double-waved yellow flag conditions when Tatiana Calderon retired on lap 16.
However several drivers have commented that the yellow flag had been withdrawn and that only a yellow light remained, an angle disputed by the stewards.
Original race winner Raffaele Marciello drops to 5th, while fellow podium sitter Alex Lynn is demoted to 7th place. Felix Rosenqvist, who raced under appeal, finished 2nd, but was disqualified following an apparent fuel irregularity in qualifying.
A decision as to whether Rosenqvist will or will not be reinstated into the results has yet to be reached.
Other drivers to be penalised twenty seconds include Jordan King, Michael Lewis, Lucas Wolf (who retired afterward), Felix Serralles, Pipo Derani , Alexander Sims, Lucas Auer, Jann Mardenborough, Roy Nissany and Nick Cassidy.
As a result, the final top ten behind Blomqvist were Harry Tincknell (2nd), Andre Rudersdorf (3rd), Eddie Cheever III (4th), Marciello (5th), Sandro Zeller (6th), Lynn (7th), Auer (8th), Serralles (9th) and Sims (10th).
Should Rosenqvist be reinstated, he will take the win.
There was a very unusual moment in the post race press conference when Blomqvist, Tincknell and Rudersdorf were interviewed despite not being informed of the penalties, leading to several moments of confusion on stage.
This was compounded by the sponsors backdrop falling on Blomqvist in the middle of the interview.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 1 amended, Norisring; 39 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 35:46.466s*
1. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 35:49.810s
2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW +3.551s
3. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW +13.521s
4. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc +14.925s
5. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc +16.320s
6. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc +17.423s
7. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc +17.498s
8 Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc +17.866s
9. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc +18.397s
10. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +18.936s
11. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc +19.811s
12. Nick Cassidy Eurointernational Dallara-Merc +22.559s
13. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW +22.744s
14. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW +25.444s
15. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc +28.621s
16. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc +28.783s
17. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc +33.936s
18. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan +2 laps
Retirements:
Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc +5 laps
Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW +5 laps
Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc +5 laps
Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW +21 laps
Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc +24 laps
Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW +27 laps
Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc +33 laps
Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc +34 laps
Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW +38 laps
Notes
Penalties
*Rosenqvist racing under appeal following exclusion from qualifying for fuel irregularities.
FIA European F3 Championship (Rd 6, Race 1) Pos Driver Points 1. Raffaele Marciello 249.5 2. Felix Rosenqvist 212 3. Lucas Auer 169 4. Harry Tincknell 148 5. Alex Lynn 139.5 6. Tom Blomqvist 119.5 7. Felix Serralles 78 8. Jordan King 76 9. Sven Muller 60 10. Josh Hill 56 Pos Team Points 1. Prema Powerteam 436 2. Mucke Motorsport 302 3. Carlin 277 4. Fortec 150 5. EuroInternational 137
© FIA.
Raffaele Marciello took the first FIA European Formula 3 race of the weekend at the Norisring.
The Italian pulled ahead of poleman Felix Rosenqvist into the first turn and was racer challenged thereafter.
In a race twice interrupted by the safety car, Marciello held his nerve, despite a gearshift issue that allowed Rosenqvist to draw back to the rear of his Mercedes-powered Dallara, but in this instance, the Prema Powerteam racer was in his prime, easily securing both the win and the 25 points.
Racing under appeal following a technical issue in qualifying, Rosenqvist came home 2nd, but was removed from the results directly after race finish. His position in the final outcome is still under discussion between the stewards and the Mucke Motorsport team.
Alex Lynn took a hard earned 2nd spot ahead of Lucas Auer and Felix Serralles. Lynn jumped the Puerto Rican Serralles off the line, while the following pair battled hard for 4th and 5th through the remaining laps.
It was a battle eventually won by Auer following a mistake by Serralles in the hairpin. The Fortec racer lost the back end of his machine on lap 31, losing momentum, giving the opportunity and the place to his Austrian rival.
Alexander Sims put in an excellent performance in his return to F3 with a 6th place finish. Starting 5th, the Briton lost out to Auer on the opening tour, but held his place thereafter with an aggressive and assured drive.
Pipo Derani took 7th following a super start from the fifth row, finishing just ahead of EuroInternational’s Tom Blomqvist; however it was Blomqvist’s new teammate Nick Cassidy who secured one of the drives of the race.
The Kiwi stalled momentarily on the grid, dropping back to 25th, before scything his way back up the order to finish in the points. Cassidy was already 17th after eight tours with that becoming 12th another eight later.
Passes on Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Wold brought into a fight with Carlin pair Jordan King and Harry Tincknell, with Cassidy expertly taking both into the final corner. As the crossed the line, Cassidy took 9th, King 10th and Tincknell 11th.
There was some truly dreadful driving in the pack in today’s race. On the opening lap, Daniil Kvyat made contact with Nicholas Latifi, while Eddie Cheever III and Sandro Zeller spun warily.
Mitch Gilbert was pummelled by the haphazard Sean Geleal into the hairpin on the seventh tour bringing out the first safety car. An out of control Spike Goddard rammed and innocent Dennis van de Laar on lap 13 – a nadir for the T-Sport racer, followed by Tatiana Calderon sliding helplessly into Michele Cerruti,.
Lastly Sven Muller misjudged a divebomb on Antonio Giovinazzi, while Lucas Wolf slid with a problematic right front wheel.
It was also noticeable how many drivers failed to reasonably slow down under double-waved yellow flags during these incidents.
At this point, penalties are expected. An update will come shortly…
[Results to come…]
© FIA.
Raffaele Marciello scored a double pole for the sixth round of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship at the Norisring today.
The Italian pipped title rival Felix Rosenqvist to pole for race three, while heading Alex Lynn at the front for the weekend’s second event.
The opening race will be a case of reversed positions as Rosenqvist will lead Marciello away from the line.
Indeed the first qualifying session was one of the closest the category had seen for many a year. A bus session on a slippery surface saw times tumble quickly, with the field eventually settling into the ‘49-second’ lap mark.
Fortec’s Felix Serralles was the first to break into the 48s – indeed his best in the final ten minutes was a 48.999s lap, followed moments later by Marciello registering a time of 48.998s.
Before the Prema Powerteam squad could celebrate, Rosenqvist dropped a lap at 48.997, ensuring the top three were covered by a mere two-thousandths of a second. This feat was made more incredible when Alex Lynn’s late dash best – a 49.004s tour – saw him a mere 0.007s shy of pole, but still only good enough for 4th.
Alex Sims collected 5th in his first F3 round since Nurburgring last year. The Briton headed Lucas Auer, Tom Blomqvist, Harry Tincknell and series débutante and Toyota Racing Series champion Nick Cassidy. The top twenty were covered by less than half-a-second.
Marciello secured the pole for the second race with a next best time of 49.016s, pushing the Italian some 0.074s clear of Lynn, with Rosenqvist dropping to 3rd. Sims made it to the second row, jumping Serralles, while Tincknell rounded out the top six.
The Prema Powerteam racer set the bar far higher in the final qualifying session. Marciello’s best of 48.567s in the final ten minutes. Only Rosenqvist could get within two-tenths, while Lynn was a further three-hundredths adrift.
Tom Blomqvist performed admirably to get his EuroInternational machine to 4th, beating Auer, Sims and Tincknell. The session was briefly red flagged when Lucas Wolf glanced the wall on the back straight as he exited the chicane – the German racer would end the session 14th overall.
FIA European F3 championship (Rd 6, Grid race 1 Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap 1. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 48.997s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 48.998s +0.001 3. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 48.999s +0.002 4. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 49.004s +0.007 5. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.027s +0.030 6. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 49.095s +0.098 7. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 49.200s +0.203 8. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.251s +0.254 9. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.296s +0.299 10. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.310s +0.313 11. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.349s +0.352 12. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.355s +0.358 13. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.365s +0.368 14. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.369s +0.372 15. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.404s +0.407 16. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.415s +0.418 17. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 49.421s +0.424 18. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.430s +0.433 19. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.455s +0.458 20. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.464s +0.467 21. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.522s +0.525 22. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.574s +0.577 23. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.678s +0.681 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.726s +0.729 25. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.828s +0.831 26. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 50.081s +1.084 27. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 50.244s +1.247 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.356s +1.359 FIA European F3 championship (Rd 6, Grid race 2 Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 49.016s 2. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 49.090s +0.074s 3. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.149s +0.059s 4. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.158s +0.009s 5. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.175s +0.017s 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.254s +0.079s 7. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 49.259s +0.005s 8. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 49.269s +0.010s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.311s +0.042s 10. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.403s +0.092s 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.422s +0.019s 12. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.439s +0.017s 13. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.444s +0.005s 14. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 49.446s +0.002s 15. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.463s +0.017s 16. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.467s +0.004s 17. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.471s +0.004s 18. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.520s +0.049s 19. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.524s +0.004s 20. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.526s +0.002s 21. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.585s +0.059s 22. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.618s +0.033s 23. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.724s +0.106s 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.748s +0.024s 25. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.957s +0.209s 26. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 50.121s +0.164s 27. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 50.338s +0.217s 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.429s +0.091s FIA European F3 championship (Rd 6, Grid race 3 Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 48.567s 2. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 48.761s +0.194s 3. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 48.797s +0.230s 4. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 48.860s +0.293s 5. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 48.891s +0.324s 6. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 48.931s +0.364s 7. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 48.973s +0.406s 8. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 48.994s +0.427s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.016s +0.449s 10. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.018s +0.451s 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.019s +0.452s 12. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.154s +0.587s 13. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.169s +0.602s 14. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.181s +0.614s 15. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.182s +0.615s 16. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.235s +0.668s 17. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.261s +0.694s 18. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.277s +0.710s 19. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.280s +0.713s 20. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.301s +0.734s 21. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.336s +0.769s 22. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.389s +0.822s 23. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.397s +0.830s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.494s +0.927s 25. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.505s +0.938s 26. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.513s +0.946s 27. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 49.764s +1.197s 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.006s +1.439s
It doesn’t take too long for the plumes to disperse unevenly in the warm German air at the Norisring.
This simple street circuit, surrounding a sinister house amidst a dark history, forms a tense competitive layout.
It’s fast. With only five real corners and a couple of straights, there appears to be not too much to this track.
At approximately 49-50 seconds per lap, the gap in the field is small indeed. The margin for error is barely present – the slightest of mistakes will lead to a significant loss of ground – or worse.
Beyond that, difficulties can eat away at confidence. Through the chicane leading onto the back straight, the differences in confidence can be very telling. On entry, those with daring pitch their Dallara’s hard to the right, merely shadowing the barrier as they do so, before releasing onto a short chute to the left-handed exit.
The decisive ones run close to the Armco, holding speed and gaining time, but running risk of clouting the outer wall. Those who are tentative or nervous in their approach are, at best, a nuisance and at worse crash fodder – an accident waiting to happen.
Zandvoort Masters winner Felix Rosenqvist headed the firs practice session and of Raffaele Marciello, Alex Lynn and Dennis van de Laar.
The slippery nature of the circuit almost caught several drivers unaware, as the exits of each turn proved a wayward adventure. Only Jann Mardenborough suffered a spin of any consequence at the exit of the chicane; however the Briton piton for a brief check up before returning to the track.
Over at the first turn, drivers appear to spend an inordinate amount of time either outbraking themselves and allowing their tyres and brakes to screech, while others meekly approach the tight hairpin, braking early and turning in limply.
In a sense, one can see racing minds developing and shaping respective weekends. Some spend their practice taking a tight line into the bend, while hugging the high kerb and closing off any chance of a rearguard attack; however this merely serves to punish ones exit.
Alternatively, a driver might take a wider, carrying more speed through the turn, although the risk of a being taken is greater, especially for those who see themselves as opportunists.
Daniil Kvyat made the most of the second session, topping the sheets just 0.001s clear of Carlin teammate harry Tincknell. Raffaele Marciello – who missed the opening 20 minutes due to complex setup changes – ended the practice in 3rd spot ahead of Tom Blomqvist, Sven Muller and Jordan King. Guest driver Alexander Sims made it to 7th spot for T-Sport in the first of two outings for the team.
The likes of Sven Muller and Lucas Wolf appears to specialise to outbraking the hairpin, as grip refuses to generate in the Hankook tyres. Meanwhile Andre Rudersdorf seems to make an art form of going off, having taken to the run off six times during FP2.
Alas, there are some whose names will now drop from the F3 conversation. Josh Hill quit motorsport for a music career during the week, Will Buller has stepped out of the European championship to concentrate on the British Series and some World Series by Renault rounds, while Mans Grenhagen is a no show for van Amersfoort having run into some funding difficulties.
Realistically there is no right way to tackle the Norisring – just the quick way and such is the nature of this bumpy animal that may be totally driver dependent.
2013 FIA European F3 championship (Rd 6, Free Practice 1) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.549s 33 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 49.584s +0.035s 32 3. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 49.638s +0.089s 37 4. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.650s +0.101s 41 5. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.693s +0.144s 36 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.739s +0.190s 32 7. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.783s +0.234s 38 8. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 49.814s +0.265s 31 9. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 49.836s +0.287s 30 10. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 49.861s +0.312s 34 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.902s +0.353s 32 12. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.938s +0.389s 37 13. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.947s +0.398s 37 14. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.953s +0.404s 19 15. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.977s +0.428s 34 16. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.981s +0.432s 36 17. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.984s +0.435s 34 18. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 50.044s +0.495s 37 19. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 50.057s +0.508s 30 20. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 50.161s +0.612s 43 21. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 50.242s +0.693s 40 22. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 50.247s +0.698s 27 23. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 50.333s +0.784s 33 24. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 50.369s +0.820s 38 25. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 50.438s +0.889s 35 26. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 50.447s +0.898s 40 27. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 50.964s +1.415s 34 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 2 2013 FIA European F3 championship (Rd 6, Free Practice 2) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 49.158s 33 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.159s +0.001s 31 3. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 49.218s +0.060s 21 4. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 49.246s +0.088s 28 5. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.253s +0.095s 38 6. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.254s +0.096s 42 7. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.269s +0.111s 31 8. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 49.304s +0.146s 31 9. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.324s +0.166s 31 10. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.379s +0.221s 39 11. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.417s +0.259s 37 12. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.419s +0.261s 31 13. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.423s +0.265s 37 14. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.424s +0.266s 35 15. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.470s +0.312s 40 16. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 49.517s +0.359s 33 17. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.583s +0.425s 34 18. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.603s +0.445s 35 19. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.723s +0.565s 41 20. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.742s +0.584s 36 21. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.752s +0.594s 33 22. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.838s +0.680s 24 23. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.861s +0.703s 29 24. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.892s +0.734s 37 25. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.907s +0.749s 24 26. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 50.118s +0.960s 36 27. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 50.315s +1.157s 30 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.483s +1.325s 37
Formula One, German Grand Prix (Rd 9, July 7th)
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took his first victory on home soil on Sunday with a brilliantly executed victory at the Nurburgring.
Vettel and Red Bull teammate Mark Webber jumped poleman Lewis Hamilton at the start with Vettel drawing a narrow lead, until a pitstop error took Webber out of the running.
A mid-race safety car period to retrieve Jules Bianchi’s stranded Marussia closed the field up, allowing the Lotus’ of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen to attack. Grosjean initially led the pair; however Lotus swapped the order, allowing Raikkonen to challenge Vettel; however the Red Bull proved too quick to displace.
Raikkonen remains 41 points adrift of Vettel in the standings, although he scored some luck when he closed back to the leaders under the safety car. A short final stint gave Raikkonen pace; however his soft tyres faded as he closed in Vettel.
Grosjean’s took 3rd after holding Fernando Alonso at bay to the flag. The Spaniard drove a quiet race initially, giving way to a late, but unsuccessful push for the podium.
Hamilton fell to 5th as his Mercedes encountered tyre difficulties in the warm weather. He was running 6th late on, until a move former McLaren teammate Jenson Button on the final lap.
Webber’s race was ruined when a pitstop error led to a wheel falling off his RB9 and clattering an FOM cameraman. The Australian was wheeled back to his box, falling a lap behind, although he regained much of that ground under the safety car. A charge up the order, including a late move on Sergio Perez, gave Webber 7th when much more was possible.
Perez collected another four points for McLaren following a solid drive, finishing ahead of a quiet Nico Rosberg (9th) and Nico Hulkenberg (10th).
Formula One, British Grand Prix (Rd 8)
Nico Rosberg won a chaotic British Grand Prix on Sunday, in a race peppered with tyre failures and two safety car stints. The Mercedes racer was helped on his way to victory when previous leader Sebastian Vettel came to a premature halt due to a broken gearbox on lap 43 – Vettel stopping on the start / finish straight brought out the second safety car.
Lewis Hamilton led the early stages of the race in the polesitting Mercedes, until a puncture dropped him to the rear of the field. It was not the end of Rosberg’s fortune – the German pitted with a cut tyre just as the final safety car emerged, preserving his lead, while also taking on fresh rubber. With one Red Bull dismissed, Rosberg then had to fend off the red and blue car to the flag – that of Mark Webber. A poor start had dropped the Australian to 15th; however Webber climbed up the order with some stealth, aided by a fresh set of tyres during the second safety car period. Restarting the final stint in 5th, the Red Bull racer made quick work of Daniel Ricciardo, Adrian Sutil and championship contender Kimi Raikkonen, but could do nothing to pass Rosberg.
Fernando Alonso kept his title hopes alive after a late charge to 3rd. Like Webber, the Spaniard availed of a fresh set of Pirelli’s for the final few laps, allowing him to climb from 8th to a podium place in the final tours. Hamilton drove a stellar race to climb back to 4th – despite some floor damage from his earlier tyre failure – passing Raikkonen as the race drew to a close. During the final safety car period, the Finn was told to stay out by the Lotus team, bringing Raikkonen to 2nd temporarily; however with ageing tyres he could not hold Webber, Alonso and Hamilton at bay.
Felipe Massa also suffered a puncture on his Ferrari. In this instance, the Brazilian recovered to take 6th ahead of the very impressive Sutil – who spent a portion of the race running easily in the top four. Ricciardo also drove a very good race to finish 8th, less than two seconds clear of Paul di Resta, whose impressive run of points continues, despite starting last. Nico Hulkenberg claimed a final, hard fought point for Sauber, pipping the Williams pairing of Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas.
It was not a good day for Pirelli, whose image took multiple hits during the Grand Prix. Following the Hamilton and Massa punctures, Jean-Eric Vergne also suffered a blow-out, bringing out the first safety car.
GP2 Series (Rd 7, Silverstone)
RUSSIAN TIME’s Sam Bird continued to make dents into Stefano Coletti’s GP2 points lead at Silverstone over the weekend, claiming a victory and a 5th place. Series returnee Jon Lancaster grabbed his first win for Hilmer Motorsport.
Bird grabbed the race one lead after a few corners; cutting through a gap as Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr tangled at Village and The Loop, with Coletti following through into 2nd on lap three.
From there, the Englishman extended his lead to just under five seconds, before making his stop; however Bird lost much of his advantage when he emerged behind slower traffic. Coletti pulled the gap to Bird down to less than two seconds by halfway, only for his tyres to begin to fade, allowing the Russian Time to escape for the win.
Stephane Richelmi took the runner-up spot. Staying out until lap 14, the Monegasque racing took to the front, but slipped in behind Coletti, Jonny Cecotto Jr and (eventually) Mitch Evans after the stops. Richelmi dispatched the struggling Cecotto Jr and Coletti, while a stop/go removed Evans from the picture, promoting the DAMS racer to 2nd.
Tom Dillmann completed the podium for RUSSIAN TIME. The Frenchman stayed out until lap 20, whereupon a pitstop dropped him to 6th until fresh tyres allowed him to rise back up the order. Dillmann passed Fabio Leimer on lap 23; however the Swiss driver blotted his copybook after he barged Coletti into retirement on the final lap following a tense battle. Lancaster drove brilliantly to assume 5th, several seconds clear of Jolyon Palmer (6th), Rio Haryanto (7th) and Julian Leal (8th). Several seconds behind them, James Calado (9th) and Alexander Rossi took the final points.
In the Sprint Race, Lancaster jumped the static Leal and Palmer; while a sluggish Haryanto proved no match, allowing Lancaster to lead into turn one ahead of Haryanto and Calado. A brief safety car to remove the stalled Daniel Abt from the circuit did little to shuffle the order and Lancaster drew slowly away once more as the green flags waved, remaining unchallenged thereafter.
Haryanto guided Calado home; however Calado spent a portion of the race fending off Leal, while Bird climbed from 8th to 5th, coming just shy of the Calado / Leal battle at the flag. Dillmann edged an aggressive Nasr over the line by just 0.108s following a late frantic dual. Ericsson grabbed the final point ahead of Rossi in another close run thing at the chequered flag. Questions were raised post-race about the conduct of Sergio Canamasas who was involved in an unnecessary collision Palmer as the latter attempted to lap.
A hypothetical question:
“Imagine for a moment an engineering discovery and philosophy is made; one that is applicable to motorsport and most importantly (due to its massive audience size), Formula One.
“As more and more becomes known about this new discovery and philosophy, it is understood that it will do much to improve car performance, increase competition and safety, as well as driving the ecological elements of the sport forward.
“Now imagine if you will that this new discovery and philosophy also mean that front and rear wings, as well as sidepods would be consigned to history, as they are suddenly rendered irrelevant.
“Could Formula One adapt to such a sweeping change in basic appearance or is the look of Formula One (with its wings, sidepods, etc) so cemented in modern media, business and in the minds of fans (etc) that an alteration of the visual brand has become an impossibility?”
Discuss at will, if you will.
The second half of this year’s British Grand Prix produced some fantastic action, culminating in a popular win for Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg.
Stellar performances from the likes of Rosberg, his Mercedes factory teammate Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull pairing Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso amongst others allowed the race to shine.
Yet the opening half showed the sport at its most dishevelled and hungover, as it limped from one tyre failure to the next. It was neither thrilling or exciting – if anything it was simply embarrassing and a terrible shame.
Let’s set aside the scientific reasoning for the failures for this post – those more technically minded can address those issues. For a moment, let’s ask “how did Formula One find itself in this position?”
As much as I am a fan of Formula One, there are occasions when it feels like a sitcom that has exchanged good story writing and episodic foundations for cheap one-liners and celebrity guests. The demand for endless action in recent years – sparked off following the crazy Canadian Grand Prix of 2010 – has seen the line between sport, business, safety and entertainment blur significantly.
Following several years of falling audiences in light of Michael Schumacher domination, worldwide television viewing figures began to rise again from 2009 onward as new stars emerged to weave their tales amongst the somewhat familiar dialogue and setting.
Yet since the 70s, Formula One has on occasion struggled as an entertainment spectacle due to increasing downforce and the resultant dirty air from wings, floors, diffusers, exhausts and tyres rendering overtaking an increasingly rare prospect. A massive increase in reliability has done much to eliminate the unpredictability from a developing event.
Add to that, driver preparation has taken a number of steps forward in the past three decades. Taking into account the current field of twenty-tour, the average number of years spent by drivers in the junior categories is 6.8 – and that’s not including karting. The days of Jody Scheckter jumping into a Formula Ford racer, only eighteen months before his World Championship debut are long gone. Many of the errors that used to define famed overtaking manoeuvres have been rather minimised.
Formula One is entertainment and as such, it needs to satisfy those requirements in order to attract and keep an audience, but where does it stop? Like refuelling in the previous generation of the formula, much of what we are seeing now is a band aid to spice up the show, but those who shape the rules also need to be aware that playing to the headline hunters and casual fan can be a very dangerous game and is rarely won.
There is an inherent risk of the sport alienating its core fanbase and once lost, the hardcore fan rarely returns – one only needs to look at IndyCar and the WRC to see how difficult existence is when the fans have gone away {note 1}. The casual fan, on the other hand, rarely stays.
In this, I do feel for Pirelli. Whether one agrees with their methods or not, they have spiced up the Formula One show to a degree, but with such stringent testing restrictions in place, their task is an unenviable one.
Formula One is entertainment, but it should not be mindless and it certainly should not come at the expense of safety.
{note 1}
For very different reasons, but the point remains the same.
Following on from Audi’s success at Le Mans on Sunday, something has been rattling around in my head in recent days.
For the subject of a study, it would be quite interesting to see audience and corporate demographic analyses for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the WEC, if for no other reason than to examine how they compare with similar studies for the likes of Formula One, DTM, V8 Supercars and WRC (etc).
Although it would probably make for intriguing – if somewhat dry – reading, it could go some way to providing a significant insight as to why businesses operate in through these channels and maybe unveil what they are selling and to whom (corporate and audience).
For example, would a soft drink be as successful at mass market brand engineering in one giant category of motorsport compared to another? Also is the potential in direct marketing through victory ultimately a catalyst for higher sales, even if their chosen category enjoys a far smaller global audience?
It depends what one is trying to sell I suppose. At the risk of appearing foolish, shifting overpriced oily soft drinks may be a touch easier to a casual fanbase than selling the latest evolution GT car. From an entrants point of view, it may certainly make an interesting project should some documents magically appear somewhere. We’ll see.
WRC Rally Sardinia (Rd 7; 396.82 km)
Sebastien Ogier claimed a fourth WRC win of the season to extend his points lead to 64 over Volkswagen compatriot Jari-Matti Latvala. M-Sport Ford’s Thierry Neuville and Latvala rounded out the podium places.
Ogier led from the off, although he had a little help when fastest qualifier Latvala received a puncture on the first stage, promoting Mikko Hirvonen (Citroen) to 2nd, just ahead of Mads Ostberg (M-Sport). Ogier’s lead grew to 46.6s by the end of the opening leg; however the Frenchman’s job was made easier when Hirvonen crashed out on stage 10, two stages after Ostberg had also rolled out of contention. With Neuville now 2nd, Ogier continued to pull away, eventually taking the rally by 76.8s – the Volkswagen man also took the Power Stage to claim full weekend points.
Neuville’s runner-up place is a career best finish for the multi-lingual Belgian and brings him to 3rd in the standings behind the Volkswagen duo, jumping Hirvonen in the process. It was as slow start for the M-Sport runner who fell 40.3s adrift during the opening morning; however Neuville took two stages on Friday evening to climb to 3rd, before assuming 2nd following Hirvonen’s mishap. An off on stage 12 for Neuville gave Latvala a chance to take the runner-up place; however the Belgian maintained a solid pace to hold onto 2nd spot. Latvala’s early puncture lost him two minutes and dropped him 12th; however the Finn fought hard to maintain the gap, allowing him to rise to the final podium place.
Dani Sordo took a quiet 4th, despite running quickly early on, while Martin Prokop finished 5th for the independent Czech-Ford team. Elfyn Evans grabbed a fantastic 6th on his WRC debut, pipping Lotos driver Michael Kosciuszko by 0.9s by rally end. Ostberg recovered to take 8th after a Rally 2 restart, with Khalid Al Qassimi a further four minutes adrift in 10th spot.
Robert Kubica won the WRC-2 class by over four minutes, taking 9th in the process ahead of Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (11th). Christian Riedemann won the WRC-3 class some five minutes up on Keith Cronin.
© Renault Sport
The Formula Renault UK Championship is set to return to UK shores next year.
Backed by British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) and French car giant, Renault, the reinvigorated series will utilise all-carbon Signatech chassis and a class of 1.6-litre, 140hp Twingo Renaultsport engines.
Aimed at drivers between the ages of 16 and 19, the series will market itself as a post-karting / pre-Formula Renault 2.0 or Formula 3 category. When finalised, the 18-20 race calendar is set to fix a break during examination periods, in order to promote minimum study disruption those competitors still in school.
Drivers who join the series will also be required to sign up to an MSA-monitored fitness programme and will also receive training in media relations, sponsorship procurement and presentation skills.
It is an interesting launch, although one must again question the need for yet another junior category in the UK.
Although the BRDC Formula 4 category has filled grids for its inaugural season through very low costs, there is still little indication as to how this will perform in the long run. With that, the renewed Formula Ford category has struggled to obtain more than twelve entrants per round this year.
BARC have been running the Protyre Formula Renault series in the UK this year, also with relatively small grids; however that has been more of a stepping stone to fill the void left by the original FRUK at the end of 2011. Rather than being a strict replacement for the Protyre series, it is believe the new FRUK series could run parallel to the existing Formula Renault UK series.
Championship manager Simon North commented, “We’re thrilled to announce the birth of the Formula Renault UK 1.6 Championship, it’s the perfect category to bridge the gap which currently exists in Britain between karting and the higher levels of junior single-seater racing, such as Formula Renault 2.0,” while also adding, “Formula Renault 1.6 is an inexpensive first step for drivers coming out of karting to take and, most importantly, the car is a proven, incredibly safe, fully carbon chassis.
“We didn’t want to see drivers as young as 16 racing having to develop a brand new car, so a proven chassis with an excellent safety record was the only option for Renaultsport and the BARC.”
North maintains that the new Formula Renault category will be more than just another championship in an already cluttered market. “Not since the 1990s has there been a strong, truly ‘junior’ formula in UK motorsport. But we’re not just introducing another car and another championship, we’re bringing a different direction, with fully linked programmes, which enable drivers to have maximum focus on their education at the same time as setting off on the path towards a professional motor racing career.”
He concluded, “Our aim is for the Formula Renault UK 1.6 Championship to prepare drivers for Formula Renault 2.0, which is why we’ll be reviewing our existing 2.0-litre category to see what steps we can take to maintain a proper progression between the two.”
Aston Martin GT driver, Allan Simonsen, was killed at Le Mans on Saturday following a crash on lap three at Tertre Rouge bend.
The 34 year old lost control of his Aston, pitching the Vantage GTE machine hard into the barrier. Despite being reportedly conscious at the time of the incident, Simonsen succumbed to injuries some time later.
It would be dreadfully irresponsible to begin theorising as to what measures may have helped prevent Simonsen’s injuries.
We can play CIS all we want, but in real life without the detailed crash information and associated data, only arrogance would allow me to put forward an authoritative view.
I did not really know Simonsen. With a focus in recent years geared towards British Formula 3 and other single seater categories, many of GTs personalities are to me an unknown.
Beyond the odd nod, wave and maybe a brief “hello”, we never spoke at any considerable length. Those who knew and worked with him have told of a chap who was warm, good natured and friendly – and he will be missed.
To reel off a list of achievements and awards would be to merely fill out this piece and I often feel in circumstances such as this, plastic prizes mean precious little. When those close to Simonsen remember him, they will reflect upon happier, more human moments and I hope those memories raise good feelings and smiles.
Simonsen’s death leaves behind a wife and young child. My thoughts are with them, his extended family, friends and the staff at Aston Martin.
HWA Mercedes racer Gary Paffett stormed to his first DTM victory of the season at the Lausitzring on Sunday, ahead of Mike Rockenfeller and Christian Vietoris.
Starting 2nd, Paffett led poleman Vietoris by the first turn, soon building a three-second lead by the first scheduled stops, eventually emerging ahead of the early stopping Rockenfeller.
From there, Paffett proceeded to build a gap over the chasing pack, before taking the chequered flag just under seven seconds ahead of Rockenfeller, making it four different winners from four races.
For the Audi man, 2nd place brings Rockenfeller to the top of the points standings, joint level on points with reigning champion Bruno Spengler. Running 6th early on, an off-kilter pit strategy helped to promote Rockenfeller up to 3rd, slotting in between the hard charging Robert Wickens and Vietoris, before Rockenfeller passed Wickens.
Where Rockenfeller exacted a lengthy stint on the harder compound tyres, Wickens began to fall back somewhat in the later tours, allowing Vietoris to catch and pass for the final podium place late on.
Behind the leading quartet Jamie Green assumed 5th, garnering a healthy gap over the chasing trio of Daniel Juncadella (6th, a superb effort from 13th), Spengler (7th) and Mattias Ekstrom. Indeed Ekstrom was making waves in the final laps thanks to moves on Adrien Tambay, Pascal Wehrlein and Edoardo Mortara.
Both Tambay and Wehrlein would fall back late on, promoting Mortara to 9th and Roberto Merhi to 10th.
2013 DTM Round of Lausitzring (Rd 4, June 16th; 52 laps) Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Gary Paffett HWA Mercedes 1h09m58.562s 2. Mike Rockenfeller Phoenix Audi +6.800s 3. Christian Vietoris HWA Mercedes +11.510s 4. Robert Wickens HWA Mercedes +12.790s 5. Jamie Green Abt Audi +14.138s 6. Daniel Juncadella Mucke Mercedes +19.462s 7. Bruno Spengler Schnitzer BMW +21.592s 8. Mattias Ekstrom Abt Audi +21.621s 9. Edoardo Mortara Rosberg Audi +24.715s 10. Roberto Merhi HWA Mercedes +25.643s 11. Adrien Tambay Abt Audi +27.968s 12. Augusto Farfus RBM BMW +34.178s 13. Dirk Werner Schnitzer BMW +38.000s 14. Timo Glock MTEK BMW +49.305s 15. Joey Hand RBM BMW +53.321s 16. Miguel Molina Phoenix Audi +58.882s 17. Pascal Wehrlein Mucke Mercedes +59.948s 18. Filipe Albuquerque Rosberg Audi +1m03.083s 19. Martin Tomczyk RMG BMW +1m03.107s 20. Timo Scheider Abt Audi +1m08.006s 21. Marco Wittmann MTEK BMW +1 lap 22. Andy Priaulx RMG BMW +1 lap
© Alastair Staley/GP3 Series Media Service.
Robert Visoiu took his first GP3 Series win of the season following a dominant performance at the Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
The Romanian initially headed Aaro Vainio by just over two seconds, until he began pulling away aggressively in the latter tours.
An amalgamation of improved pace from Visoiu and Vainio’s destroyed tyres helped extend the gap between the pair by a further five seconds in the final four laps, ensuring Visoiu had a 7.7s advantage at the end.
For the MW Arden racer, the getaway was the key to victory. “The start was really good for me. I got a little bit of distance on the first lap and because of this I could control the tyre degradation. I wasn’t pushing and at the end of the race, the tyres were just like they were in the beginning and the pace was really good.”
Visoiu also realised how close he came to not winning this race, having only passed Dino Zamparelli for reverse grid pole on the final lap of race one this morning. “I’ve finished ninth in race one twice already this year. It’s the worst feeling in the world, I’d rather crash than finish ninth again!”
Meanwhile, where Vainio could do little about Visoiu, the Finn launched into the defensive as first Tio Ellinas pressed for 2nd place, but when the Cypriot ran wide, Sainz Jr picked up the baton. “The start was not the best and then I saw Carlos coming and I went right, defending my place and after that Carlos went back to the left and he backed off,” revealed Vainio.
Adding to that though, Sainz Jr commented, “If the track was a bit wider, I could maybe have made a move on Aaro and luckily did with Tio [Ellinas].”
The Finn drew away from Sainz as the race aged, but a mid-race lock-up almost unravelled his race. “First, I could keep up with [Visoiu], but at midway, I had one lock up at turn nine and after that it was a big struggle, especially with the rear tyres. In the last five laps, I could see Carlos coming and in the last two laps had to defend pretty hard.”
Sainz Jr closed to within half-a-second, but the Spaniard left his attack just a touch too late to make a move for the 2nd spot. “I saw Aaro struggling on his tyres in the last few laps, at which I though ‘now is the time to go’,” said the MW Arden man.
However, considering his starting position from this morning’s opening event, Sainz Jr was relieved to at least claim a podium. “The team made a massive step forward from Barcelona to here – as you can see with Robert and I on the podium. We had great pace in race one, but were a bit conditioned from a bad qualifying, due to red flags and traffic. I can go home thinking positive.”
After losing out to Sainz Jr in the opening corners, Ellinas kept hold of 4th, despite pressure from Daniil Kvyat (5th). In the distance, the podium winners from this morning’s race finished line astern, with Kevin Korjus leading Facu Regalia and Conor Daly to a 6th, 7th and 8th place result.
A poor start dropped Nick Yelloly to 14th; however the Englishman rose to 9th by the end following moves on Jack Harvey, Alex Fontana and Zamparelli. Melville McKee and Patric Niederhauser encountered problems that dropped them out of the running.
With that Ellinas retakes the points lead from Daly; however both are still some distance ahead of Korjus and Vainio. The third round comes from Silverstone in two weeks at a circuit and conditions that may produce some very different results.
2013 GP3 Series round of Valencia (Rd 2, Race 2; 18 laps)
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Robert Visoiu MW Arden 25:50.517s
2. Aaro Vainio Koiranen + 7.784s
3. Carlos Sainz MW Arden + 7.920s
4. Tio Ellinas Manor + 8.572s
5. Daniil Kyvat MW Arden + 9.017s
6. Kevin Korjus Koiranen +23.961s
7. Facu Regalia ART +24.472s
8. Conor Daly ART +24.768s
9. Nick Yelloly Carlin +25.164s
10. Dino Zamparelli Manor +26.566s
11. Alex Fontana Jenzer +26.719s
12. Jack Harvey ART +27.648s
13. Giovanni Venturini Trident +27.779s
14. Emanuele Zonzini Trident +28.116s
15. Patrick Kujala Koiranen +35.495s
16. Jimmy Eriksson Status +36.183s
17. Lewis Williamson Bamboo +38.816s
18. Josh Webster Status +38.982s
19. Samin Gomez Jenzer +39.244s
20. Ryan Cullen Manor +50.937s
21. Carmen Jorda Bamboo +55.029s
22. Luis Sa Silva Carlin +1 lap
Retirements:
Melville McKee Bamboo +8 laps
Patric Niederhauser Jenzer +9 laps
Eric Lichtenstein Carlin +17 laps
Adderly Fong Status +18 laps
David Fumanelli Trident +18 laps
2013 GP3 Series points standings (Rd 2, Race 2) Drivers' Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Tio Ellinas 55 2. Conor Daly 51 3. Aaro Vainio 43 4. Kevin Korjus 37 5. Patric Niederhauser 28 6. Carlos Sainz Jr 22 7. Robert Visoiu 21 8. Facu Regalia 20 9. Daniil Kvyat 20 10. Jack Harvey 13 Teams' Championship Pos Team Points 1. ART Grand Prix 84 2. Koiranen GP 80 3. MW Arden 63 4. Marussia Manor 57 5. Jenzer Motorsport 29
© Alastair Staley/GP3 Series Media Service.
Conor Daly took the second GP3 race win of his career, with a stellar lights-to-flag victory at the Ricardo Tormo this morning.
The American held ART Grand Prix teammate off for the duration. Koiranen GP’s Kevin Korjus completed the podium.
A good start by Daly ensured a solid advantage on the way into turn one, allowing the 21-year-old to control the pace.
While the gap between the leading pair rarely extended beyond 1.2 seconds, Daly never appeared to be under too much pressure from Regalia. “It was a lot tougher at the start – Facu was really, really fast.” Daly added, “I was pushing hard, but had to think about tyres at the same time and I was hoping he would run his off before I did, so it was tough at the beginning to keep him behind, but when we got to halfway, I established a bit of a gap and held it at that.”
That the pair crossed the line relatively line astern told much of the story from this race.
Following a solid getaway from the front row, Daniil Kvyat succumbed to pressure from Regalia and Korjus on the opening lap, with the Russian running wide in the fourth bend, allowing the chasing pair to pounce. Thereafter Regalia escaped from Korjus, but neither were in a position to further climb the order.
For Regalia, it was his first GP3 podium. “I feel happy, but I wanted to win today, because I think I had the pace. I was trying to put pressure on Daly to force a mistake, but he didn’t, so congratulations to him. I could have made a move in turn eight, but wasn’t close enough.”
Kvyat could do little from 4th. The Russian pressed Korjus for much of the race, but like Regalia ahead, he could do nothing to unseat the 3rd placed man. Carlos Sainz Jr remained on Kvyat’s tail for the most part – a solid result having started 8th.
It was an unspectacular race for Tio Ellinas who ran 6th throughout, after being blocked by Kvyat’s off on the first lap. From thereon, the Cypriot maintained a solid pace in order to preserve tyre life; however the relative small tyre degredation was under estimated and Ellinas could catch the from runner.
There was a similar story for Aaro Vainio who assumed an anonymous 7th after a poor first lap saw him fall three places.
Robert Visoiu took 8th and the reverse grid pole from Dino Zamaparelli four laps from the end. The Romanian pressured Zamaparelli for much of the running, only passing the Anglo-Italian following a mistake. Jack Harvey, on the tail of both, attempted to follow through, only to have the door roughly slammed in the face.
The race was hampered by some silly mistakes on the opening lap. Carmen Jorda spun into retirement all by herself on the final corner of the opening tour.
In a more questionable incident, Adderly Fong rammed Eric Lichtenstein a few corners into the first lap. The Status racer attempted to dive down the inside of the field, only to outbreak himself and most of the midfield runners, before slamming into the side of his Carlin opponent.
Unlike in Barcelona, tyre degradation was rather more civilised, with laptimes around the front the field coming in around the late-1:24’s, before losing approximately two-three seconds by race end. “Our tyres held up really well, so I was happy about that,” noted Daly. He continued, “We struggled in Barcelona [with tyres], but the test in Hungary really helped us a lot. At the beginning I was pushing too hard, but at the end, the tyres were still there. We’ve been working at it and that’s what it takes and we have been rewarded today, so it was good.”
His victory gives Daly the points lead going into this afternoon’s race; however with Daly consigned to 8th on the grid and Ellinas starting 3rd, that may change again.
2013 GP3 Series round of Valencia (Rd 2, Race 1; 18 laps)
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Conor Daly ART 25m54.812s
2. Facu Regalia ART + 1.210s
3. Kevin Korjus Koiranen + 3.401s
4. Daniil Kvyat MW Arden + 3.773s
5. Carlos Sainz MW Arden + 4.413s
6. Tio Ellinas Manor + 6.196s
7. Aaro Vainio Koiranen + 9.084s
8. Robert Visoiu MW Arden + 13.504s
9. Dino Zamparelli Manor + 14.145s
10. Jack Harvey ART + 14.547s
11. Melville McKee Bamboo + 20.883s
12. Nick Yelloly Carlin + 20.965s
13. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer + 21.342s
14. Alex Fontana Jenzer + 21.626s
15. Giovanni Venturini Trident + 21.927s
16. Emanuele Zonzini Trident + 22.070s
17. Josh Webster Status + 26.458s
18. Jimmy Eriksson Status + 26.978s
19. Lewis Williamson Bamboo + 27.387s
20. Ryan Cullen Manor + 36.843s
21. Patrick Kujala Koiranen + 46.218s
Retirements:
Luis Sa Silva Carlin +16 laps
Samin Gomez Jenzer +17 laps
Carmen Jorda Bamboo +18 laps
David Fumanelli Trident +18 laps
Adderly Fong Status +18 laps
Eric Lichtenstein Carlin +18 laps
2013 GP3 Series points standings (Rd 2, Race 1) Drivers' Championship Pos Driver Points 1. Conor Daly 50 2. Tio Ellinas 47 3. Kevin Korjus 33 4. Aaro Vainio 31 5. Patric Niederhauser 28 6. Facu Regalia 18 7. Jack Harvey 13 8. Nick Yelloly 12 9. Daniil Kvyat 12 10. Carlos Sainz Jr 12 Teams' Championship Pos Team Points 1. ART Grand Prix 81 2. Koiranen GP 64 3. Marussia Manor 49 4. MW Arden 30 5. Jenzer Motorsport 29
It is hot. Very hot today in Valencia, yet unlike yesterday there precious little wind to break it up.
At approximately 31°C, tyre degradation is on the minds of many and while the Ricardo Tormo Circuit is not known for its overtaking, the faltering Pirelli’s may yet force changes of position.
Not that Conor Daly is letting that get too him. Starting from pole position, the American appears content with his situation and is keen just to “get in and drive.”
All smiles and still on a buzz from his recent exploits at Indianapolis, the ART Grand Prix man is looking in top form so far this weekend.
Daly’s ART GP teammate, Jack Harvey, is on the other hand somewhat more pensive. A 10th place starting position is not the most defiant way to start the weekend, yet an underlying confidence remains in his demeanour.
Like his American counterpart, tyres may prove to be key.
Carlos Sainz Jr is looking quite pensive as the build up to his second home race in succession hots up. The Spaniard suffered from an interrupted session yesterday, when his final stint was broken by a red flag. Indeed, Sainz Jr showed great irritation that on a circuit with so much run off area, the qualifying session ended being red flagged twice by stranded machinery…
Toward the back was the unfortunate Nick Yelloly. The Carlin man had qualified 3rd, but a floor that breached regulations meant his time was deleted – Yelloly will be starting 26th.
The Englishman believes that rather than a fitting error, the deformation came when he ran over rough kerbing. Alas, the result is the same – his eyes too are now on race two.
But that heat…
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