Advantage Marciello - two pole positions for the season finale

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam) got himself in a good position for the finale of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship by claiming two out of three pole positions. Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport), Marciello’s only remaining rival in the battle for the European championship title, was classified second on both occasions. For the first race, Harry Tincknell (Carlin) and Alex Lynn (Prema Powerteam) are on the second row of the grid. For the third race, Lynn claimed third place on the grid from his compatriot Tincknell. Pole position for the second race at the 4.574 kilometres long Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg went to Felix Rosenqvist, who ended up ahead of second-placed Raffaele Marciello. Once again, Tincknell was classified third, Lucas Auer (Prema Powerteam) ended up fourth.

Raffaele Marciello

Photo by: XPB Images

In a qualifying session that remained open till the end, Raffaele Marciello (1:33.778 minuten) claimed the top position with only one minute remaining and toppled his rival Felix Rosenqvist (1:33.868 minutes) to second. In the closing stages, Lucas Auer (1:33.981 minutes) and Kevin Korjus (ThreeBond with T-Sport, 1:34.213 minutes) also took brief turns in first place, but weren’t able to keep it. Auer eventually was classified fifth behind Marciello, Rosenqvist, Harry Tincknell (1:33.928 minutes) and Alex Lynn (1:33.943 minutes). Sven Müller (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:34.106 minutes) was the best-placed German junior driver in sixth. Kevin Korjus will start his first FIA Formula 3 European Championship race from ninth place. Returnee Nick Cassidy (Carlin, 1:34.560 minutes) ended up 15th while GP2 driver Stefano Coletti (ma-con, 1:35.224 minutes) had to make do with 24th place on the grid for his Formula 3 comeback after an absence of four years.

Starting grid for race 2

In the ranking of the second-fastest laps to determine the starting grid positions for the second race, Felix Rosenqvist (1:33.937 minutes) came out on top. Raffaele Marciello (1:34.018 minutes) was classified second from his team-mate Alex Lynn (1:34.028 minutes) and Harry Tincknell (1:34.045 minutes). Lucas Auer (1:34.059 minutes) and Antonio Giovinazzi (Double R Racing, 1:34.176 minutes) were fifth and sixth, meaning that they will start the race from the third row on the grid.

Starting grid for race 3

In the second qualifying, Marciello (1:33.495 minutes) again set the fastest lap time and will thus also be starting from pole position into the final race of the season. In the second half of the session, Harry Tincknell (1:33.680 minutes) was the only other driver than Marciello to briefly top the time sheet, but the Brit was unable to defend his position from Marciello’s attack. Eventually, he was also beaten by Felix Rosenqvist (1:33.563 minutes) and ended up third. Lucas Auer (1:33.682 minutes) and Jordan King (Carlin, 1:33.831 minutes) were fourth and fifth from Nick Cassidy (1:33.834 minutes).

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam)
“Qualifying was very good. Two pole positions, I could hardly have hoped for more. Especially for the first race, pole position is great, because when I manage to win this race, I am European champion. In qualifying, everything was great, my car was good. Even when it rains tomorrow, I have no worries, because in the first Hockenheim weekend in the early stage of the season, I also won in the rain. Nevertheless, I hope that it will remain dry tomorrow.”

Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport)
“For all of us, it took relatively long before the lap times were fast. I think that this was due to the asphalt, which is very smooth here, so that it takes relatively long for the tyres to reach the right temperature window. Second place is annoying, but actually, it also is a good position for the races. In first qualifying, pole position would have been within reach, but I was stuck for one lap behind no-one else but Raffaele. That was slightly disappointing.”

FIA F3 European