Motorsports Mondial
Pole number 22 for Vettel at the European Grand Prix!
Grosjean back to the top in GP2 feature race.
Quaife-Hobbs takes maiden GP3 victory.
Marussia Manor Racing’s Adrian Quaife-Hobbs took his maiden GP3 Series victory today, after a flying start from the Brit saw him take the lead when the lights went out. MW Arden locked out the rest of the podium with Lewis Williamson finishing second and Mitch Evans third.
Quaife-Hobbs stormed off the line to pass both Addax Team’s Dean Smith and polesitter Williamson before the first corner. Status Grand Prix didn’t have a good start to the race; Alexander Sims received a 10 spot grid penalty before the race was underway for a collision in qualifying, and before the first lap was over both Antonio Felix Da Costa and Ivan Lukashevich were in the pits. A brief safety car period ensued after different incidents on lap 1 saw MW Arden’s Simon Trummer, Jenzer’s Maxim Zimin and Tech 1 Racing’s Thomas Hylkema retire from the race.
The safety was out for just one lap before the field was back to racing. Quaife-Hobbs held onto his lead at the re-start, followed by Smith, Williamson, Evans, Gabby Chaves, Lotus ART’s Valtteri Bottas and the Finn’s teammate James Calado. Alexander Sims was on a charge; the Brit had already moved from P16 to P11 in the first lap and was soon challenging Dillmann for P8. Sims eventually made the pass, but there was contact between the two in the process.
Back at the front Quaife-Hobbs had the race under control, and Smith was running in a lonely second. Meanwhile teammates Williamson and Evans were locked in a battle for the final podium spot which would continue until the chequered flag. Sims had found a way past Calado for seventh and had his sights firmly set on Bottas. Just two laps from the end Sims found himself in a Lotus ART sandwich as Calado took advantage of the battle and moved up behind to try and gain back his lost position. Sims was eventually victorious in the three-way fight, with Bottas and Calado slotting into seventh and eighth.
By the end of the last lap Quaife-Hobbs was 6.5 seconds in the lead of the race and took a dominant first win. Dean Smith’s Addax car slowed during the final lap and the Brit missed out a podium spot. The MW Arden duo of Williamson and Evans capitalized to take the final two steps on the podium followed by Chaves in fourth. Smith finished fifth ahead of a well recovered Sims in sixth, Bottas and Calado who will start Race 2 tomorrow from reverse-pole. Evans’ podium moves the MW Arden driver into the lead of Series with 23 points, 1 point ahead of Melker.