Sims score maiden Nissan victory in Formula 3 Euro Series

Briton Alexander Sims (Threebond with T-Sport) wrote history at the 3.629 kilometres long Nürburgring sprint circuit: he claimed the maiden victory for a Nissan-powered car in the Formula 3 Euro Series. Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam) and Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport) crossed the finish line in second and third place respectively, ahead of Pascal Wehrlein (Mücke Motorsport) as the best-placed rookie. Points’ leader Daniel Juncadella had to make do with eighth place, but still remains in the lead of the drivers’ standings.

Alexander Sims, who already raced in the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2009 and 2010 and ended up fourth in the final standings in both seasons, celebrated a successful comeback. The Brit won the start and gradually built up his advantage over Raffaele Marciello throughout the race. At the finish line, he had a margin of 5.357 seconds over the Italian, who is second in the drivers’ standings. The two German rookie drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Sven Müller (Prema Powerteam), who impressed with second and third place in the first race, finished fourth and fifth this time.

Alexander Sims (Threebond with T-Sport): “This race really went according to plan for me. In the first race, being stuck behind Carlos Sainz, in spite of being quicker, was quite frustrating. This time, things went better. My start was good and I was in the lead. I am very happy with that, and also with the great job by the team.”

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam): “Contrarily to Alex Sims, I started the race with used tyres. In the opening stages, I was still quicker than him, but I didn’t want to take too big a risk when overtaking. As a guest driver, he isn’t eligible to score points anyway and I get the full number of points with my podium finish behind him.”

Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport): “My strategy was to drive aggressively, particularly in the early stages of the race. Initially, I was in a battle with Carlos Sainz until he came in for a drive through penalty. I am happy with having improved from third on the grid to third place at the finish.”