F3 Euro Series

JUNCADELLA ON POLE

For Spaniard Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam, 1:28.300 minutes), his home race started well: he was fastest in qualifying and claimed pole position for the third race of the weekend, taking place on Sunday. Swede Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport, 1:28.418 minutes) ended up second at the 4.005 kilometres long Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia. Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam, 1:28.540 minutes) followed in third place from the second Spaniard, Carlos Sainz (Carlin, 1:28.578 minutes), but also ended up on top in the ranking of the second-fastest laps and therefore will start from the best starting grid position for the first race of the weekend.

Qualifying started on a damp track, on which the drivers showed entertaining action. Initially, Pascal Wehrlein (Mücke Motorsport, 1:28.853 minutes) was in the lead, but then, the current best-placed rookie driver in the Formula 3 Euro Series was toppled by William Buller (Carlin, 1:29.665 minutes). After a brief interruption, caused by Luís Sá Silva (Angola Racing Team, 1:34.548 minutes), Raffaele Marciello moved up into the lead. Tom Blomqvist (ma-con Motorsport, 1:29.013 minutes) and Felix Rosenqvist also got involved in the battle for the lead, which Daniel Juncadella only decided in his favour with the fastest lap of the session. Qualifying was stopped a few seconds early after Pascal Wehrlein had come off the track and wasn’t re-started.

Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam): “Qualifying wasn’t easy, because at some places, the track dried out more than at others. Moreover, I didn’t have a clear track in the opening stages. Therefore, I only had the chance to have a go at pole position towards the end. On my second fast lap, I made a mistake that cost me a possible second pole position.”

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam): “At the start, I had to get used to the damp track and the new asphalt. With the second set of tyres, I was quick right away, but I didn’t get a clear lap. Scoring as many points as possible from the this weekend’s three races is my goal, in order to still claim second place in the standings.”