Felix Rosenqvist claims pole position at Zandvoort…

Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:30.839 minutes) was unbeatable in qualifying for this weekend’s RTL GP Masters of Formula 3 at the 4.307 kilometres long Circuit Park Zandvoort and claimed pole position in a dominant way. The Swede, who already won Europe’s most prestigious Formula 3 race and is currently placed second in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, was followed by British driver Harry Tincknell (Carlin, 1:31.131 minutes). The Carlin driver is taking place in the tradition-steeped Masters of Formula 3 event for the first time in his career. British drivers Alex Lynn (Prema Powerteam, 1:31.154 minutes) and Emil Bernstorff (Prema Powerteam, 1:31.255 minutes) are lining up on the second row of the starting grid for tomorrow’s race.

Starting grid positions for the Masters of Formula 3 were determined in two qualifying sessions of 20 minutes each, the outright fastest lap time of each driver being considered for the classification. In the faster first session, Felix Rosenqvist came out on top. The Mücke driver, who had already been fastest in first free practice, moved up to the top of the time sheets in the second half of the session. In second qualifying, Rosenqvist was fastest, too, but his lap time was slower than in the first heat.

A trio of British drivers followed behind the Mücke driver: Harry Tincknell, Alex Lynn and Emil Bernstorff. Austrian Lucas Auer (Prema Powerteam, 1:31.256 minutes) was classified fifth to ensure that three of the four Prema drivers ended up in the top five. The Italian team won the Masters last year when Daniel Juncadella crossed the finish line in first place.

Sven Müller (ma-con, 1:31.363 minutes) and Tom Blomqvist (Eurointernational, 1:31.399 minutes) followed in sixth and seventh place respectively while a trio of Carlin drivers with Nicholas Latifi (Carlin, 1:31.404 minutes), Jordan King (Carlin, 1:31.414 minutes) and Jann Mardenborough (Carlin, 1:31.572 minutes) rounded out the top ten. 

Dennis van de Laar (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:31.782 minutes) was one of the few young drivers to improve his personal best lap time in the slower second qualifying. The Dutchman, who is living in Zandvoort, will start his home race from twelfth place on the grid behind Eddie Cheever (Prema Powerteam, 1:31.716 minutes). 

The Masters of Formula 3 will start tomorrow, Sunday, at 13.30 hrs local time. Television partner n-tv will be showing the race in Germany tape-delayed from 17.05 hrs.

Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport)
“From my point of view, qualifying wasn’t too bad. The important thing is that this year, my car is better than last year. Pole position is a perfect start into the weekend, but the only thing that really matters is tomorrow’s race. Therefore, I don’t want to get too excited about this pole position.”