2016 FIA F3 European Championship – Pau, Qualifying Session 2, Race 2 and Race 3

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Qualifying Session 2, Race 2

In changeable weather conditions, George Russell (HitechGP) claimed pole position for the eight race of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship season. On Saturday afternoon, Callum Ilott (Van Amersfoort Racing) will be starting alongside the Brit from the front row of the grid, followed by Sérgio Sette Câmara (Motopark), Lance Stroll (Prema Powerteam), Alessio Lorandi (Carlin) and Nick Cassidy (Prema Powerteam). The top six on the starting grid for the third race at the 2.76 kilometres long street circuit of Pau in the south of France has Lorandi ahead of Stroll, Sette Câmara, Cassidy, Russell and Ilott. Both for British driver Russell and for Italian Lorandi, their pole positions were their first in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.

In the first group, Lance Stroll (1:21.968 minutes) already moved up to the top position at an early stage. Towards the halfway point, Nick Cassidy (1:22.200 minutes) came to the fore, but soon had to hand his leading position to Callum Ilott (1:21.708 minutes). Even though Stroll temporarily claimed back first place from the Brit, Ilott was able to counter in time and restore the order. After Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:24.050 minutes) had crashed into the tyre stacks with one minute remaining, the session was stopped early and Ilott had secured first place from Stroll, Cassidy, Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:22.370 minutes), Anthoine Hubert (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:22.513 minutes) and newcomer David Beckmann (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:23.050 minutes), who ended up sixth in his class in his first outing in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.In the second group, Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam, 1:22.938 minutes) was the erstwhile leader until he made a mistake and retired. In order to allow for the German’s car to be recovered, the session was briefly interrupted. Once the action had resumed, Günther dropped back further and further down the ranks and eventually ended up in tenth place. The battle for first position, on the other hand, remained open until the final seconds. Initially, Sérgio Sette Câmara (1:21.371 minutes) toppled Günther from the lead, but then, the Brazilian was outpaced by Alessio Lorandi (1:21.530 minutes). In the dying stages, George Russell (1:21.281 minutes) managed to improve his time, which saw him move up to first place. Sette Câmara eventually ended up second from Lorandi, Ralf Aron (Prema Powerteam, 1:21.638 minutes), Ben Barnicoat (HitechGP, 1:21.667 minutes) and Ryan Tveter (Carlin, 1:21.869 minutes).

Like in first qualifying, the following procedure is used to determine the starting grid positions: the driver with the outright fastest time, in this case George Russell, will be starting from pole position while all the other drivers in his qualifying group will follow in a straight line behind him. The second group will make up the other row of the grid in the order of the classification of qualifying, so that one group will be on the left-hand side and one group will be on the right-hand side.

In the ranking of the second-fastest laps, Lance Stroll (1:22.153 minutes) came out on top in the first group. Nick Cassidy (1:22.374 minutes) followed in second place from Callum Ilott (1:22.407 minutes), Mikkel Jensen (1:22.440 minutes), Anthoine Hubert (1:22.750 minutes) and David Beckmann (1:23.294 minutes). In the second group, the order was Alessio Lorandi (1:21.586 minutes) from Sérgio Sette Câmara (1:21.652 minutes), George Russell (1:21.728 minutes), Ben Barnicoat (1:21.855 minutes), Ryan Tveter (1:22.074 minutes) and Joel Eriksson (Motopark, 1:22.091 minutes). With the fastest lap time of all drivers, the Italian has secured the best starting grid position for the third race of the weekend.George Russell (HitechGP): “I managed to cross the line with less than two seconds remaining, so that I was still able to do one more lap. I gave my utmost and I drove the lap of my life that turned out to be enough to claim pole position. Because of the changeable conditions, it wasn’t easy today. In first qualifying, our car wasn’t perfect yet, but it was all the better in the second session. I am really delighted with my pole position.”

Alessio Lorandi (Carlin): “For most of the time in this qualifying, I was on top, but towards the end, I had some troubles with the tyres. I still tried everything, but on my final lap, I also made a slight error, so that I ended up second in my group. In the ranking of the second-fastest laps, however, I came out on top, which gave me pole position for the third race. Claiming my maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship pole position at Pau is great and I am really happy.”

 

Group A

1st – No. 12, George Russell, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.281

2nd – No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:21. 371

3rd – No. 4, Alessio Lorandi, ITA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:21.530

4th – No. 16, Ralf Aron*, EST, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.638

5th – No. 24, Ben Barnicoat*, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.667

6th – No. 3, Ryan Tveter, USA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:21.869

7th – No. 22, Joel Eriksson*, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:21.920

8th – No. 11, Nikita Mazepin*, RUS, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.283

9th – No. 20, Harrison Newey*, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.933

10th – No. 17, Maximilian Günther, GER, Prema Powerteam, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312, 1:22.638

11th – No. 18, Zhi Cong Li, CHN, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:23.658

 

Group B

1st – No. 6, Callum Ilott, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.708

2nd – No. 1, Lance Stroll, CAN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.968

3rd – No. 2, Nick Cassidy, NZL, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.200

4th – No. 7, Mikkel Jensen, DEN, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312, 1:22.370

5th – No. 21, Anthoine Hubert*, FRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.513

6th – No. 8, David Beckmann*, GER, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312, 1:23.050

7th – No. 10, Niko Kari*, FIN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:23.474

8th – No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:24.050

9th – No. 14, Arjun Maini, IND, Threebond with T-Sport, Dallara F312, ThreeBond, 1:25.877

 

No Time Set

No. 23, Guan Yu Zhou*, CHN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

 

Starting Grid – Race 2

1st – No. 12, George Russell, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

2nd – No. 6, Callum Ilott, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

3rd – No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

4th – No. 1, Lance Stroll, CAN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

5th – No. 4, Alessio Lorandi, ITA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

6th – No. 2, Nick Cassidy, NZL, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

7th – No. 16, Ralf Aron*, EST, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

8th – No. 7, Mikkel Jensen, DEN, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312

9th – No. 24, Ben Barnicoat*, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

10th – No. 21, Anthoine Hubert*, FRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

11th – No. 3, Ryan Tveter, USA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

12th – No. 8, David Beckmann*, GER, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

13th – No. 22, Joel Eriksson*, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

14th – No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

15th – No. 11, Nikita Mazepin*, RUS, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

16th – No. 14, Arjun Maini, IND, Threebond with T-Sport, Dallara F312, ThreeBond

17th – No. 20, Harrison Newey*, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

18th – No. 23, Guan Yu Zhou*, CHN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

19th – No. 17, Maximilian Günther, GER, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

20th – No. 10, Niko Kari*, FIN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen^

21st – No. 18, Zhi Cong Li, CHN, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

 

Group A

1st – No. 4, Alessio Lorandi, ITA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:21.586

2nd – No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:21. 652

3rd – No. 12, George Russell, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.728

4th – No. 24, Ben Barnicoat*, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:21.855

5th – No. 3, Ryan Tveter, USA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:22.074

6th – No. 22, Joel Eriksson*, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:22.091

7th – No. 16, Ralf Aron*, EST, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.387

8th – No. 11, Nikita Mazepin*, RUS, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.572

9th – No. 20, Harrison Newey*, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.956

10th – No. 18, Zhi Cong Li, CHN, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:23.667

11th – No. 17, Maximilian Günther, GER, Prema Powerteam, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312, 1:25.342

 

Group B

1st – No. 1, Lance Stroll, CAN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.153

2nd – No. 2, Nick Cassidy, NZL, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.374

3rd – No. 6, Callum Ilott, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.407

4th – No. 7, Mikkel Jensen, DEN, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312, 1:22.440

5th – No. 21, Anthoine Hubert*, FRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:22.750

6th – No. 8, David Beckmann*, GER, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312, 1:23.294

7th – No. 10, Niko Kari*, FIN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:23.605

8th – No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz, 1:24.110

9th – No. 14, Arjun Maini, IND, Threebond with T-Sport, Dallara F312, ThreeBond, 1:28.948

 

No Time Set

No. 23, Guan Yu Zhou*, CHN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

 

Starting Grid – Race 3

1st – No. 4, Alessio Lorandi, ITA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

2nd – No. 1, Lance Stroll, CAN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

3rd – No. 9, Sergio Sette Camara, BRA, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

4th – No. 2, Nick Cassidy, NZL, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

5th – No. 12, George Russell, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

6th – No. 6, Callum Ilott, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

7th – No. 24, Ben Barnicoat*, GBR, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

8th – No. 7, Mikkel Jensen, DEN, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

9th – No. 3, Ryan Tveter, USA, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen, 1:22.074

10th – No. 21, Anthoine Hubert*, FRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

11th – No. 22, Joel Eriksson*, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

12th – No. 8, David Beckmann*, GER, Kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, Mercedes-Benz, Dallara F312

13th – No. 16, Ralf Aron*, EST, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

14th – No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

15th – No. 11, Nikita Mazepin*, RUS, HitechGP, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

16th – No. 14, Arjun Maini, IND, Threebond with T-Sport, Dallara F312, ThreeBond

17th – No. 20, Harrison Newey*, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

18th – No. 23, Guan Yu Zhou*, CHN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

19th – No. 18, Zhi Cong Li, CHN, Carlin, Dallara F312, Volkswagen

20th – No. 17, Maximilian Günther, GER, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F312, Mercedes-Benz

21st – No. 10, Niko Kari*, FIN, Motopark, Dallara F312, Volkswagen^

 

^ No 10, drop of 10 grid places

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