Ralf Aron Claims Maiden FIA Formula 3 Pole Position
With Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix) and Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix), two drivers of the Hitech Grand Prix team locked out the first two positions in second qualifying of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at the Norisring. For the Estonian, it is the first FIA Formula 3 European Championship pole position, his team-mate Hughes already having been unbeatable in first qualifying at the same venue one day earlier. At the 2.3 kilometres long street circuit in Nuremberg, Maximilian GĆ¼nther (Prema Powerteam) ended up third from the two best-placed rookie drivers Lando Norris (Carlin) and Jehan Daruvala (Carlin), as well as Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing). In the ranking of the second-fastest lap times, GĆ¼nther came out on top from Daruvala, Aron, Hughes, Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin) and Norris.
Qualifying for the 14th FIA Formula 3 European Championship season race provided plenty of variation for the spectators. Drivers to take turns in the lead included Maximilian GĆ¼nther (47.963s), Lando Norris (47.971s), David Beckmann (Motopark, 48.202s) and Jehan Daruvala (47.973s), but eventually, Ralf Aron (47.859s) came out on top. In the process, he toppled his team-mate Jake Hughes (47.941s) from first place and ensured that two cars of the Hitech Grand Prix team will be on the front row for tomorrow morningās race. Maximilian GĆ¼nther, the leader in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship pointsā standings, secured third place and posted a sub-48-seconds lap time, just like Lando Norris, Jehan Daruvala and Pedro Piquet (47.998s). Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam, 0m48.046s) ended up seventh in qualifying from Harrison Newey (Van Amersfoort Racing, 48.048s), Nikita Mazepin (Hitech Grand Prix, 48.058s) and Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam, 48.077s). The fastest lap times of the entire field were within 0.548 seconds only.
Maximilian GĆ¼nther (47.965s) posted the best second-fastest lap time and thus secured pole position for the 15th race of the season. The German also needed less than 48 seconds for this lap. Next up behind GĆ¼nther were Daruvala (48.048s), Aron (48.058s), Hughes (48.068s), Habsburg (48.088s), Norris (48.134s), Zhou (48.139s), Mazepin (48.181s), Ilott (48.201s) and Joel Eriksson (Motopark, 48.201s) with an identical time as Ilott.
Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix):āThis is my maiden FIA Formula 3 European Championship pole position. So far, my best F3 qualifying result was a second place and of course, I am very happy with the improvement. Especially at the start of the season, we were having many problems, but we worked hard and we never gave up. That we are now first and second in this qualifying as a team is a nice reward. I hope that we can convert our two front row grid positions into a good race result tomorrow, the team has definitely deserved it.ā
Maximilian GĆ¼nther (Prema Powerteam):āIt was a good qualifying, but as expected, it was close. I am very happy with the result, first and third place on the grid are very good positions at this track. All in all, I dealt quite well with traffic on the track, even though I didnāt have a clear track on my final lap and therefore was unable to improve. Together with my victory from this afternoon, it has been a very good day for me, but there wonāt be any celebrations now. I am already fully focussed on being equally successful tomorrow.ā
Qualifying 2
1st ā No. 7, Ralf Aron, EST, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 47.859
2nd ā No. 34, Jake Hughes, GBR, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 47.941
3rd ā No. 3, Maximilian GĆ¼nther, DEU, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 47.963
4th ā No. 31, Lando Norris*, GBR, Carlin, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 47.971
5th ā No. 27, Jehan Daruvala*, IND, Carlin, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 47.973
6th ā No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 47.998
7th ā No. 53, Callum Ilott, GBR, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.046
8th ā No. 17, Harrison Newey, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.048
9th ā No. 99, Nikita Mazepin, RUS, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.058
10th ā No. 8, Guan Yu Zhou, CHN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.077
11th ā No. 62, Ferdinand Habsburg, AUT, Carlin, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.085
12th ā No. 1, Joel Eriksson, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.161
13th ā No. 25, Mick Schumacher*, DEU, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.188
14th ā No. 55, David Beckmann, DEU, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.202
15th ā No. 33, Marino Sato*, JPN, Motopark, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.310
16th ā No. 96, Joey Mawson*, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.319
17th ā No. 11, Tadasuke Makino, JPN, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.355
18th ā No. 47, Keyvan Andres Soori, DEU, Motopark, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.407
Qualifying ā Race 3
1st ā No. 3, Maximilian GĆ¼nther, DEU, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 47.965
2nd ā No. 27, Jehan Daruvala*, IND, Carlin, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.048
3rd ā No. 7, Ralf Aron, EST, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.058
4th ā No. 34, Jake Hughes, GBR, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.068
5th ā No. 62, Ferdinand Habsburg, AUT, Carlin, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.088
6th ā No. 31, Lando Norris*, GBR, Carlin, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.134
7th ā No. 8, Guan Yu Zhou, CHN, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.139
8th ā No. 99, Nikita Mazepin, RUS, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.181
9th ā No. 53, Callum Ilott, GBR, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.201
10th ā No. 1, Joel Eriksson, SWE, Motopark, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.201
11th ā No. 55, David Beckmann, DEU, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.203
12th ā No. 5, Pedro Piquet, BRA, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.225
13th ā No. 25, Mick Schumacher*, DEU, Prema Powerteam, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.267
14th ā No. 17, Harrison Newey, GBR, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.292
15th ā No. 96, Joey Mawson*, AUS, Van Amersfoort Racing, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.359
16th ā No. 33, Marino Sato*, JPN, Motopark, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.381
17th ā No. 11, Tadasuke Makino, JPN, Hitech Grand Prix, Dallara F317 Mercedes-Benz, 48.419
18th ā No. 47, Keyvan Andres Soori, DEU, Motopark, Dallara F317 Volkswagen, 48.432
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