Formula 3 European Championship title protagonists Raffaele Marciello and Felix Rosenqvist have shared the pole positions after qualifying at the Norisring.
Swede Rosenqvist topped the first session by just one thousandth of a second from Ferrari protege Marciello, with Felix Serralles a further one thousandth adrift.
On second-best times, which determine the grid for race two, Marciello heads Prema team-mate Alex Lynn (who was just 0.007s off the fastest overall lap time) and Rosenqvist.
In second qualifying, which decides the grid for race three, Italian Marciello got an absolutely perfect lap, thanks to a monster tow from Sandro Zeller, to finish two tenths ahead of Rosenqvist, with Lynn third.
“I got the perfect slipstream,” admitted Marciello. “It was difficult for me to do better. I took a bit in the first sector, a bit in the second, a bit in the third and a lot in the last!
“Also, I had a very good balance under braking with the car, and this is very important at the Norisring.”
Rosenqvist was happy enough with his pole lap, but even more satisfied with his performance in second qualifying, in which he did not get pole.
“In the first session I wasn’t really getting into the rhythm so good – I struggled with traffic but then found a good tow from Alex,” he said.
“In the second I didn’t get a tow, so I’m happier with that, especially as we are going into a weekend on a circuit that is not my favourite.”
As well as Serralles, other competitors to get second-row grid positions include Alexander Sims, who made a strong return to F3 with T-Sport, and Tom Blomqvist.
Lucas Auer was the best performing Norisring rookie, taking two third-row places.
After headline-making pace in free practice, the Carlin squad fell off the pace a touch in qualifying, but still ended as the top Volkswagen team, with Harry Tincknell taking a best grid placing of sixth.
Practice pacesetter Daniil Kvyat has a fourth-row start as his best result.
Serralles’s Fortec team-mate Pipo Derani scored a hat-trick of fifth-row starts, while a superb F3 debut from newboy Nick Cassidy placed him ninth in opening qualifying.
Of the other Brits, Jordan King’s best starting position is 11th and Jann Mardenborough’s is 18th.
Race one grid Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap 1. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 48.997s 2. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 48.998s +0.001 3. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 48.999s +0.002 4. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 49.004s +0.007 5. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.027s +0.030 6. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 49.095s +0.098 7. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 49.200s +0.203 8. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.251s +0.254 9. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.296s +0.299 10. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.310s +0.313 11. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.349s +0.352 12. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.355s +0.358 13. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.365s +0.368 14. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.369s +0.372 15. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.404s +0.407 16. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.415s +0.418 17. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 49.421s +0.424 18. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.430s +0.433 19. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.455s +0.458 20. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.464s +0.467 21. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.522s +0.525 22. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.574s +0.577 23. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.678s +0.681 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.726s +0.729 25. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.828s +0.831 26. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 50.081s +1.084 27. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 50.244s +1.247 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.356s +1.359 Race two grid Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 49.016s 2. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 49.090s +0.074s 3. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.149s +0.059s 4. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.158s +0.009s 5. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.175s +0.017s 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 49.254s +0.079s 7. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 49.259s +0.005s 8. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 49.269s +0.010s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.311s +0.042s 10. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.403s +0.092s 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.422s +0.019s 12. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.439s +0.017s 13. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.444s +0.005s 14. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 49.446s +0.002s 15. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.463s +0.017s 16. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.467s +0.004s 17. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.471s +0.004s 18. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.520s +0.049s 19. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.524s +0.004s 20. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.526s +0.002s 21. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.585s +0.059s 22. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.618s +0.033s 23. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.724s +0.106s 24. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.748s +0.024s 25. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.957s +0.209s 26. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 50.121s +0.164s 27. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 50.338s +0.217s 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.429s +0.091s Race three grid Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap 1. Raffaele Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 48.567s 2. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc 48.761s +0.194s 3. Alex Lynn Prema Dallara-Merc 48.797s +0.230s 4. Tom Blomqvist Eurointernational Dallara-Merc 48.860s +0.293s 5. Lucas Auer Prema Dallara-Merc 48.891s +0.324s 6. Alexander Sims T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 48.931s +0.364s 7. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 48.973s +0.406s 8. Daniil Kvyat Carlin Dallara-VW 48.994s +0.427s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.016s +0.449s 10. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 49.018s +0.451s 11. Jordan King Carlin Dallara-VW 49.019s +0.452s 12. Roy Nissany Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.154s +0.587s 13. Michael Lewis Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.169s +0.602s 14. Lucas Wolf URD Dallara-Merc 49.181s +0.614s 15. Nick Cassidy EuroInternational Dallara-Merc 49.182s +0.615s 16. Sven Muller Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.235s +0.668s 17. Antonio Giovinazzi Double R Dallara-Merc 49.261s +0.694s 18. Jann Mardenborough Carlin Dallara-VW 49.277s +0.710s 19. Nicholas Latifi Carlin Dallara-VW 49.280s +0.713s 20. Mitchell Gilbert Mucke Dallara-Merc 49.301s +0.734s 21. Dennis van de Laar Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 49.336s +0.769s 22. Sean Gelael Double R Dallara-Merc 49.389s +0.822s 23. Eddie Cheever Prema Dallara-Merc 49.397s +0.830s 24. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 49.494s +0.927s 25. Sandro Zeller Zeller Dallara-Merc 49.505s +0.938s 26. Andre Rudersdorf Ma-con Dallara-VW 49.513s +0.946s 27. Tatiana Calderon Double R Dallara-Merc 49.764s +1.197s 28. Michela Cerruti Ferraris Dallara-Merc 50.006s +1.439s
