Marciello and two surprises at the Hockenheimring
Two victories by points’ leader Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam) who extended his lead in the drivers’ standings of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship
Raffaele Marciello
XPB Images
At the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, two Formula 3 novices showed a surprising performance: Josh Hill, the son of ex Formula 1 world champion Damon Hill (Fortec Motorsports) and Red Bull junior driver Daniil Kvyat (Carlin) shone with one podium finish each.
In the rain-soaked first race, Raffaele Marciello showed a perfect performance. After only one lap, the Italian already had a margin of over five seconds, which he gradually extended. At the finish, he had an advantage of almost 15 seconds, and even could affort himself a spin. “I have to admit that I was very lucky with my spin in the first corner, because there, the wall is very near,” the protégé of the Ferrari Driver Academy was relieved at the finish.
In the second race, he added another victory and in the third encounter, he even showed that he is not only able to score top results when starting in front. From tenth place on the grid, he moved up through the ranks to finish fourth in the 21 lap race at a dry track. The 18-year-old from Maranello extended his margin in the lead of the drivers’ standings to 71.5 points. Felix Rosenqvist (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport) defended his second place in the points’ standings by winning the third race of the weekend.
On all three occasions, a driver of the Fortec Motorsports team occupied second step on the podium. Félix Serrallés (Fortec Motorsports) scored a pair of second places, Josh Hill finished second once. Hill’s career in motorsport is rather untypical, he is lacking the basis in go-karts. But notwithstanding his late debut in the sport, the Brit has already made his marks: with third place in the final standings of the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and with only a few days of testing in a Formula 3 car, he started his season in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. After only three meetings and in the presence of his famous father Damon, he celebrated his maiden podium finish at Hockenheim. “I hadn’t expected that this early in the season.”
Russian Daniil Kvyat already caught the attention on Friday when he claimed his maiden pole position for his first-ever outing in Formula 3. From first place on the grid, the 19-year-old Red Bull junior driver ended up third in the third race on Sunday behind Felix Rosenqvist and Félix Serrallés. “Keeping all these fast and experienced drivers at bay in qualifying was mega,” said Kvyat, who only had one day of testing with a Formula 3 car in preparation. “Unfortunately, my start into the race wasn’t good, but later on, it went quite well. It was good fun and it would be great to have further races in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship.”
The next venue for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship will be Brands Hatch. Season rounds ten, eleven and twelve are scheduled in a fortnight.
FIA F3
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