F3 Euro Series: Esteban Ocon takes lights-to-flag win, Max Verstappen retires.

Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam) made his comeback on the top step of the podium at the 4.909 kilometres long Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. The 18-year-old Frenchman won the 28th race of the season and thus also wrapped up the title in the rookie classification of the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship. In the 20 lap race, British drivers Jordan King (Carlin) and Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) finished second and third. Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing), who came to Italy as the runner-up in the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship drivers’ standings, retired from a turbulent race. As a result, the 17-year-old Dutchman, who participated in his first free practice session in Fórmula 1 last week, lost his second place in the championship to Tom Blomqvist. Ocon, who is now 97 points ahead of Blomqvist, remains on top of the standings.

The safety-car was deployed on the opening lap following a collision between Santino Ferrucci (Fortec Motorsports) and Hongwei Cao (Fortec Motorsports). At that time, Esteban Ocon was in the lead after a successful start from pole position. Jordan King followed in second place from Tom Blomqvist and Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport).

After the restart, Ocon was in front again and was soon able to pull a slight gap from his main rival Jordan King. While Lotus F1 junior driver Ocon controlled the race in first place, his rival in the battle for the title, Max Verstappen, had to work his way up through the ranks. Following an engine change in the previous round at the Nürburgring, after which he was dropped ten places on the grid for the first and second race at Imola in compliance with the regulations, the Dutchman had only started from 15th place on the grid. After one lap, he was already ninth and continued to push. A mistake while attacking Jake Dennis (Carlin) cost Verstappen two positions. Soon after that, Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam) pushed him into the gravel trap and the Van Amersfoort driver fell out of the top ten as a result. Following another collision with Roy Nissany (Mücke Motorsport), he eventually had to retire in the pits with three laps remaining.

Out in front, Esteban Ocon drove his ninth victory of the season home, followed by Jordan King and Tom Blomqvist. Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth from Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin), Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport), Jake Dennis, Felix Serralles (Team West-Tec F3), Tatiana Calderón (Jo Zeller Racing) and Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin).

Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam): “Pole position certainly helped me to take the lead after the start. After that, I immediately managed to pull a gap from Jordan. After the restart, the situation was similar. When Jordan increased his speed during the race, I had to take a little bit more risk to keep the gap constant”.

Jordan King (Carlin): “My start wasn’t the best and throughout the race, I never managed to close up to Esteban in such a way that I would have been able to mount an attack. But second place is a good result, too”.

Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “After the restart, I had to defend my position from Felix Rosenqvist, which I managed to do. Thus, I was third and I brought this position home. Before the race, we had made some changes to the set-up of my car and I needed some time to get used to it”.

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series

Hamilton é pole para o GP da Rússia.

Lewis Hamilton conquistou a pole position para o primeiro Grande Prêmio da Rússia de Fórmula 1, no treino que definiu o grid de largada para a corrida em Sochi, o piloto da Mercedes não deu chances para seus rivais e nem para Rosberg, que teve que se contentar com a segunda posição. No final, quase que Valtteri Bottas, da Williams, rouba a cena ao dar um show em sua última volta rápida, o finlandês chegou a baixar o tempo nos dois primeiros setores, mas acabou perdendo o controle do carro no último setor e largará em terceiro.

Jenson Button confirmou o bom ritmo da McLaren em Sochi, o time de Woking esteve sempre entre os primeiros colocados nos treinos livres e desta vez foi coroado com a quarta colocação. Correndo em casa, a estrela do russo Daniil Kvyat brilhou mais uma vez, o jovem piloto da Toro Rosso que substituirá o tetracampeão Vettel na RBR em 2015, fez um excelente treino e, largará em quinto.

Kevin Magnussen na pista foi o sexto, mas perderá 5 posições por ter trocado o câmbio. Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen e Jean-Eric Vergne completaram o top 10. Sebastian Vettel, acabou sendo eliminado no (Q2), no entanto, ganhará a posição de Magnussen. Outro que foi punido pela troca do câmbio foi Hulkenberg, caindo para a 17ª posição. Felipe Massa teve azar, pois seu carro apresentou um problema no motor logo no início, o brasileiro foi eliminado ainda no (Q1), e largará na 18ª posição.

Max Chilton único piloto representante da Marussia em 'casa', trocou o câmbio, caindo para a penúltima colocação por causa da punição. Quem fecha o grid em Sochi é o venezuelano Pastor Maldonado, o piloto da Lotus foi punido em 5 posições por ter estourado o limite permitido de motores para a temporada. O GP da Rússia acontece neste domingo, a partir das 20:00 horas, horário do Japão.  

F3 Euro Seires: Prema driver Esteban Ocon back on top.

Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam, 1:36s479) secured himself a good position for the battle for the title in first qualifying for the tenth FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship race meeting. The Frenchman, a protégé of the Lotus F1 team and the leader in the drivers’ standings, claimed pole position for the first race of the weekend at the 4.909 kilometres long Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:36s611) secured himself second place on the grid for his home race, ahead of the two Brits Jordan King (Carlin, 1:36s890) and Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:36s973). Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:37s006), currently runner-up in the drivers’ standings and already having made the step to Fórmula 1, had to make do with fifth place.

Around the halfway point, there was a duel for pole position involving Italian Antonio Giovnazzi and Frenchman Esteban Ocon. They were the two drivers to set lap times below 1:37 minutes. In the remainder of the session, Tom Blomqvist closed up to them, but then a crash by Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:37s375) stopped the action for a few minutes. At that time, Ocon was on top from Giovinazzi and Blomqvist while Max Verstappen was skulking in fourth place.

Once the session had been resumed, Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport, 1:37s016) was the first driver who managed to improve his own lap time. The Swedish stalwart moved up into fifth place. The final attempts by the youngsters were briefly interrupted once again after a crash by Alexander Toril (ThreeBond with T-Sport, 1:37s926).

After the second restart, there were only 2:19 minutes remaining. In spite of the little time that was left, Nicholas Latifi (Prema Powerteam, 1:37s187) and Jordan King still managed to improve. British driver King even moved up to third place in the final seconds while Canadian driver Latifi ended up tenth in qualifying. Between him and sixth-placed Rosenqvist, Jake Dennis (Carlin, 1:37s031), Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam, 1:37s125) and Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport, 1:37s147) were seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.

Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam): “Qualifying was really good and my car was great, too. In free practice, we worked very well and I am happy to be back on top. The Imola circuit really suits me and as I am living in Italy now this race also is something of a home round for me as well. Starting from pole position for the first race of the weekend is all the more beautiful because of this. However, I am not thinking about a possible title win yet”.

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series

Hamilton é o mais rápido no segundo treino livre na Rússia.

Hamilton mostrou porque é considerado um dos melhores pilotos da F1 dos últimos tempos, o piloto britânico atual líder do campeonato dominou o segundo treino livre para o GP da Rússia com folgas. Na hora da decisão, Hamilton tem mostrado tranquilo e segue rumo ao bicampeonato, na segunda sessão realizada em Sochi, ele cravou a melhor volta em 1:39s630, já Rosberg ficou apenas com a quarta marca.

A surpresa do treino foi ver a McLaren entre a segunda força na atividade, Kevin Magnussen foi o segundo, o dinamarquês que ainda não tem vaga garantida no time para a próxima temporada fez um belo trabalho na estreia no circuito russo. Fernando Alonso fechou a sessão em terceiro. Valtteri Bottas, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Daniil Kvyat, Sebastian Vettel e Jean-Eric Vergne completaram o top 10. Confira os melhores tempos da TL2:

Marussia confirma que correrá apenas com Chilton o GP da Rússia.

Apesar de ter inscrito o piloto Alexandre Rossi, reserva do time, a equipe Marussia resolveu optar por correr apenas com o britânico Max Chilton o GP da Rússia neste final de semana em Sochi. O time deixará o carro #17 do francês Jules Bianchi, pronto nos boxes, em homenagem ao piloto que sofreu um grave acidente no domingo passado aqui em Suzuka e encontra-se internado em um hospital da cidade de Yokkaichi.

Abaixo o comunicado oficial da Marussia:

“A Marussia correrá apenas com um carro durante o fim de semana de Grande Prêmio da Rússia em Sochi por respeito ao piloto Jules Bianchi, que permanece em um hospital em Yokkaichi, Japão, em estado crítico, mas estável.

O time escreveu para os comissários desportivos para informá-los que desejavam retirar o seu segundo carro. Não obstante a presença em Sochi de Alexander Rossi, reserva oficial nomeado para o GP da Rússia, a equipe sente que, correr com um único carro - o número 4 de Max Chilton - é o curso apropriado em razão das circunstâncias difíceis do fim de semana.

Os mecânicos montaram o segundo carro, que está pronto para correr, e este permanecerá dentro da garagem durante todo o fim de semana. Em apoio a Jules e sua família, o time e os carros carregarão o familiar adesivo #JB17, para garantir que, apesar de Jules não estar conosco em Sochi neste fim de semana, de alguma forma ele estará correndo com a Marussia”.

Rosberg lidera o primeiro treino livre na Rússia.

Nico Rosberg fez o melhor tempo no primeiro treino livre para o Grande Prêmio da Rússia, a prova será disputada no circuito de Sochi. Na manhã desta sexta-feira, o piloto da Mercedes marcou sua melhor volta em 1:42s311, Lewis Hamilton foi o segundo e Jenson Button surpreendeu com a McLaren na terceira posição.

Fernando Alonso ficou com a quarta marca, Kevin Magnussen foi o quinto com Sergio Perez em sexto. Correndo em casa, Daniil Kvyat fechou a sessão em sétimo. Kimi Raikkonen, Jean-Eric Vergne e Valtteri Bottas completaram o top 10. Já o brasileiro Felipe Massa foi apenas o décimo primeiro. Em um comunicado enviado à imprensa, a Marussia declarou que correrá a etapa da Rússia com apenas um carro, Max Chilton não foi bem no treino e terminou em último. Os pilotos voltam à pista de Sochi a partir das 19:00 horas, horário do Japão, para o segundo treino. Confira o resultado final da TL1:

F3 Euro Series: Will rookie Esteban Ocon secure the title as early as at Imola?

For the first time in its history, the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship is going to hold a race weekend at Imola’s 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. For 18-year old Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam), the race meeting at the Italian racetrack represents the first chance of securing the title. The only drivers that still have the chance of stealing the French Lotus driver’s lead are Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) - who already has been signed as GP driver for the 2015 season - Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) and Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport).

Ocon’s lead over Verstappen amounts to 77 points, Great Britain’s Tom Blomqvist follows another 10 points behind - and Lucas Auer’s gap to Ocon adds up to 119 points. With a maximum of 75 points to be awarded on an FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship race weekend, this means that Ocon could follow the footsteps of last year’s champion Raffaele Marciello as early as on the penultimate race weekend of the 2014 season

In addition, the grid of the Imola meeting will feature four new faces: Nick Cassidy (ThreeBond with T-Sport) already gathered his first Fórmula 3 European Championship experiences in 2013 and is making his comeback, now. Virtually the same applies to William Buller (Signature) who also already has got some FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship experience under his belt. He will race a Dallara-Volkswagen for Team Signature who are contesting their first race weekend of the season, at Imola. Meanwhile, China’s Hongwei Cao (Fortec Motorsports) who secured the British F3 title, four weeks ago, and Brazilian Sérgio Sette Câmara (Eurointernational) are making their FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship debuts, this weekend.

Câmara’s team-mate is Michele Beretta (Eurointernational), one of the three Italian’s on the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship grid. Apart from him, Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) and Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam) also will represent the Italian colours, at Imola. The currently best-placed driver of the three Italians is rookie Fuoco. With six more races to go, the Ferrari Driver Academy protégé holds fifth position in the championship, right ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi who celebrated his first FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship win at the Red Bull Ring.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin): “I’m living a five-hour ride from Imola but it’s my home race, nevertheless. I’m looking forward to all the friends and relatives that will come to see me, this weekend, and I want to provide them a good performance. On Tuesday and Wednesday, during the official mid-season tests, I completed my first Imola laps and I really like the circuit: it is demanding and you quickly can make a mistake but this also allows you to learn a lot and demonstrate your skills. I think it’s one of the most demanding venues on the entire FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship calendar”.

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series

F3 Euro Series: Max Verstappen on top after second day of testing at Imola.

Although Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:36s553) has already signed his Fórmula 1 contract and also has taken part in his first free practice session in the category, he keeps on pushing in the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship. On the second day of the official mid-season-test at the 4.909 kilometres long circuit of Imola, he came out on top. Jake Dennis (Carlin, 1:36s836) followed behind the Dutchman while Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:37s049) was classified third at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari ahead of his team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:37s055).

With his fourth place, Giovinazzi was the fastest of the three Italian drivers competing in this year’s FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship. “We have tested and sorted out many things. I am quite happy with the progress we have made on these two days and I am now looking forward to the race weekend,” he commented afterwards. Giovinazzi ranked just ahead of Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam, 1:37s071), the second Italian in the ranking. Gustavo Menezes (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:37s108) followed in sixth place and also drew a positive verdict: “It was important and also necessary to have these two days of testing after the long summer break. Now, we are all back in the right rhythm for this weekend, when we are racing for points. My team-mates and I had a good speed, our car was running well and we are ready for the three races at this circuit”.

Nick Cassidy (ThreeBond with T-Sport, 1:37s116), Jordan King (Carlin, 1:37s144), Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport, 1:37s162) and Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport, 1:37s273) rounded out the top ten.“This track really is great fun to drive,” Rosenqvist said. “But on a really fast lap, you are also on the verge of crashing all the time. Getting close to the limit, but not over it is a huge challenge”. The Swede was happy with his test day: “I think that we made the car faster”.

Felix Serralles (Team West-Tec F3, 1:37s341) was classified eleventh. “I reckon that we have the speed to finish on the podium,” the young driver from Puerto Rico said. “During the season so far, my car has never been this good. In the summer break and with this test, we have made a step forward and we are working into the right direction”. Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam, 1:37s342) had to make do with twelfth place, but the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship points’ leader remained totally unfazed: “We just concentrated on completing our test programme and we didn’t go for any fast lap times. We will leave that for the weekend, when we are competing for points and positions again,” the 18-year-old Lotus Fórmula 1 junior driver said calmly.

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series

Augusto Farfus confirma participação no tradicional Macau GT Cup, marcado para novembro.

Augusto Farfus é um dos pilotos inscritos para a disputa do Macau GT Cup, evento para carros de turismo que faz parte do 61º Macau Grand Prix, entre 15 e 16 de novembro, na ex-colônia portuguesa. O curitibano de 31 anos foi convidado pela BMW Ásia para participar da prova e terá a chance de acelerar novamente a BMW Z4 GT3, agora pela equipe japonesa AAI. Farfus voltará a Macau para correr no desafiador Circuito da Guia, onde ostenta um histórico vencedor, sobretudo nos tempos de WTCC. Único brasileiro na lista prévia divulgada pela organização da prova, Augusto terá como companheiro de equipe o alemão Marco Wittmann, que conquistou o título da temporada 2014 do DTM.

Como piloto do WTCC, Farfus venceu logo em sua estreia no Circuito da Guia, em 2005, quando ainda competia pela Alfa Romeo, após ter largado na pole position, sendo um dos poucos pilotos a triunfar em sua primeira tentativa. No histórico geral da sua participação pelo Mundial de Carros de Turismo, Augusto conquistou duas vitórias em Macau (2005 e 2009). Conhecedor dos segredos do traçado urbano de mais de 6 quilômetros, o brasileiro entende que terá todas as condições para fazer um bom trabalho e voltar a lutar pela vitória.

Além de Wittmann, Farfus encontrará outro piloto que disputa a temporada do DTM. Edoardo Mortara, conhecido como ‘Mr. Macau’ por ter vencido por três vezes a clássica corrida de F3 na ex-colônia portuguesa, é o atual campeão do Macau GT Cup e será um dos principais adversários do curitibano durante a corrida em novembro, que será realizada pouco menos de um mês depois do encerramento da última prova do DTM em 2014, em Hockenheim, no dia 19 de outubro.

Augusto Farfus:

“Será uma experiência fantástica voltar a correr em Macau, circuito que tenho grandes recordações dos meus tempos de WTCC. Fui um dos poucos pilotos que venceu no Circuito da Guia logo no ano de estreia. Então me lembro do Ayrton Senna, que disputou a clássica corrida de F3 e ganhou também na primeira tentativa. Fiquei bastante feliz com o convite feito pela BMW Ásia para fazer parte do Macau GT Cup e será mais uma grande oportunidade para voltar a guiar a BMW Z4 GT3, um carro que eu gosto tanto, e brigar pela vitória numa pista tão desafiadora”.

Fotos: DTM - Fonte: Eversports

F3 Euro Series: Jake Dennis on top after first day of testing at Imola.

British driver Jake Dennis (Carlin, 1:36s808) came out on top at the end of the first encounter of the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship after the summer break. On the opening day of the official mid-season test, the rookie driver was 0s027 seconds faster than Lucas Auer (Mücke Motorsport, 1:36s835). Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:36s874) and Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport, 1:36s007) were classified third and fourth at the 4.909 kilometres long Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola.

Jake Dennis only set his fastest lap time in the final minute of the test day and was very happy afterwards: “Today, we ran through our program and we found some things that worked well, but others that didn’t. Eventually, I managed to be in front with fresh tyres. The lap certainly wasn’t perfect, but I am happy with the day”. Just like Dennis, Lucas Auer also managed to move ahead of Max Verstappen in the closing stages. The Dutchman, who participated in his first-ever free practice session in Formula 1 last Friday, didn’t show any problems in getting used to his Fórmula 3 car again.“Somehow, getting from a faster into a slower car is easier,” the 17-year-old commented.

Behind the fastest three young drivers on the opening day of testing, Felix Rosenqvist, points’ leader Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam, 1:37s093), Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:37s316) and Jordan King (Carlin, 1:37s351) followed in fourth to seventh place. The Brit had to conclude his test day early following an accident.“The rear of the car slid out on me and I couldn’t manage to get the car in control. It was just a small mistake, but it left me sidelined for the final two hours”.

Gustavo Menezes (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:37s450), Nick Cassidy (ThreeBond with T-Sport, 1:37s498) and Felix Serralles (Team West-Tec F3, 1:37s504) rounded out the top ten. “I am delighted to be back in the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship,” New Zealander Cassidy said. At Imola and Hockenheim, he will be racing for ThreeBond with T-Sport.“Last year, I took part in two events and coming back to race in this series has always been my goal. Now, I hope to improve steadily and to score some good results”.

At the end of the day, Cassidy was the fastest of the six drivers who are competing in their first season in the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship this year. William Buller (Signature, 1:37s704) was classified 13th on the comeback of both himself and his Signature team and was also happy. “It took a while for me to get used to the Fórmula 3 car again. After that, things went well and the team did a good job, too. We aren’t that far off the pace, but we still have some work to do to get further up to the front.” Only two places behind Buller, Marvin Kirchhofer (Motopark, 1:37s750) ended up 15th on his first outing in the FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship. The German drove the car of the Motopark team that took part in an official FIA Fórmula 3 European Championship session for the first time this year.

Photos: FIA F3 Euro Series