In the final qualifying session of the 2017 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, the duo Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam) and Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam) dominated proceedings.
At the 4.574 kilometres long Hockenheimring, the Brit also turned out to be unbeatable in second qualifying, having already claimed first place in first qualifying earlier in the afternoon.
Second place went to Günther, followed by Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam), Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix) and Pedro Piquet (Van Amersfoort Racing).
In the ranking of the second-fastest laps, used to determine the starting grid positions for the third race of a weekend, Günther secured first place from Ilott, Zhou, Hughes and Joel Eriksson (Motopark). Lando Norris (Carlin) had to make do with grid positions seven for the 29th race of the season and six for the 30th race.
Starting grid race two
It took a few minutes before all the drivers went out for qualifying. Halfway through the session, Jake Hughes (1m32.083s) was on top while points’ leader Lando Norris (1m32.163s) was listed in ninth place. Only one minute later, the Brit, who is supported by the McLaren Formula 1 team, was the new leader. However, he wasn’t able to increase his pace in the same way some of his rivals were and therefore was no longer in contention for the top position. Eventually, it was Ilott (1m31.685s) who claimed first place and demoted Günther (1m31.956s) to second. Guanyu Zhou (1m31.967s) and Jake Hughes only moved up into the top positions in the final stages and concluded the session in third and fourth place respectively. Pedro Piquet (1m32.090s) and Joel Eriksson (1m32.135s) also ended up ahead of Lando Norris. Tadasuke Makino (Hitech Grand Prix, 1m32.203), Nikita Mazepin (Hitech Grand Prix, 1m32.215s) and Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix, 1m32.246s) rounded out the top ten.
Starting grid race three
In the ranking of the second-fastest laps, Maximilian Günther (1m31.961s) was unbeatable. This time, it was Callum Ilott (1m31.974s) who slotted in behind him. Zhou (1m32.112s), Hughes (1m32.133s), Eriksson (1m32.143s), Norris (1m32.194s), Makino (1m32.308s), Mazepin (1m32.329s), Piquet (1m32.353s) and Aron (1m32.376s) ended up in third to tenth place behind the Prema duo.
Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam): “While some of the others made two attempts in this session, we only did one run. From the very beginning, the car handled well and the tyres reached their working temperature more quickly than in first qualifying. Then I expected them to stay at this high grip level for a longer time than they actually did. On my second-fastest lap, I ended up behind some others and then the tyres already started to degrade slightly.”
Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam): “This qualifying went well from our perspective, I was able to claim first and second place. Of course, this is nice after first qualifying was a rather difficult affair for me. In this session, I had more confidence in my car. Together with first and second place for Callum Ilott and a pair of third places for Guanyu Zhou, we also have scored a good team result in second qualifying. That shows that we are fighting until the end and that we aren’t giving up.”