Van der Zande triumphs at Zandvoort

Local hero Renger van der Zande won round ten of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Zandvoort in Holland on Sunday, running away with the race after the front row eliminated itself in a startline crash.

Van der Zande started third, but poleman Niall Breen and fellow front row starter Robert Wickens drove into each other off the startline. Breen slammed into the pitwall, and again hit the barrier hard on the run to Tarzan, where he rejoined the track totally out of control.

In a separate incident further back, Edoardo Mortara hit Koudai Tsukakoshi. Mortara pitted with a puncture, and finished the race last, but Tsukakoshi was out.

Wickens was also out, with his right-front wheel askew after being squeezed into the pitwall in their initial contact.

Van der Zande led Yann Clairay, up from sixth on the grid, Jules Bianchi, up from seventh, and Franck Mailleux, who was up from tenth.

Bianchi lost third place when he understeered onto the grass while pressing Clairay, dropping back to ninth. The only other place to change among the frontrunners came when Jean Karl Vernay ran wide at the penultimate corner, allowing Mika Maki to grab his fourth place for a couple of seconds, before Vernay dived back past him at Tarzan.

Van der Zande won by 3.7 seconds, ahead of Clairay, Mailleux, Vernay, Maki and Sam Bird.

Maki was driving with one eye on the championship, and has now moved into second place - nine points behind Edoardo Mortara, who finished a lapped last today.

Van der Zande's second reverse grid win of the year has elevated him into third in the championship, with yesterday's disqualified winner, Nico Hulkenberg, now back in fourth.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 41:13.792 2. Yann Clairay SG D/M +3.749 3. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +5.420 4. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +6.336 5. Mika Maki Mucke D/M +6.824 6. Sam Bird Manor D/M +7.155 7. James Jakes ART D/M +12.184 8. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +12.760 9. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +13.174 10. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +13.807 11. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M +15.373 12. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M +27.901 13. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M +28.418 14. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M +29.511 15. Dani Clos Prema D/M +37.705 16. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +40.879 17. Martin Plowman RC D/V +41.246 18. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +42.760 19. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +44.542 20. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +49.737 21. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V +1 lap Retirements Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 22 laps Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 21 laps Jon Lancaster ART D/M 20 laps Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1 lap Niall Breen Manor D/M 0 laps Robert Wickens Signature D/V 0 laps Fastest lap, Nico Hulkenberg 1:33.837 on lap 5 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Hulkenberg wins Zandvoort opener

Senna, Grosjean rue tech failures

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Kobayashi inherits sprint race win

Ericsson takes pole at Brands Hatch

Marcus Ericsson took his second pole position of the British Formula 3 season with a decisive late effort at Brands Hatch this morning.

The 17-year-old waited in the pits for the first ten minutes of the qualifying session and hooked up all three sectors to snatch pole position from Jaime Alguersuari, who was already out of his car in the pit lane with more than ten minutes to run.

Alguersuari looked to have the secured what would have been his fifth pole of the season when he got the better of Atte Mustonen, Oliver Turvey, and Sergio Perez as the quartet traded quickest time half way through the session.

He and Turvey returned to the pits, while Perez went off out the back of the circuit, and Mustonen stayed out but had used the best of his tyres. Ericsson, Sam Abay, and Brendon Hartley, however, kept more life in their tyres for the second half of the session and pinched first, fourth, and six places in the closing minutes while their rivals watched from the pit wall.

Jay Bridger took the National Class pole by just 0.012s from Steven Guerrero, with Stefan Wilson less than a tenth further back in third place.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:17.112 2. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:17.282 +0.170 3. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:17.357 +0.245 4. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:17.663 +0.551 5. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:17.669 +0.587 6. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:17.730 +0.618 7. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:17.733 +0.621 8. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 1:17.837 +0.725 9. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:17.868 +0.756 10. John Martin Double R D/M 1:17.890 +0.778 11. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:17.943 +0.831 12. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:18.119 +1.007 13. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:18.192 +1.080 14. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:18.795 +1.578 15. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:18.889 +1.777 16. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:18.957 +1.845 17. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:19.351 +2.239 18. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:19.363 +2.251 19. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:19.437 +2.325 20. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H 1:19.572 +2.460 21. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:19.800 +2.671 22. Ali Jackson Ultimate M/M 1:19.894 +2.688 23. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) S/H 1:19.909 +2.782 24. Martin O'Connell Carlin (N) D/H 1:20.126 +3.014 25. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:20.312 +3.200 26. Jordan Williams Loctite (N) D/H 1:20.373 +3.261 27. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:20.753 +3.641 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/H = Dallara Mugen-Honda, M/M = Mygale Mercedes, S/H = SLC Mugen-Honda

Ericsson stripped of pole at Brands

ART boss tips Grosjean to beat Senna

Ericsson stripped of pole at Brands

Marcus Ericsson was stripped of his pole position for today's first British Formula 3 race at Brands Hatch after being penalised for a yellow flag infringement.

The Fortec Motorsport driver set a personal best time while yellow flags were out at Stirling bend where Sergio Perez had spun off.

Ericsson set a quicker time at the end of the session but was given a time penalty to drop him down to sixth place as a punishment for the infringement.

That promotes Jaime Alguersuari to pole position and Atte Mustonen alongside him on the front row, with Oliver Turvey and Sergio Perez moving up to third and fourth places respectively.

Brendon Hartley, who originally qualified sixth, and John Martin, who was tenth, were punished for the same infringement and dropped back to 12th and 16th places.

Sam Abay also lost his fourth place and will have to start from the back after he was disqualified for overtaking under the yellow flag. He will be joined on the back row by Alistair Jackson who committed the same offense.

Ericsson completes double pole

ART boss tips Grosjean to beat Senna

Ericsson takes pole at Brands Hatch

Maldonado: I could have gone quicker

Hulkenberg wins Zandvoort opener

Nico Hulkenberg won round nine of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Zandvoort in Holland today, cruising to a five-second victory and closing in on series leader Edoardo Mortara, who crashed out.

Overnight thunderstorms and heavy morning rain gave way to sunny, yet blustery, weather conditions - which dried the track in time for the start.

Hulkenberg (ART) sprinted away from pole position, immediately chopping across the bows of fellow front row man Mika Maki (Mucke), who had to fend off Hulkenberg's team-mate, Jules Bianchi, into Tarzan.

Hulkenberg led by over a second by lap four, and his victory never looked in doubt. Maki held off a brief challenge from Bianchi on lap five, but quickly re-established the gap to 2.6s at the finish.

Sam Bird, who made a terrible start but just managed to hold his position through the first corners, finished a distant fourth for Manor Motorsport, holding off the challenge of Yann Clairay (SG). Fifth place changed hands throughout, as early position holder Dani Clos (Prema) got a drive-through penalty for jumping the start.

Koudai Tsukakoshi (Manor) held it until Clairay passed him at the chicane on lap 10, but the Japanese would later drop out anyway when his in-car fire extinguisher went off.

Jean-Karl Vernay finished sixth after dropping back with a poor start, but stayed ahead of Renger van der Zande (Prema) and Robert Wickens (Signature), the latter just holding off Niall Breen (Manor) for Sunday's reverse grid pole.

Championship leader Mortara's weekend went from bad to worse. Having qualified 15th in his Signature Dallara-VW, he spun into the gravel while embroiled in a battle with James Jakes (ART). His 14-point lead coming into today is now a four-point one.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 40:57.822 2. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +7.703 3. Sam Bird Manor D/M +25.172 4. Yann Clairay SG D/M +26.796 5. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +32.319 6. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M +36.741 7. Robert Wickens Signature D/V +37.444 8. Niall Breen Manor D/M +37.776 9. James Jakes ART D/M +38.716 10. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +39.355 11. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +39.838 12. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M +53.810 13. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +54.057 14. Dani Clos Prema D/M +54.940 15. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M +56.274 16. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M +56.590 17. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +57.296 18. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M +58.327 19. Martin Plowman RC D/V +1:12.273 20. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +1:14.502 21. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +1:18.040 22. Daniel Campos HBR D/M +1 lap Retirements Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M DSQ Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 20 laps Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 16 laps Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 14 laps Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1 lap Fastest lap, Hulkenberg 1:33.267 on lap 7 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Senna name wins again at Monaco

Ericsson completes double pole

Marcus Ericsson secured his second British Formula 3 pole position of the day at Brands Hatch before bringing the session to an early end with a crash on the GP loop.

The Fortec Motorsport carried his speed from the morning session into the afternoon and saw off the challenge of Jaime Alguersuari to clinch the top spot with a 1:17.313. He was trying to improve that further with three minutes to go when he spun exiting Sheene Curve and crashed backwards into the barrier.

Ericsson went to the top of the times mid-way through the session but had to reclaim pole after Alguersuari knocked him down to second with 12 minutes remaining. He responded on his next lap to take an advantage of two tenths of a second and Alguersuari had no answer for Ericsson's pole time.

"We have so much speed in the car this weekend it's just unbelievable," said Ericsson. "I knew I could get both poles and we just went out and did it. It would have been better not to have crashed, but the team don't mind as much when you crash after qualifying P1 than if you were P20.

"It's been a long wait for a win and I really want it, so I know what I've got to do tomorrow."

Alguersuari was pushed down to fourth in the end as Sergio Perez and Atte Mustonen improved their times in the last ten minutes.

Oliver Turvey and Nick Tandy completed the top six, the latter as the top Mygale runner on a day that has been otherwise dominated by the Dallaras.

Steven Guerrero followed up his National Class victory at Thruxton two weeks ago with class pole for race two tomorrow. The Colombian finished the session five places and seven tenths of a second clear of his nearest National Class rival, Jay Bridger.

Class leader Andy Meyrick has been forced to miss this weekend's races through illness. He was admitted to hospital last week and has been replaced by his driver coach Martin O'Connell at Carlin Motorsport. He hopes to be fit to return for the next round at Spa Francorchamps in three weeks.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:17.313 2. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:17.445 +0.132 3. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:17.542 +0.229 4. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:17.554 +0.241 5. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:17.691 +0.378 6. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:17.718 +0.405 7. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:17.803 +0.490 8. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 1:17.827 +0.514 9. John Martin Double R D/M 1:17.844 +0.531 10. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:17.999 +0.686 11. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:18.037 +0.724 12. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:18.085 +0.772 13. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:18.310 +0.997 14. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:18.401 +1.088 15. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:18.917 +1.604 16. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:19.091 +1.778 17. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:19.231 +1.918 18. Ali Jackson Ultimate M/M 1:19.365 +2.052 19. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H 1:19.659 +2.346 20. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:19.681 +2.374 21. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:19.780 +2.467 22. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:19.809 +2.496 23. Martin O'Connell Carlin (N) D/H 1:19.874 +2.561 24. Jordan Williams Loctite (N) D/H 1:20.186 +2.873 25. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:20.346 +3.033 26. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:20.354 +3.041 27. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) S/H 1:20.698 +3.385 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/H = Dallara Mugen-Honda, M/M = Mygale Mercedes, S/H = SLC Mugen-Honda

Ericsson takes maiden pole at Croft

Hartley on pole for race two

Alguersuari on pole for race two

ART boss tips Grosjean to beat Senna

Hulkenberg thrown out of race one

Nico Hulkenberg was stripped of victory in the Formula 3 Euro Series round at Zandvoort today when his car was found to be under weight.

The German, who had cut Edoardo Mortara's championship lead to four points while the victory stood, was excluded in post-race scrutineering because his car was found to be 3kg under the 540kg minimum weight.

Mortara, who crashed out of today's race, now has an 11-point championship lead over Mika Maki, who inherited the victory from Hulkenberg. Jules Bianchi moves up to second place and Sam Bird lands his first Euro Series podium in third.

Hulkenberg will be allowed to start tomorrow's race from the back of the grid, which means that Niall Breen, who finished ninth on the road today, will start from the reverse grid pole tomorrow, ahead of Robert Wickens and Renger van der Zande.

Senna name wins again at Monaco

Hulkenberg secures pole at Mugello

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Hulkenberg wins race one at Mugello

Pantano wins to retake series lead

Hanley grabs last-gasp Durango drive

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Nico Hulkenberg will start from pole position in Saturday's ninth round of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Zandvoort in Holland.

The German ART Grand Prix driver pipped Mika Maki's Mucke Motorsport Mercedes-powered car by 0.08secs on Friday afternoon. Third quickest was French rookie Jules Bianchi, who was over a tenth away from Hulkenberg's 1:32.087s.

Sam Bird was fourth fastest for Manor Motorsport, ahead of free practice pacesetter Jean-Karl Vernay, who was the top Volkswagen-powered driver in fifth for the Signature-Plus squad.

Koudai Tsukakoshi was sixth quickest for Manor, ahead of Yann Clairay (SG) and Dani Clos (Prema).

Championship leader Edoardo Mortara (Signature) could only manage the 15th fastest time, 0.775s off the pace, and will be anxiously looking to defend his title lead this weekend. Hulkenberg has already trimmed it to 14 points, thanks to his pole position.

Christian Vietoris, who is third in the standings for Mucke, didn't fare much better and will start tenth. The top 18 cars were covered by a second, and the weather forecast of rain tomorrow should spice things up even more.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:32.087 2. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:32.167 +0.080 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:32.225 +0.138 4. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:32.372 +0.285 5. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:32.512 +0.425 6. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:32.539 +0.452 7. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:32.686 +0.599 8. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:32.698 +0.611 9. Robert Wickens Signature D/V 1:32.763 +0.676 10. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:32.764 +0.677 11. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:32.802 +0.715 12. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:32.803 +0.716 13. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:32.851 +0.764 14. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:32.854 +0.767 15. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:32.862 +0.775 16. James Jakes ART D/M 1:32.894 +0.807 17. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:32.983 +0.896 18. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:33.081 +0.994 19. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:33.150 +1.063 20. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:33.165 +1.078 21. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:33.171 +1.084 22. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:33.242 +1.155 23. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:33.315 +1.228 24. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 1:34.154 +2.067 25. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 1:34.694 +2.607 26. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:35.025 +2.938 27. Martin Plowman RC D/V 1:35.679 +3.592

ART boss tips Grosjean to beat Senna

Hulkenberg secures pole at Mugello

Maldonado: I could have gone quicker