Lancaster takes maiden F3 victory

Jon Lancaster scored his maiden Formula 3 victory in the Euro Series round at the Nurburgring today.

The Briton started behind Breen on the front row thanks to his seventh place in yesterday's race and beat the Irishman round the first corner.

He was able to control the race comfortably for the duration, despite a mid-race Safety Car period splitting the race in two.

"It's been a long time coming." said a relieved Lancaster after the race. "I had a podium at Pau and have been quick in testing, but I've not been able to put it together in in qualifying yet.

"That happened again this weekend so we've still got some work to do, but I managed to take some good points from two sensible races. I pushed quite hard from the start to get a second's lead and just had to make sure I didn't make a mistake from there."

Lancaster's ART Grand Prix teammate Jules Bianchi clinched his second podium finish of the weekend in third, with Nico Hulkenberg making it three ART cars in the top four as he reduced Edoardo Mortara's championship lead to a single point.

Hulkenberg made impressive progress through the top eight during the race after yesterday's win pushed him back to the fourth row for today's race.

He dived inside Kazuya Oshima for sixth place at the first corner on lap four and quickly chased down Prema's Stefano Coletti. He spent most of the race stuck behind Coletti but eventually squeezed ahead at Turn One on lap 19.

The first four cars were nearly three seconds up the road by this point, but Hulkenberg cruised up to the back of them and the pressure paid off as fourth place fell into his lap when Tom Dillman ran wide coming onto the back straight and Hulkenberg capitalised.

It was a near perfect weekend for Hulkenberg's championship challenge as Mortara's woe continued today.

The Italian had to start from the penultimate row after yesterday's retirement and was running in the pack when he was hit from behind by Dani Clos. The contact removed Mortara's rear wing and although he continued, he was well outside the points.

Mika Maki also gave away ground to Hulkenberg today. He started fifth today but Daniel Ricciardo, immediately ahead of him on the grid, stalled at the start. Maki tried to swerve round him but clipped the SG Formula car with his left rear wheel and retired on the spot with broken suspension.

The other title hopeful coming into this weekend, Renger van der Zande, also stalled at the start from fourth on the grid, and later retired from the race in the pits.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 40:40.779 2. Niall Breen Manor D/M +0.723 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +2.008 4. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M +2.636 5. Tom Dillmann Jo Zeller D/M +3.514 6. Yann Clairay SG D/M +7.182 7. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +9.293 8. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M +13.530 9. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +15.341 10. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +18.107 11. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M +18.964 12. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +19.975 13. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +22.606 14. Brendon Hartley RC D/V +24.021 15. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M +24.621 16. Robert Wickens Signature D/V +25.049 17. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M +25.393 18. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M +26.084 19. Sam Bird Manor D/M +26.833 20. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +31.186 21. Martin Plowman RC D/V +39.618 22. James Jakes ART D/M +47.522 23. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V +55.432 24. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +2 laps 25. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +2 laps Retirements Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 20 laps Dani Clos Prema D/M 20 laps Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 17 laps Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 14 laps Mika Maki Mucke D/M 0 laps Fastest lap, Hulkenberg 1:24.654 on lap 6 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Hulkenberg dominates at Nurburgring

Grosjean wins hectic rain-affected race

Kobayashi inherits sprint race win

Hulkenberg thrown out of race one

Hulkenberg dominates at Nurburgring

Nico Hulkenberg charged back onto terms at the head of the Formula 3 Euro Series with a dominant victory at Nurburgring today.

The German, who lost ground when he was excluded from first place at Zandvoort last time out, took the lead at the start when polesitter Christian Vietoris stalled and cruised to a comfortable seven-second victory over his ART Grand Prix teammate Jules Bianchi.

"To win is never easy," said Hulkenberg. "Especially when you have such a big gap because you have to stay focused and it's easy to lose concentration.

"But it's nice to be leading when you're quicker than everyone else and you can just drive away from them."

Bianchi had started fourth, but beat Tom Dillman off the line and also benefitted from Vietoris's fluffed getaway.

Dillman kept Mika Maki at arm's length throughout the race to claim a podium on his series return for Jo Zeller Racing.

Behind Maki, Renger van der Zande was a lonely fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who was sixth on his F3 debut. Jon Lancaster saw off a spirited attack from Niall Breen to hold seventh and the pair will form the front row for tomorrow's race with Breen on pole.

Elsewhere, championship leader Edoardo Mortara retired in the pits at the end of a chaotic first lap. Dani Clos and Erik Janis also had to call it day with damage to their cars, while Sam Bird rejoined after pitting for repairs following a first corner clash.

Vietoris was also forced to retire later in the race when he lost his rear wing in an accident with James Jakes, who also stalled at the start.

The pair were attempting to make their way back up the order when Jakes lost control under braking for the final chicane and clattered over the back of the German's Mucke Motorsport car.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 41:11.039 2. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +6.748 3. Tom Dillmann Jo Zeller D/M +9.047 4. Mika Maki Mucke D/M +9.878 5. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M +17.767 6. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M +23.337 7. Jon Lancaster ART D/M +27.771 8. Niall Breen Manor D/M +29.040 9. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M +33.458 10. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M +33.526 11. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +34.041 12. Robert Wickens Signature D/V +40.689 13. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +43.802 14. Yann Clairay SG D/M +44.853 15. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M +47.055 16. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +48.306 17. Martin Plowman RC D/V +54.669 18. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +55.311 19. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +1:11.060 20. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M +1:15.034 21. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +1:15.848 22. Sam Bird Manor D/M +1 lap 23. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +1 lap 24. James Jakes ART D/M +3 laps Retirements Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 17 laps Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 8 laps Brendon Hartley RC D/V 5 laps Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1 lap Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1 lap Dani Clos Prema D/M 1 lap Fastest lap, Hulkenberg 1:24.296 on lap 7D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Senna dominates Silverstone sprint

Hulkenberg secures pole at Mugello

Maki wins second Mugello race

Vietoris on pole at Nurburgring

Vietoris on pole at Nurburgring

Christian Vietoris qualified on pole position for the first race of his local Formula 3 Euro Series round at Nurburgring this afternoon.

The Mucke Motorsport driver became only the second driver to beat ART Grand Prix's Nico Hulkenberg in a qualifying session this year, although Hulkenberg will still line up alongside his countryman on the front row.

Tom Dillman qualified third on his return to the series, driving for Jo Zeller Racing, following his departure from SG Formula after the races at Pau two months ago.

French rookie Jules Bianchi (ART) will start fourth after topping the day's earlier practice session, ahead of title protagonist Mika Maki (Mucke), Briton James Jakes (ART), and Zandvoort race two winner Renger van der Zande (Prema).

Daniel Ricciardo qualified an excellent eighth on his Formula 3 debut with SG, with Robert Wickens (Signature) the top Volkswagen-powered driver in ninth, and Jon Lancaster (ART) completing the top ten. The series' other newcomer, Brendon Hartley, qualified 25th for RC Motorsport.

Edoardo Mortara will have a fight on his hands to maintain his championship lead after qualifying just 21st, with his closest four rivals in the points race all in a position to score well.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:23.259 2. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:23.541 +0.282 3. Tom Dillmann Jo Zeller D/M 1:23.593 +0.334 4. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:23.706 +0.447 5. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:23.784 +0.525 6. James Jakes ART D/M 1:23.835 +0.576 7. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:23.850 +0.591 8. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M 1:23.878 +0.619 9. Robert Wickens Signature D/V 1:23.948 +0.689 10. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:23.951 +0.692 11. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:24.063 +0.804 12. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:24.074 +0.815 13. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:24.076 +0.817 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:24.101 +0.842 15. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:24.113 +0.854 16. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:24.140 +0.881 17. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:24.177 +0.918 18. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:24.177 +0.918 19. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:24.200 +0.941 20. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:24.215 +0.956 21. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:24.273 +1.014 22. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:24.343 +1.084 23. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:24.362 +1.103 24. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:24.395 +1.136 25. Brendon Hartley RC D/V 1:24.399 +1.140 26. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 1:24.471 +1.212 27. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:24.552 +1.293 28. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 1:24.655 +1.396 29. Martin Plowman RC D/V 1:24.757 +1.498 30. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:25.217 +1.958

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Filippi rues pointless weekend

Hartley to join Euro Series race

British Formula 3 race winner Brendon Hartley will race in the F3 Euro Series at Nurburgring this weekend.

The New Zealander, who is currently fifth in the British standings with three wins, will contest the Nurburgring races with RC Motorsport, who are one of two teams in the Euro Series using Volkswagen engines.

The deal is believed to have come about through Red Bull, who back Hartley and have close links with VW.

RC have struggled to deliver front running results so far this season and parted company with regular driver Maxi Gotz before the last round at Zandvoort. Hartley is hoping to help the team move forward.

"I think they've been struggling a little bit this season, they want to understand why and I'm happy to do what I can to help," he said. "I'm looking forward to the weekend, although looking at the previous results it will probably be quite difficult.

"But I tested the car at Vallelunga and it felt good. We'll get enough testing at Nurburgring to try to sort it out the best we can. I've also been to the RC workshop and the team are working hard and it looks impressive. So we've all got to put the previous results out of our minds and go for it."

When asked whether he would complete the remainder of the season with RC, now that there are no more clashes between the British and European championships, Hartley said: "I've no idea, this is just a one-off race at the minute. But if I can get a good result this weekend, obviously it looks positive for me."

Brazilian Iaconelli joins BCN

Hulkenberg thrown out of race one

SLC chassis to debut at Snetterton

Wickens to Signature for Euro Series

ART appeal Hulkenberg's exclusion

Nico Hulkenberg and his ART Grand Prix team have appealed against his exclusion from first place in the Formula 3 Euro Series race at Zandvoort on Saturday.

The German's car was found to be 3kg under the 540kg minimum weight limit but the team claim that his on-board fire extinguisher went off accidentally during the race.

The scrutineers accepted the explanation, but a source told this week's Autosport that the weight of the foam in the system only added up to 2.6kg, which still leaves a 0.4kg deficit.

More doubt was cast over Hulkenberg because Manor Motorsport's Koudai Tsukakoshi suffered a similar failure and was forced to pull into the pits covered in foam, while Hulkenberg completed the race and emerged from his car with clean overalls.

"My visor suddenly became wet," he told Autosport. "I thought it was raining but when I wiped it I realised it wasn't water.

"I didn't look like Tsukakoshi when I got out because I kept going and it dried out. But it was cold and didn't smell very nice."

ART boss Frederic Vasseur added: "It was strange, the extinguishant went mainly into the engine bay and not into the cockpit.

"We were underweight, but the reason was clear, so that's why we appealed."

The disqualification dropped Hulkenberg to fourth in the standings, 14 points behind championship leader Edoardo Mortara. The Dutch motorsport authority will decide on the outcome of ART's appeal.

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

New Valencia track secures GP2 race

Hulkenberg wins race one at Mugello

Hulkenberg thrown out of race one

Valsecchi begins recovery from crash

Perez wins hard fought second race

Sergio Perez soaked up intense race-long pressure from Marcus Ericsson to earn his fourth British Formula 3 victory of the season at Brands Hatch this afternoon.

Perez started behind Ericsson on the front row, but made the better getaway and swept into the lead at Paddock Hill Bend. He had to work hard to keep the lead, though, with Ericsson rarely more than four tenths of a second behind him for 28 of the 30 minutes.

Ericsson looked quicker, but couldn't get close enough to make a lunge and Perez never made the mistake he would have required to take the lead. Growing in frustration, Ericsson tried harder and harder to defy the understeer that comes with following another car closely, but his efforts were in vain as he spun off at Sheene Curve on the final lap.

That promoted Atte Mustonen to second and Oliver Turvey to third, both scoring their second podiums of the day. Jaime Alguersuari could only manage fourth, which ties him and Perez at the head of the championship standings.

Nick Tandy was fifth, ahead of Sebastian Hohenthal and Sam Abay who salvaged strong points finishes after disappointing races this morning. Hitech pairing Walter Grubmuller and Max Chilton sandwiched Michael Devaney to round out the top ten.

Steven Guerrero took another National Class victory with a comfortable gap over his nearest rival, T-Sport teammate Salman Al-Khalifa.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 29:11.269 2. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +3.371 3. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M +3.763 4. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +4.586 5. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +11.890 6. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M +19.516 7. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +19.971 8. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +23.284 9. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +24.469 10. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +27.257 11. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +27.664 12. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +41.980 13. Philip Major Fortec D/M +42.381 14. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +56.678 15. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +57.321 16. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H +57.773 17. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H +1:02.331 18. John Martin Double R D/M +1:03.079 19. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) S/H +1:09.998 20. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +1:10.804 21. Jordan Williams Loctite (N) D/H +1:14.649 22. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1 lap Retirements Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 21 laps Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 17 laps Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 16 laps Martin O'Connell Carlin (N) D/H 11 laps Alistair Jackson Ultimate M/M 9 laps Fastest lap, Ericsson 1:18.761 on lap 12 D/H = Dallara Mugen-Honda, D/M = Dallara Mercedes, M/M = Mygale Mercedes, S/H = SLC Mugen-Honda

Maldonado seeks Monaco double

Ericsson tops Rockingham test

Alguersuari dominates at Brands Hatch

Jaime Alguersuari regained the lead of the British Formula 3 championship with victory in the shortened first race at Brands Hatch today.

The Spaniard charged into a lead of ten seconds in the first half of the race, and set a fastest lap more than half a second quicker than anyone else, before it was red-flagged with five minutes to go.

He'd inherited pole position when Marcus Ericsson was given a penalty for a yellow flag infringement during qualifying, but made a clean start to lead from his Carlin Motorsport teammate Oliver Turvey, who passed Atte Mustonen off the line, in the early stages.

Alguersuari then streaked away from the pack and had a huge lead when the safety car was called out in the aftermath of Alistair Jackson's heavy crash exiting Surtees bend.

"It's always good to win, but it's not as nice when it happens to be like this," said Alguersuari. "I hope he's ok, it looked like a big shunt.

"I pushed hard in the first three laps and had quite a big gap, so after that I just had to not make a mistake. It's the consistency that counts but you're always happy to win when you can get one."

Turvey had controlled the gap to third-placed Mustonen with Sergio Perez and Ericsson in close attendance in fourth and fifth, ahead of Walter Grubmuller in sixth.

Nick Tandy was the top Mygale in seventh with Brendon Hartley and John Martin recovering from their grid penalties to finish eighth and ninth. Michael Devaney completed the top ten in his Ultimate Motorsport Mygale.

Jackson had made strong progress from the back of the field before his crash, along with Sam Abay who fought his way up to 12th. Max Chilton was another to crash, running into the barriers exiting Paddock Hill Bend.

Jay Bridger took the lead of the National Class standings with a victory in the absence of Andy Meyrick. He had to work hard, though, in a three-way fight with Jonathan Legris - making his British F3 debut in Litespeed's SLC chassis - and Steven Guerrero.

Legris made a great start and passed several cars round the outside of Paddock Hill Bend. He couldn't challenge Bridger for the class lead but did well to hold off Guerrero behind.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 22:24.116 2. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M +0.666 3. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +1.773 4. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +2.398 5. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +3.243 6. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +3.582 7. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +4.499 8. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +5.358 9. John Martin Double R D/M +5.811 10. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +48.429 11. Philip Major Fortec D/M +54.955 12. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +55.317 13. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M +56.333 14. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +57.831 15. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) D/H +58.825 16. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +59.189 17. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +59.765 18. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H +1:01.231 19. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H +1:01.698 20. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +1:02.056 21. Martin O'Connell Carlin (N) D/H +1:07.567 22. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +1:10.036 23. Jordan Williams Loctite (N) D/H +1:13.932 24. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1:16.113 Retirements Alistair Jackson Ultimate M/M 11 laps Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 10 laps Max Chilton Hitech D/M 9 laps Fastest lap, Alguersuari 1:18.478 on lap 5 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/H = Dallara Mugen-Honda, M/M = Mygale Mercedes, S/H = SLC Mugen-Honda

Senna dominates Silverstone sprint

Ericsson takes pole at Brands Hatch

Senna: Crash not intentional

Ericsson completes double pole