Vietoris win prolongs F3 title battle
Christian Vietoris has just kept the Formula 3 Euro Series title battle alive by claiming a brilliant, if unlikely, win at Dijon
Vietoris went from fifth to the lead in one move during a chaotic restart early in the race.
The erstwhile leader Jules Bianchi - who needs just one more point to claim the title - caught the safety car before it pitted, forcing him to back off. This caused general confusion among the leaders, with Jean Karl Vernay actually crossing the line in first place. Further back Vietoris had a great tow and swept into the lead.
Vernay (Signature) picked up a drive-through penalty and dropped out of contention, leaving ART's Bianchi to chase home his title rival. But surprisingly he could not match the Mucke driver's pace and will have to wait for at least another day to be confirmed as champion.
Mika Maki came home third for Signature, fending off SG driver Andrea Caldarelli's mid-race charge. Manor's Roberto Mehri made a great start and further benefited from Valtteri Bottas (ART) picking up a jump-start penalty to move into fifth.
Sam Bird made the move of the race to relieve sixth from Motopark Academy driver Christopher Zanella, while Bird's Mucke team-mate Alex Sims held off a late surge from Tiago Geronimi to finish eighth (Signature), which gives him pole position for tomorrow's race.
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap
1. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 27m15.927s
2. Jules Bianchi ART D/M + 2.882s
3. Mika Maki Signature D/V + 4.396s
4. Andrea Caldarelli SG D/M + 5.180s
5. Roberto Merhi Manor D/M + 6.613s
6. Sam Bird Mucke D/M + 10.260s
7. Christopher Zanella Motopark D/M + 13.406s
8. Alexander Sims Mucke D/M + 14.112s
9. Tiago Geronimi Signature D/V + 14.608s
10. Basil Shaaban Prema D/M + 22.393s
11. Marco Wittmann Mucke D/M + 22.832s
12. Esteban Gutierrez ART D/M + 23.284s
13. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M + 24.048s
14. Robert Wickens Kolles & Heinz D/V + 26.923s
15. Pedro Enrique Manor D/M + 31.098s
16. Valtteri Bottas ART D/M + 31.969s
17. Johan Jokinen Kolles & Heinz D/V + 38.988s
18. Jean Karl Vernay Signature D/V + 1m03.103s
19. Tom Dillmann Prema D/M + 3 laps
20. Adrien Tambay ART D/M + 6 laps
21. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M + 6 laps
Not classified:
Brendon Hartley Carlin D/V 12 laps
Jake Rosenzweig Carlin D/V 9 laps
Renger van der Zande Motopark D/M 1 lap
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