Hockenheim European F3: Rosenqvist wins wild finale

With the circuit damp, poleman Jake Dennis copied the strategy of Charles Leclerc - his rival for third in the championship - in opting for wet-weather tyres, and barring a miracle shower neither would make progress on a drying circuit.

With second-on-the-grid Antonio Giovinazzi on the wet side of the track, Rosenqvist took advantage to burst into the lead in his Prema Powerteam Dallara-Mercedes.

A great first lap from fifth qualifier Alexander Albon elevated his Signature Dallara-Volkswagen to second, and the Anglo-Thai put Rosenqvist under serious pressure before the first safety car after five laps.

Albon, his tyre pressures too high, then faded with degradation to the rears and was thankful that the cautions allowed him to hang onto second.

Alexander Sims was another early mover, rising from ninth to third on lap one in the Hitech GP squad's Dallara-Mercedes.

Later in the race, Sims challenged Albon only to lose momentum, allowing the Carlin Dallara-VW of Giovinazzi to take the final podium position.

Sims hung on for fourth, while Callum Ilott did a great job in his Red Bull-backed Carlin car to win a battle with Maximilian Gunther for fifth.

Most of those who started on wets took advantage of the first safety car to pit, and Dennis was able to claw his way back to seventh, while Leclerc made a late stop and finished near the tail of the field.

Mikkel Jensen was running strongly in fifth, despite damage to his front wing, only to run wide at the Spitzkehre hairpin and drop to eighth.

That put him one spot ahead of Mucke Motorsport team-mate Michele Beretta, who finally scored his first points after two years of trying with ninth.

Slick pit work from the Carlin crew leapfrogged Tatiana Calderon above other pitters and she ran 10th.

Then Alessio Lorandi attacked late in the race, passing her into the Spitzkehre.

Calderon nerfed him into a spin and finished 10th, only to earn a time penalty in lieu of a drive-through, promoting Raoul Hyman to the final point.

The first safety car was caused when Pietro Fittipaldi collided with Nicolas Pohler and got stuck on a kerb.

The next came when George Russell went into the gravel after being clipped by Matt Rao, and Tanart Sathienthirakul was also stranded with damage after a separate collision.

The third was when Nabil Jeffri got stuck in the gravel after a collision with Andy Chang, and the fourth was for debris, with the race finishing under caution.

RESULTS - 18 LAPS:

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

TEAMS' CHAMPIONSHIP: