Hulkenberg steals pole at Hockenheim
Nico Hulkenberg lived up to pre-season expectations by qualifying on pole position for the first race of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Hockenheim today
But the German ART driver didn't have it easy. The track was drying throughout the 25-minute session and he only stole the top spot from Finn Mika Maki with his last lap.
Until then, Maki had been the quickest and most committed driver in the slippery conditions in his first F3 event.
Maki's Mucke Motorsport team-mate Christian Vietoris will line up third for this morning's opening race, with Edoardo Mortara leading the Volkswagen-powered charge in fourth place.
ART rookie Jules Bianchi was quick throughout the session and qualified an excellent fifth on his series debut, one place (and two thousandths of a second) ahead of his fellow rookie and team-mate Jon Lancaster.
Charlie Kimball qualified seventh on his F3 return, and could have been higher still had he not run into traffic after setting purple sector times in the first two thirds of a lap five minutes from the end of the session.
Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap Laps 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:45.474 13 2. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:46.225 +0.751 13 3. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:46.355 +0.881 12 4. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:46.888 +1.414 14 5. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:46.967 +1.493 13 6. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:46.969 +1.495 13 7. Charlie Kimball Prema D/M 1:47.179 +1.705 14 8. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:47.200 +1.726 14 9. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:47.339 +1.865 14 10. Michael Klein Jo Zeller D/M 1:47.395 +1.921 12 11. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:47.597 +2.123 12 12. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:47.706 +2.232 14 13. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:47.723 +2.249 12 14. Maxi Gotz RC D/V 1:47.781 +2.307 8 15. James Jakes ART D/M 1:47.852 +2.378 12 16. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:48.165 +2.691 9 17. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:48.214 +2.740 10 18. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:48.215 +2.741 13 19. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:48.401 +2.927 13 20. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:48.534 +3.060 13 21. Stefano Coletti Signature D/V 1:48.684 +3.210 13 22. Kodai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:48.726 +3.252 13 23. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:48.729 +3.255 13 24. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:48.758 +3.284 13 25. Tom Dillmann SG D/M 1:48.913 +3.439 11 26. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:49.269 +3.795 13 27. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:54.680 +9.206 10 28. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 1:57.507 +12.033 9 29. Martin Plowman RC D/V 1:57.688 +12.214 9 (D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen)
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