Maki wins action-packed opener

The Finn started alongside polesitter Nico Hulkenberg and chased him hard in the early stages before a safety car period bunched the field up.

F3 debutant Maki had been quicker than Hulkenberg in the preceding laps and was set to challenge for the lead at the restart, but he was gifted the lead when Hulkenberg's engine died just as the safety car lights went out.

Maki controlled the race from there on, winning comfortably in the end from Charlie Kimball, who made his way from seventh on the grid to second on his return to F3.

Edoardo Mortara scored Volkswagen's first podium in third, but could have been second had he not lost out to Kimball while battling with Jules Bianchi. He was trying to take second from the French rookie at the hairpin but slid sideways into the corner and forced Bianchi wide, allowing Kimball to pass them both on the exit.

Bianchi sailed straight on at the next corner and retired shortly after, most likely with damage suffered in the contact with Mortara.

It was a race to forget for ART because not only did Hulkenberg and Bianchi retire, but Jon Lancaster had to be extricated from his car, still in his seat, by the safety crew after a spectacular airborne crash.

He had been squeezed out of fifth place on the run down to the hairpin by Dani Clos and was attempting to regain the ground he lost to Jean-Karl Vernay in the Mercedes stand section. He moved to the inside of Vernay and the Frenchman moved across to block the line, but then appeared to brake early, with Lancaster hitting the back of his car.

The contact between the wheels pitched Lancaster into an airborne, end-over-end roll, and he landed heavily, upside down on the track before tagging the back of Clos and sliding into the gravel. He was taken to hospital but initial reports suggest he escaped serious injury.

Renger van der Zande and Christian Vietoris will start tomorrow's race from the front row after finishing seventh and eighth today.

  
Pos Driver                Team        Car         Time
 1. Mika Maki             Mucke       D/M    41:28.816
 2. Charlie Kimball       Prema       D/M       +1.464
 3. Edoardo Mortara       Signature   D/V       +6.756
 4. Franck Mailleux       Signature   D/V       +7.849
 5. Jean-Karl Vernay      Signature   D/V       +8.471
 6. Maxi Gotz             RC          D/V      +10.798
 7. Christian Vietoris    Mucke       D/M      +13.004
 8. Renger van der Zande  Prema       D/M      +13.653
 9. Erik Janis            Mucke       D/M      +16.112
10. Sam Bird              Manor       D/M      +17.739
11. Yann Clairay          SG          D/M      +18.444
12. James Jakes           ART         D/M      +18.828
13. Kodai Tsukakoshi      Manor       D/M      +19.228
14. Daniel Campos-Hull    HBR         D/M      +19.994
15. Rodolfo Gonzalez      Carlin      D/M      +20.622
16. Richard Philippe      Carlin      D/M      +21.694
17. Martin Plowman        RC          D/V      +28.488
18. Stefano Coletti       Signature   D/V      +29.186
19. Niall Breen           Manor       D/M      +29.743
20. Basil Shaaban         HBR         D/M      +33.901
21. Michael Klein         Jo Zeller   D/M       +1 lap

Not classified

    Driver                Team        Car         Laps
    Jules Bianchi         ART         D/M      14 laps
    Jens Klingmann        RC          D/V      13 laps 
    Tom Dillmann          SG          D/M      13 laps 
    Nico Hulkenberg       ART         D/M      12 laps 
    Dani Clos             Prema       D/M       7 laps 
    Jon Lancaster         ART         D/M       6 laps 
    Kazuya Oshima         Manor       D/M       4 laps 
    Henkie Waldschmidt    SG          D/M       0 laps 

Fastest lap: Maki, 1:31.108 on lap 21