Sims, Mortara lead Masters practice
Alexander Sims and Edoardo Mortara were fastest in the two morning practice sessions for the Formula 3 Masters at Zandvoort
The F3 Euro Series rivals topped a session apiece, with ART driver Sims' 1m32.683s from the opening test the quickest time of the morning.
Mortara (Signature) was 0.257 seconds down on Sims in that session, but set the pace later on, beating Prema's Daniel Juncadella to the practice two top spot by just 0.008s.
Marco Wittmann was third in another Signature entry in both sessions.
GP3 frontrunner Nigel Melker, making his F3 debut with Mucke this weekend, was an impressive sixth in the first session but caused a red flag when he crashed heavily at the Hunserug corner in the second. The damage to his car was severe enough to threaten his participation in qualifying.
Last year's Masters winner Valterri Bottas spun his ART Dallara-Mercedes into the gravel halfway through the second session, but his best time still kept him fifth.
The Euro Series teams have dominated so far, with the top British championship runner in session one being Carlin's Rupert Svendsen-Cook in 10th, while his points-leading team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne led the British contingent back in 12th in the second session.
Session one: Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Alexander Sims ART D/M 1m32.683s 2. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1m32.940s + 0.257s 3. Marco Wittmann Signature D/V 1m32.972s + 0.289s 4. Roberto Merhi Mucke D/M 1m33.109s + 0.426s 5. Antonio Felix da Costa Motopark D/V 1m33.241s + 0.558s 6. Nigel Melker Mucke D/M 1m33.264s + 0.581s 7. Valtteri Bottas ART D/M 1m33.330s + 0.647s 8. Daniel Juncadella Prema D/M 1m33.522s + 0.839s 9. Carlos Munoz Mucke D/M 1m33.777s + 1.094s 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin D/V 1m33.785s + 1.102s 11. Laurens Vanthoor Signature D/V 1m33.952s + 1.269s 12. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin D/V 1m33.961s + 1.278s 13. Stef Dusseldorp Signature D/V 1m34.002s + 1.319s 14. William Buller Hitech D/V 1m34.389s + 1.706s 15. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin D/V 1m34.399s + 1.716s 16. Wayne Boyd Sino Vision D/M 1m35.014s + 2.331s 17. Jim Pla ART D/M 1m35.066s + 2.383s 18. Nicolas Marroc Prema D/M 1m35.262s + 2.579s 19. Gabriel Dias Hitech D/V 1m35.502s + 2.819s 20. Lucas Foresti Carlin D/V 1m35.708s + 3.025s 21. Adderly Fong Sino Vision D/M 1m35.808s + 3.125s 22. Hywel Lloyd CF/Manor D/M 1m36.092s + 3.409s 23. Rio Haryanto CF/Manor D/M 1m36.581s + 3.898s 24. Matias Laine Motopark D/V 1m37.802s + 5.119s Session two: Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1m33.081s 2. Daniel Juncadella Prema D/M 1m33.089s + 0.008s 3. Marco Wittmann Signature D/V 1m33.200s + 0.119s 4. Laurens Vanthoor Signature D/V 1m33.408s + 0.327s 5. Valtteri Bottas ART D/M 1m33.443s + 0.362s 6. Alexander Sims ART D/M 1m33.486s + 0.405s 7. Carlos Munoz Mucke D/M 1m33.581s + 0.500s 8. Stef Dusseldorp Signature D/V 1m33.755s + 0.674s 9. Roberto Merhi Mucke D/M 1m33.777s + 0.696s 10. Antonio Felix da Costa Motopark D/V 1m33.801s + 0.720s 11. Nigel Melker Mucke D/M 1m33.818s + 0.737s 12. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin D/V 1m34.024s + 0.943s 13. Nicolas Marroc Prema D/M 1m34.028s + 0.947s 14. Matias Laine Motopark D/V 1m34.127s + 1.046s 15. William Buller Hitech D/V 1m34.235s + 1.154s 16. Jim Pla ART D/M 1m34.261s + 1.180s 17. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin D/V 1m34.283s + 1.202s 18. Lucas Foresti Carlin D/V 1m34.612s + 1.531s 19. Gabriel Dias Hitech D/V 1m34.708s + 1.627s 20. Hywel Lloyd CF/Manor D/M 1m34.834s + 1.753s 21. Wayne Boyd Sino Vision D/M 1m34.866s + 1.785s 22. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin D/V 1m34.995s + 1.914s 23. Adderly Fong Sino Vision D/M 1m35.203s + 2.122s 24. Rio Haryanto CF/Manor D/M 1m35.868s + 2.787s
Share Or Save This Story
How Armstrong has proven he belongs in the WRC's top tier
The top 11 lost F1 victories after the flag
Racing Bulls suggest "continuous" roll-out of F1 2026 regulation tweaks
Special Alpine and victorious Vectra among Cadwell Park BARC highlights
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments