Vettel scores vital win in Spain

Fourth placed starter Kohei Hirate (Manor Motorsport) was an unlikely leader into Turn 1 as di Resta, who was judged to have jumped the start, dropped from first on the grid to third. He collided with Vettel on the exit of the hairpin, with both cars snatching sideways but not spinning.

Hirate sprinted away at the front, racking up a five seconds lead at one point. All the action was behind, as di Resta's bold move on second-placed Giedo van der Garde at the Caixa hairpin ended with him nudging his teammate onto the kerbs, allowing Vettel through too.

After eight laps came the news of di Resta's jump start, so he completed his drive-through penalty on lap 11, dropping to 13th. Vettel was 5.1 seconds behind leader Hirate at this point, but not for long.

As the track began to dry slightly, Vettel caught Hirate quickly. He was under a second behind when the rain started again, and just as the deluge turned into a fullscale monsoon, Hirate slipped up and Vettel shot past him into the lead.

Vettel would finish some 13 seconds ahead of Hirate, such was his incredible pace as the conditions worsened. Eventually, the race was red-flagged as the circuit became swamped with standing water.

Esteban Guerrieri finished third for Manor Motorsport, ahead of teammate Kazuki Nakajima, Kamui Kobayashi (ASM), Zandvoort winner Charlie Kimball (Signature), Sebastien Buemi (Mucke) and Richard Antinucci (HBR).

If it wasn't for the red flag, however, Antinucci would have lost his eighth place, which is pole on tomorrow's reverse grid, as he spun at Turn 1. Lucky boy!

Di Resta finished a gutted 10th.

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Driver               Team                       Time
 1.  Sebastian Vettel     ASM Formule 3         33:28.008
 2.  Kohei Hirate         Manor Motorsport      +  13.857
 3.  Esteban Guerrieri    Manor Motorsport      +  22.233
 4.  Kazuki Nakajima      Manor Motorsport      +  24.038
 5.  Kamui Kobayashi      ASM Formule 3         +  24.955
 6.  Charlie Kimball      Signature-Plus        +  26.552
 7.  Sebastien Buemi      ASL Mucke Motorsport  +  31.854
 8.  Richard Antinucci    HBR Motorsport        +  36.486
 9.  Guillaume Moreau     Signature-Plus        +  39.933
10.  Paul di Resta        ASM Formule 3         +  44.335
11.  Tim Sandtler         Signature-Plus        +  50.291
12.  Michael Herck        Bas Leinders JRT      +  59.050
13.  Alejandro Nunez      Prema Powerteam       +1:05.156
14.  Ronayne O'Mahony     Prema Powerteam       +1:15.469
15.  Filip Salaquarda     Team ISR              +1:22.024
16.  Giedo van der Garde  ASM Formule 3         +  7 laps

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Driver               Team                  On Lap
     Romain Grosjean      Signature-Plus          11
     Paolo Nocera         Prema Powerteam         19
     Jonathan Summerton   ASL Mucke Motorsport    25

Fastest Lap: Sebastian Vettel, 1:13.683 on lap 15