Felix gave himself the answers he was seeking by going second fastest in FIA Formula 3 European Championship free practice at the Hungaroring on Friday afternoon.
Despite winning the Grand Prix de Pau three weeks ago, Felix took a slightly cautious approach into Budapest, with the Hungarian circuit differing substantially from that of the French street venue and placing a whole new set of demands on chassis characteristics – potentially leaving the Mücke Motorsport charge prone to the same kind of issues that hit its early-campaign performances.
As practice went underway on a damp but drying track, however, the progress indicated by the Pau triumph remained apparent, as Felix set the second-fastest lap of the 80-minute session to end up 0.224s adrift of pace-setter and championship leader Esteban Ocon.
The duo enjoyed some breathing space to third-placed Antonio Fuoco, who wound up a further three tenths off Ocon as the Prema Powerteam team-mates sandwiched Felix in the top three.
The other Mücke Motorsport runners endured a more torrid session. Lucas Auer clashed with Carlin’s Sean Gelael in the early stages and sustained session-ending suspension damage, while Roy Nissany – a Budapest resident – ended up 14th.
Felix also suffered a late setback, as fuel pressure problems forced him to park his car on the approach to Turn 13 five minutes before the chequered flag. Mücke Motorsport are currently investigating the cause of the problem.
FELIX:
“A strong start to the weekend – which was important for us here in Budapest. We seem to be competitive – particularly since my fastest lap wasn’t that great – and the gap to Esteban is not impossible to bridge. I was building up to a final attempt when the dashboard signalled a fuel pressure problem, so I opted not to risk anything and parked on the side of the track. We’re currently analysing the problem, but it shouldn’t be too serious and I’m really looking forward to qualifying this afternoon.”
RESULTS
Pos. | No | Driver | Laps | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Esteban Ocon / FRA Prema Powerteam | 20 | 1:35.801 | |
2 | 27 | Felix Rosenqvist / SWE kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | 18 | 1:36.025 | 00.224 |
3 | 25 | Antonio Fuoco / ITA Prema Powerteam | 18 | 1:36.329 | 00.528 |
4 | 31 | Tom Blomqvist / GBR Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 18 | 1:36.472 | 00.671 |
5 | 30 | Max Verstappen / NED Van Amersfoort Racing | 20 | 1:36.522 | 00.721 |
6 | 16 | Gustavo Menezes / USA Van Amersfoort Racing | 20 | 1:36.584 | 00.783 |
7 | 5 | Jordan King / GBR Carlin | 20 | 1:36.612 | 00.811 |
8 | 19 | Antonio Giovinazzi / ITA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 19 | 1:36.620 | 00.819 |
9 | 26 | Dennis van de Laar / NED Prema Powerteam | 19 | 1:36.632 | 00.831 |
10 | 20 | Sean Gelael / INA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 19 | 1:36.932 | 01.131 |
11 | 21 | Félix Serrallés / USA Team West-TecF3 | 20 | 1:37.089 | 01.288 |
12 | 18 | Tatiana Calderón / COL Jo Zeller Racing | 20 | 1:37.194 | 01.393 |
13 | 28 | Jake Dennis / GBR Carlin | 15 | 1:37.248 | 01.447 |
14 | 4 | Roy Nissany / ISR kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | 20 | 1:37.332 | 01.531 |
15 | 9 | Mitchell Gilbert / AUS Fortec Motorsports | 22 | 1:37.345 | 01.544 |
16 | 12 | Alexander Toril / ESP ThreeBond with T-Sport | 19 | 1:37.601 | 01.800 |
17 | 1 | Nicholas Latifi / CAN Prema Powerteam | 19 | 1:37.613 | 01.812 |
18 | 14 | Felipe Guimaraes / BRA Double R Racing | 19 | 1:37.646 | 01.845 |
19 | 10 | John Bryant-Meisner / SWE Fortec Motorsports | 20 | 1:37.648 | 01.847 |
20 | 22 | Hector Hurst / GBR Team West-TecF3 | 18 | 1:37.648 | 01.847 |
21 | 15 | Jules Szymkowiak / NED Van Amersfoort Racing | 19 | 1:37.732 | 01.931 |
22 | 11 | Richard Goddard / AUS ThreeBond with T-Sport | 19 | 1:38.095 | 02.294 |
23 | 17 | Sandro Zeller / SUI Jo Zeller Racing | 19 | 1:38.800 | 02.999 |
24 | 8 | Michele Beretta / ITA Eurointernational | 20 | 1:38.919 | 03.118 |