Daniel Juncadella took his first Formula 3 Euro Series victory in the final race of the season at Hockenheim.
The Spanish Prema Powerteam driver converted his pole position into a first victory, making up for the disappointment of missing out on the rookie title to Antonio Felix da Costa in the first race. Roberto Merhi finished in second place for Mucke Motorsport to make it a Spanish 1-2, having started fourth on the grid.
Laurens Vanthoor had originally finished third for Signature, but was disqualified for not having enough fuel left in the car at the end of the race. That gave third to ART Grand Prix driver Valtteri Bottas, whose failure to win the race meant that Marco Wittmann's seventh place finish was enough to give him the runner-up spot in the championship standings.
Bottas had passed Vanthoor on the track, but was immediately hit by the Belgian under braking for the next corner, pushing Bottas into the gravel. This allowed champion Edoardo Mortara through into fourth, before retiring with apparent mechanical issues on the final lap, although he was subsequently disqualified for the same reason as teammate Vanthoor.
Daniel Juncadella after his maiden win
Felix da Costa was classified fourth for Motopark Academy, with Alexander Sims finishing what he later called “an average season” in fifth. Carlos Munoz rounded out the points for Mucke in sixth.
Juncadella said: “The final race is always very important and therefore, winning it is even more beautiful. After the start today, I concentrated on being fast and not to cross the track limits.”
Merhi said: “I can be quite happy with finishing second from fourth place on the grid. I tried to follow Dani, but unfortunately, I made two little mistakes.”
