Daniel Juncadella shone in qualifying on Friday ahead of Rounds 16-18 of the F3 Euroseries at the historic Nürburgring circuit. The Prema Powerteam driver will start on the front row for Round 16 and 18 at the German track, ahead of Nigel Melker and championship leader Roberto Merhi respectively.
With 5 minutes left of qualifying, Merhi was sitting atop of the time-sheets by 0.2s. However, in the dying minutes, his fellow team-mate and countryman Juncadella dislodged him with minutes to spare. The championship leader then slipped again as rookie Nigel Melker set his fastest lap of the session to promote himself onto the front row for Saturday’s Round 16.
Juncadella blamed a mistake on a run stopping him from claiming pole by an even bigger margin, and eyes victory: “With my first set of tyres, I was slower than Roberto, also because I made a few slight mistakes. With the second set, I gave everything and I ended up fastest. I could have been even faster, but on the following lap, I briefly ran through the grass next to the track. My car has been running great all day. Now, my goal is to score two wins, because I need many points.”
Melker was pleased with his position on the grid: “Qualifying was all right. On my fastest lap, I made a mistake that perhaps cost me one or two tenths. That was too bad, but I am also happy with second place. On a track where you can hardly overtake, this is a good position to start from. Now, I hope to have a good start in each of the three races and to drive well.”
Felix Rosenqvist set the 4th fastest time overall after heading the session in the early stages. He will start ahead of Laurens Vanthoor, with championship contender Marco Wittmann down in 6th place.
Round 16 of the F3 Euroseries Begins at 11:15am Local Time (BST +1)
Official Results:
