Coletti prince of Hockenheim

For its second season in F3 Euroseries, Stefano Coletti is starting the year in the best way. Disembarked from Red Bull Junior Team and the Signature Plus team in 2008, the Monegasque was able to seize his chance for his second year with Prema Powerteam. While he was only able to obtain, at best, a fourth place in 2008, Coletti did not miss his chance. Leading from the first turn despite Sam Bird's pole, the driver was able to maintain his advantage throughout the race. Even though he never had more than a two-second lead, he was able to resist the pack solidly.

Starting in fourth position, Roberto Merhi, the Spanish nugget, took over Mika Mäki and Sam Bird, to finish alongside Coletti. Jules Bianchi, who started in fifth position, was able to make a start which gave him a place but he was unable to keep his advantage after the best of sixteen laps, with Mika Mäki beating him for the place at the foot of the podium. The Finn placed the first Volkswagen-powered Dallara in fourth place, Mercedes monopolizing the podium.

Away from Bianchi, Jean-Karl Vernay secured a good sixth place ahead of Vietoris, Mustonen, Chinosi - who came from a long way back - and Geronimi. The Brazilian is the first rookie ahead of Wittmann (12th) and Adrien Tambay (13th), who was able to avoid the scuffles of the peloton. The second F3 race this weekend is scheduled for Sunday, from 10:30 a.m., an opportunity for Coletti to confirm his good intentions. In any case, he was delighted after his first victory: “ I ended up getting a better start than I thought at the start, which allowed me to overtake Sam at the first turn. It was quite a trying race because I constantly had to keep an eye on the retro. Towards the end, my tires also started to wear out, which didn't make things easier. »