Mücke Motorsport on podium in Valencia with Pascal Wehrlein
Mücke Motorsport pilot Pascal Wehrlein retained his chance for the title at the second last Formula 3 Euro Series and ninth FIA Formula 3 European Championships event in races 19 and 20 on Saturday (29th September), which took place in the Spanish Valencia. Following a fifth place in the morning, the lead of the rookie table drove onto the podium in the afternoon as third, for the eighth time this season. The driver from Worndorf, sponsored by the ADAC Sports Foundation and the Deutsche Post Speed Academy, remains in second place in the overall Formula 3 Euro Series, with just 29 points behind the top of the table.
Hard luck however for Wehrlein’s Swedish team colleague Felix Rosenqvist (both Dallara Mercedes) in the first race on the 4.005 kilometre long circuit. Starting from a second position, he had secured and defended the lead impressively up to the third lap, where he had to complete a drive through penalty received for non conformity in the start positioning phase. Later on, he worked his way back to the front, had arrived in eighth place and was aiming for the seventh which involved him in a collission, leading to yet another penalty for Rosenqvist. In the end, he crossed the finishing line as 13th. The afternoon’s race 20 saw him furiously catching up, battling all the way to a point scoring eighth position. The table now lists him as sixth, meaning that his dreams of the title are slipping away further and further, with 71.5 points to catch up to the lead and a maximum of 85 points still to be allocated, his chances are now merely theoretical.
Ganz im Gegenteil zu Pascal Wehrlein, der sich am Vormittag von Starplatz acht um drei Ränge verbessert hatte und im zweiten Samstagrennen von Startposition vier aus Dritter wurde. „Das hat Pascal sehr gut gemacht. Und seine nur 29 Punkte Rückstand halten den Titelkampf weiter offen“, lobte Teamchef Peter Mücke. „Aber auch Felix war schnell unterwegs, das erste Rennen hätte er gewinnen können.“
In stark contrast, Pascal Wehrlein had improved by three places in the morning, having started in eighth place and came in third from a fourth starting position. „Pascal did great. His 29 points to the top of the table still leave the fight for the championship wide open“, praised team manager Peter Mücke. „Felix drove at remarkable speed, too, and could have won the first race without a doubt.“
