Back to: News16 Aug 09
F3 Euro Series : Vietoris secures podium at Nürburgring
The second half of the F3 Euro Series kicked off at the Nürburgring this weekend with championship leader Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) extending his lead in the Eifel over closest rival Christian Vietoris. The Frenchman took a dominant win on Saturday while the Gravity driver clinched 2nd place in Sunday’s proceedings.
The pre-event test on Thursday had seen a clean sweep from the Mücke Motorsport team with Vietoris fastest in front of team mates Alexander Sims and fellow Gravity driver Marco Wittmann. In qualifying, Bianchi took the upper hand, while Vietoris had to settle for 8th .
"The Nürburgring is a challenging circuit, with the first sector being particularly demanding,” commented Vietoris. “Choosing the right racing line is vital, and at the same time, finding the optimum set up is anything but easy. It’s all a question of compromise between a lot of downforce for the relatively slow first sector and a high top speed for the fast third sector. Jules was fastest and his championship lead is big, but I certainly have no intention of giving up the battle for the title.”
On Saturday, Bianchi led an ART 1-2-3 finish in front of Bottas and Gutierrez. Further back, Christian Vietoris had made a poor start from the fourth row, but a daring move around the outside of several cars at Turn 3 on the opening lap got him back into the points. The German then battled with Sims, putting as much pressure as possible on his team mate, but finally crossing the line 8th.
In race 2, Vietoris was in for a strong chance of victory as he headed the starting grid, but Alexander Sims overtook his fellow Mücke team mate before the first corner, maintaining his lead and eventually conquering his maiden F3 Euro Series win. “Alexander’s start was better than mine and that was the key to his victory. I left him enough room in the first corner, because of course, I am also thinking about the championship. With Jules winning once again the all important Saturday race, my chances of clinching the title aren’t that big anymore, but I will only give up when the theoretical chances are gone.”
