Hockenheim Round 5 Preview

The inaugural GP3 Series season is now at its half way marker: four races down, and four to go. But for those who think the Series is a one man race, fear not. Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom two weeks ago showed the battle is anything but over.

Daniel Morad, (CAN, Status Grand Prix) celebrates victory on the podium at Silverstone. Credit: Drew Gibson/GP3 Media

This weekend GP3 heads to Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, for the first of two back-to-back races for the Series. The German Grand Prix is one of the most atmospheric races of the season, and the physically and technically demanding track will provide the perfect challenge for our 30 young protagonists. The track includes some of the fastest straights on the calendar, as well as the tight and twisty Motodrom "stadium" section.

A scorching weekend at Silverstone Circuit started as another Esteban Gutiérrez show after the ART Grand Prix driver took his second consecutive pole position and third win of the season, but by the close of the weekend the race had been bought to the Mexican. Sunday saw arguably the most exciting race of the season. Addax Team's Mirko Bortolotti started the race on reverse pole, but it was Status Grand Prix's Daniel Morad who crossed the line first taking his maiden GP3 victory, the Canadian was the sixth different GP3 winner of the season.

Mexican Gutiérrez increased his lead in the driver's standings and is now 26 points clear with a total of 52 points. Alexander Rossi has moved back into second spot in the Series with 26 points after fifth and second place finishes at Silverstone. Nico Müller has shot up the points table after another successful weekend, the Swiss driver is now in third spot with 23 points after finishing third and fourth last time out.

French team ART Grand Prix is now leading the team standings by 43 points, with a grand total of 79 points. The fight for second spot is wide open going into Round 5, Manor Racing, Jenzer Motorsport and Status Grand Prix are all tied with 36 points a piece.

For round five of the GP3 series, Pirelli has opted for the medium-compound tyre which made its debut at the start of the season in Barcelona and Istanbul Park. Pirelli's Racing Manager Mario Isola explains:

"We chose the medium-compound tyre for Hockenheim, which performed very well in Barcelona and Istanbul, precisely for its flexibility and adaptability: which will be a key to getting the most out of Hockenheim. Like all the tracks Hockenheim is new to us this year, and of course the experience we accumulate in GP3 will be extremely useful to us in the future as we prepare for GP2 and Formula One as well. We saw a very entertaining race at Silverstone on Sunday and we are pleased that our tyres can help the GP3 drivers to show the very best of themselves in front of an appreciative and important audience."

Complete weekend schedule:

Friday 23rd July
16:50 . 17:20 Practice Session

Saturday 24th July
08:45 . 09:15 Qualifying Session
        17:20 Race 1 (30 minutes)

Sunday 25th July
        09:25 Race 2 (30 minutes)

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