ART Grand Prix's Nico Hülkenberg re-affirmed his status as pre-season championship favourite for the 2008 F3 Euroseries laurels by seeing off all comers to seal the top spot on the starting grid for the opening round of the new campaign in Hockenheim this weekend.
The young German's supremacy, however, was only sealed in the dying seconds of qualifying when he pulled out a lap to pip rookie surprise and Mücke Motorsport ace Mika Mäki, though that final effort was a staggering three quarters of a second clear of
anyone else's best. Mäki's team-mate Christian Vietoris made it two homegrown heroes in the top three around the Baden-Württemberg circuit, albeit almost a full second adrift of countryman and fellow A1GP star Hülkenberg.
Edoardo Mortara ended up the quickest Volkswagen-powered driver in fourth spot for Signature-Plus – 1.4 seconds shy of pole – with ART Grand Prix rookies Jules Bianchi and Jon Lancaster also making it into the top six as the session dried out, the team-mates separated by a scant two thousandths of a second.
Qualifying took place early on Saturday morning, one day later than planned, after heavy rain had caused the original Friday session to be cancelled.
“Qualifying was quite exciting,” enthused the pole-sitter, who had finished third in the title chase at his maiden attempt last year. “Although the track dried out more and more, changing to slicks was impossible.
“In the closing stages, it was crucial to find the right line. On my final lap, I had a clear track and it worked out, but pole position is only half the job.”
“It went really well,” agreed an equally delighted Mäki. “My engineer told me ‘P1' over the radio all the time. Of course I wanted to retain this position, however my final lap was not as good as Nico's. Still, I can be happy with second place in my maiden qualifying in the F3 Euroseries.”
![2008 F3 Euroseries Mücke Motorsport rookie Mika Mäki in action at Hockenheim [pic credit: F3 Euroseries Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/427346.jpg)
