Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service
Richie Stanaway continued where he left off at Silverstone as he set the pace in GP3 practice at Hockenheim.
Stanaway, who won the second race in Britain a fortnight ago, finished the session two tenths of a second clear of the field.
Home star Marvin Kirchhofer was second, joining Stanaway in capitalising on circuit knowledge to make a quick start to the weekend. Stanaway and Kirchhofer both won back-to-back titles in ADAC Formel Masters and F3 in Germany, in 2010-11 and 2012-13 respectively.
The top pair’s team-mates were third and fourth respectively, with Nick Yelloly for Status ahead of ART’s Dino Zamparelli.
Patrick Kujala was fifth for Marrusia Manor ahead of top Carlin and Arden drivers Emil Bernstorff and Patric Niederhauser respectively. Championship leader Alex Lynn was eighth?with the top ten completed by Roman de Beer and Riccardo Agostini.
Jimmy Eriksson, who sits second in the standings eight points behind Lynn, was 22nd, 1.5 seconds off the pace. The Swede is another with strong Hockenheim experience having won the German F3 title between Stanaway and Kirchhofer in 2012, but starts this weekend with a five-place grid penalty for race one for his part in a collision at Silverstone.
Race results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Richie Stanaway | Status Grand Prix | 1:29.473 | 16 | |
| 2 | Marvin Kirchhofer | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.678 | 0.205 | 18 |
| 3 | Nick Yelloly | Status Grand Prix | 1:29.729 | 0.256 | 14 |
| 4 | Dino Zamparelli | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.740 | 0.267 | 18 |
| 5 | Patrick Kujala | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:29.792 | 0.319 | 20 |
| 6 | Emil Bernstorff | Carlin | 1:29.814 | 0.341 | 18 |
| 7 | Patric Niederhauser | Arden International | 1:30.085 | 0.612 | 21 |
| 8 | Alex Lynn | Carlin | 1:30.093 | 0.620 | 17 |
| 9 | Roman De Beer | Trident | 1:30.241 | 0.768 | 20 |
| 10 | Riccardo Agostini | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:30.295 | 0.822 | 18 |
| 11 | Dean Stoneman | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:30.352 | 0.879 | 18 |
| 12 | Alex Fontana | ART Grand Prix | 1:30.459 | 0.986 | 19 |
| 13 | Mitch Gilbert | Trident | 1:30.475 | 1.002 | 17 |
| 14 | Luis Sa Silva | Carlin | 1:30.543 | 1.070 | 18 |
| 15 | Sebastian Balthasar | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:30.609 | 1.136 | 25 |
| 16 | Robert Visoiu | Arden International | 1:30.621 | 1.148 | 20 |
| 17 | Pal Varhaug | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:30.627 | 1.154 | 22 |
| 18 | Matheo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:30.706 | 1.233 | 22 |
| 19 | Nelson Mason | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:30.727 | 1.254 | 18 |
| 20 | Jann Mardenborough | Arden International | 1:30.768 | 1.295 | 22 |
| 21 | Alfonso Celis | Status Grand Prix | 1:30.770 | 1.297 | 18 |
| 22 | Jimmy Eriksson | Koiranen GP | 1:30.979 | 1.506 | 16 |
| 23 | Ryan Cullen | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:31.166 | 1.693 | 22 |
| 24 | Adderly Fong | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:31.792 | 2.319 | 13 |
| 25 | Victor Carbone | Trident | 1:31.813 | 2.340 | 14 |
| 26 | Santiago Urrutia | Koiranen GP | 1:32.401 | 2.928 | 18 |
| 27 | Carmen Jorda | Koiranen GP | 1:35.289 | 5.816 | 19 |