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Macau GP: Tom Blomqvist fastest in first Formula 3 qualifying

Tom Blomqvist claimed provisional pole position for the Macau Grand Prix as he headed Antonio Giovinazzi in a Jagonya Ayam with Carlin one-two

Blomqvist was at the top of the times for most of the session, with he and Giovinazzi moving further clear of the opposition with four minutes remaining.

Although Giovinazzi trimmed the gap again on his last hot lap, Blomqvist got the verdict by 0.115 seconds.

Blomqvist was on a faster lap right towards the end when he made a mistake at Fisherman's Bend, bringing his Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen into the pits.

"I've got a quick team-mate in Antonio so we've got good references to work from," said Blomqvist.

"The car's good but I think we can improve. I was finding time towards the end also - there's no point taking too many risks."

Blomqvist's childhood cadet karting buddy Nick Cassidy provided the surprise of the day by going third fastest in his T-Sport Dallara-NBE.

While the top two runners stayed on their tyres from free practice throughout, New Zealander Cassidy had two new Yokohamas bolted on mid-session and leapt to third, meaning he was the best-placed Macau debutant.

It was a good catch-up from earlier in the day, when he lost the first 10 minutes of free practice with a misfire that was solved by fitting a new coil.

Free practice pacesetter Lucas Auer ran Blomqvist close early on but fell to fourth in the times in his Mucke Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes.

Jordan King promoted himself to fifth on the final lap, the Carlin man benefiting from a tow from Esteban Ocon but conversely losing time to Max Verstappen in the final sector.

Ocon and Verstappen get grid penalties

Verstappen was fastest over the early laps, but faded to sixth in his Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara-VW, despite taking two new tyres mid-session.

Nicholas Latifi was another last-lap improver, the Canadian ending up as the best of the Prema Powerteam trio in seventh, while Will Buller (Signature Dallara-VW), Mucke driver Felix Rosenqvist and the disappointed Ocon (who used two new tyres at the start) completed the top 10.

The session ran its complete 40 minutes with no red flags, although there were crashes for Martin Cao after 10 minutes at Fisherman's Bend and for Tatiana Calderon after 25 minutes at Police.

On AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live from Friday to Sunday this weekend: Comprehensive paddock news and gossip from Macau, plus live commentary of the Macau GP from 7.30am UK time on Sunday

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
1 Tom Blomqvist Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 2m11.922s -
2 Antonio Giovinazzi Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 2m12.037s 0.115s
3 Nick Cassidy ThreeBond with T-Sport Dallara/NBE 2m12.546s 0.624s
4 Lucas Auer KFZTeile24 Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes 2m12.621s 0.699s
5 Jordan King GR Asia with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 2m12.742s 0.820s
6 Max Verstappen Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara/Volkswagen 2m12.811s 0.889s
7 Nicholas Latifi SJM Theodore Racing by Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 2m12.839s 0.917s
8 William Buller Signature Dallara/Volkswagen 2m12.871s 0.949s
9 Felix Rosenqvist Kashbet.com by Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes 2m12.931s 1.009s
10 Esteban Ocon SJM Theodore Racing by Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 2m13.028s 1.106s
11 Stefano Coletti EuroInternational Dallara/Mercedes 2m13.066s 1.144s
12 Sean Gelael Jagonya Ayam with Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 2m13.173s 1.251s
13 Antonio Fuoco SJM Theodore Racing by Prema Powerteam Dallara/Mercedes 2m13.867s 1.945s
14 Santino Ferrucci Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes 2m13.944s 2.022s
15 Felix Serralles Team West-Tec F3 Dallara/Mercedes 2m14.000s 2.078s
16 Markus Pommer Motopark Dallara/Volkswagen 2m14.018s 2.096s
17 Alex Palou Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes 2m14.411s 2.489s
18 Yu Kanamaru Carlin Dallara/Volkswagen 2m14.468s 2.546s
19 Roberto Merhi W66.com Double R Racing Dallara/Mercedes 2m14.615s 2.693s
20 Gustavo Menezes Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara/Volkswagen 2m14.801s 2.879s
21 Kenta Yamashita TOM'S Dallara/Toyota 2m15.144s 3.222s
22 Richard Goddard ThreeBond with T-Sport Dallara/NBE 2m15.672s 3.750s
23 Dan Wells Toda Racing Dallara/Toda 2m16.569s 4.647s
24 Martin Cao Fortec Motorsports Dallara/Mercedes 2m16.919s 4.997s
25 Tatiana Calderon JZR/ Mucke Motorsport Dallara/Mercedes 2m16.975s 5.053s
26 Sam MacLeod TOM'S Dallara/Toyota 2m17.516s 5.594s
27 Andy Chang Team West-Tec F3 Dallara/Mercedes 2m17.597s 5.675s
28 Mitsunori Takaboshi B-MAX Racing Team Dallara/Toyota 2m19.157s 7.235s


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