Bianchi on Hockenheim pole
F3 Euro Series champion Jules Bianchi took his sixth pole position from 10 race weekends in dominant fashion at a damp Hockenheim, denying Tom Dillmann a shock pole for minnows HBR Motorsport
The session took place in tricky conditions due to low temperatures and occasional drizzle, with all of the quickest times being set in the first half of the 30-minute session.
Dillmann was out of the blocks quickly to hold the top spot for the first 14 minutes, but once Bianchi got into his stride he was able to eclipse his countryman's best effort by seven tenths of a second.
Shortly after that lap the red flags were brought out briefly, and when the session restarted nobody was able to improve their times in the remaining 13 minutes. Dillmann sat in the pits for most of the session after his early pace-setting run, but his time was safe thanks to the track conditions failing to improve.
Despite his pole being in the bag, Bianchi went back out after the red flag to further assert his dominance over his rivals. While the rest of the field lapped seconds off the pace, the ART driver was still able to do a lap good enough for a top 10 grid slot in the closing stages.
Behind the all-French front row, Valterri Bottas will start third after setting his best lap shortly after team-mate Bianchi's, while Roberto Merhi lines up fourth for Manor Motorsport.
There was another surprise in the top five though, as British F3 convert Victor Garcia starred on his Euro Series debut to take fifth for Prema Powerteam, taking advantage of the fact that he was one of those up to speed immediately when the track was at its best.
Marco Wittmann completed the top six for Mucke Motorsport, which is missing two of its regular drivers this weekend as Christian Vietoris and Sam Bird have opted to attend the GP2 Asia test at Abu Dhabi this weekend instead.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Bianchi ART Grand Prix 1:48.890 12 2. Dillmann HBR Motorsport 1:49.541 + 0.651 6 3. Bottas ART Grand Prix 1:49.619 + 0.729 12 4. Merhi Manor Motorsport 1:49.974 + 1.084 13 5. Garcia Prema Powerteam 1:50.038 + 1.148 13 6. Wittmann Mücke Motorsport 1:50.310 + 1.420 16 7. Vernay Signature 1:50.351 + 1.461 14 8. Gutierrez ART Grand Prix 1:50.381 + 1.491 10 9. Mäki Signature 1:50.423 + 1.533 15 10. Tambay ART Grand Prix 1:50.818 + 1.928 11 11. Caldarelli SG Formula 1:50.859 + 1.969 16 12. van der Zande Motopark Academy 1:51.103 + 2.213 15 13. Sims Mücke Motorsport 1:51.143 + 2.253 13 14. Mortara Kolles & Heinz Union 1:51.159 + 2.269 15 15. Waldschmidt SG Formula 1:51.626 + 2.736 14 16. Zanella Motopark Academy 1:51.684 + 2.794 14 17. Monien Mücke Motorsport 1:51.738 + 2.848 16 18. Rosenzweig Carlin Motorsport 1:51.886 + 2.996 15 19. Geronimi Signature 1:52.241 + 3.351 12 20. Bortolotti Carlin Motorsport 1:52.327 + 3.437 13 21. Shaaban Prema Powerteam 1:52.469 + 3.579 7 22. Coletti Prema Powerteam 1:52.929 + 4.039 12 23. Jokinen Kolles & Heinz Union 1:53.815 + 4.925 13 24. Nunes Manor Motorsport 1:54.374 + 5.484 11
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