Buller takes surprise double pole
Will Buller and Fortec defied all predictions of a Carlin whitewash by claiming two pole positions from the qualifying session for the British Formula 3 season-opener at Monza
The Fortec racer found nearly half a second compared with his free practice pace and his Dallara-Mercedes pipped the Volkswagen-powered example of Carlin's Kevin Magnussen to the fastest time by just 0.053 seconds.
Buller will thus start Sunday's 40-minute 'feature' race from pole, and his second best time was also good enough to give him the top starting spot for this afternoon's first race.
Magnussen's second fastest time was nearly three tenths slower than Buller's, but still good enough to mean the Dane will line up on the front row for his British F3 debut.
Buller's Fortec team-mate Lucas Foresti was one of only a handful of drivers to find time on his second set of tyres and one of only four to break the 1m46s barrier. He ended up third quickest, less than half a tenth clear of Carlin's Jazeman Jaafar.
Carlos Huertas (Carlin) was just a quarter of a tenth further back in fifth, ahead of Hitech's Riki Christodoulou - another of the few to find time on his second set of new rubber.
Fortec rookie Harry Tincknell lapped only 0.015s slower than his former Formula Renault UK rival to go seventh, fractions clear of Felipe Nasr (Carlin) and Pietro Fantin (Hitech).
Practice pacesetter Rupert Svendsen-Cook (Carlin) could not repeat his earlier strong form and wound up 10th fastest, just under one second off the pace.
Race one grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.750s 2. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.022s + 0.272s 3. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.056s + 0.306s 4. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.102s + 0.352s 5. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.106s + 0.356s 6. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.174s + 0.424s 7. Riki Christodoulou Hitech Dallara-VW 1m46.215s + 0.465s 8. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.316s + 0.566s 9. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m46.318s + 0.568s 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.544s + 0.794s 11. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.743s + 0.993s 12. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.754s + 1.004s 13. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m46.925s + 1.175s 14. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.965s + 1.215s 15. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m47.138s + 1.388s 16. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m47.403s + 1.653s 17. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m47.509s + 1.759s 18. Bruno Mendez Hitech Dallara-VW 1m47.701s + 1.951s 19. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m47.960s + 2.210s 20. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m48.053s + 2.303s 21. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 1m49.608s + 3.858s Race three grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.491s 2. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.544s + 0.053s 3. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m45.934s + 0.443s 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m45.975s + 0.484s 5. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.000s + 0.509s 6. Riki Christodoulou Hitech Dallara-VW 1m46.130s + 0.639s 7. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.145s + 0.654s 8. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.162s + 0.671s 9. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m46.174s + 0.683s 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.456s + 0.965s 11. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.540s + 1.049s 12. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m46.586s + 1.095s 13. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m46.587s + 1.096s 14. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m46.612s + 1.121s 15. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m46.882s + 1.391s 16. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m46.996s + 1.505s 17. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m47.395s + 1.904s 18. Bruno Mendez Hitech Dallara-VW 1m47.676s + 2.185s 19. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m47.739s + 2.248s 20. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m47.861s + 2.370s 21. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 1m49.186s + 3.695s
Share Or Save This Story
Autosport 75: How Verstappen scored his first F1 win
The supercharged Revolution that has piqued an Olympic legend's motorsport taste
How Radical revamped its record-breaking flagship model
Long-time Formula 3 team Double R joins Euroformula Open for 2018
Euro F3 Red Bull Ring: Eriksson beats Norris to double pole
Pau F3: McLaren-Honda protege Lando Norris takes double pole
Antonelli takes a decisive step in Montreal's all-action thriller
Russell "lost for words" after heartbreaking Canadian GP exit
F1 Canadian GP: Antonelli lands F1 2026 blow as Russell retires in Montreal
LIVE: F1 Canadian Grand Prix updates - Antonelli leads as Russell and Norris among six retirees
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments