F3 Imola: Maloney leads Trident 1-2 for first series pole

Formula Regional European by Alpine graduate Maloney, who narrowly missed out on a debut F3 podium in Bahrain with fourth in the sprint race, set a 1m41.180s lap to take his first series pole for Sunday’s race.

Czech driver Stanek was just 0.107s behind the 2019 British Formula 4 champion in second, with Prema’s Jak Crawford the best non-Trident driver in third.

Crawford's team-mate Ollie Bearman took fifth, just behind ART Grand Prix’s Gregoire Saucy, while Arthur Leclerc’s qualifying was ended prematurely after contact with Enzo Trulli to leave the third Prema driver down in 21st position.

Ido Cohen (Jenzer Motorsport) was first to set a first lap, putting in a 1m48.717s, before Zak O’Sullivan took the top spot for Carlin with a 1m45.134s to lead the first round of running.

Hitech's Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar was first to break the 1m45s mark, topping the timesheet with a 1m44.383s, while championship leader Victor Martins (ART) slotted in to second on his first attempt at a fast lap less than two-tenths behind.

Alpine junior Caio Collet (MP Motorsport) was next to go fastest, setting a 1m44.299s as the times tumbled.

With 10 minutes remaining, Leclerc went quickest with a 1m43.904s, prompting much of the field to dive into the pits before the final runs.

Arthur Leclerc, Prema Racing

Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images

Trulli was the only driver to swap to the medium slick compound as the track surface remained slippery, but was unable to reap the rewards of his risk at the track where his father Jarno finished fifth three times in Formula 1.

Leclerc improved on his earlier time to set a 1m43.619s, with fellow second-year driver Martins just 0.001s behind him in second.

Despite encountering traffic, Stanek then snatched the top spot with just over five minutes remaining, setting a 1m43.162s.

Leclerc’s qualifying session was ended after contact with Trulli at Turn 17 in an incident which will be investigated after the session, while a stellar effort from Hadjar was also disrupted by the ensuing red flag.

As drivers returned to the track after the interruption, a flurry of fast laps rejigged the order, with Cohen, Hadjar and Saucy each taking turns at the top of the times.

Stanek had been set to start at the front before Maloney’s last minute effort secured the Barbadian his first series pole.

Bahrain feature race polesitter Franco Colapinto will start on pole for Saturday’s reverse-grid sprint race, having qualified 12th, with Cohen and Kush Maini (MP Motorsport) in second and third respectively.

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Third Trident driver Oliver Rasmussen, who replaces Jonny Edgar after the Briton's diagnosis with Crohn's Disease, will start 14th.

DTM-bound David Schumacher (Charouz Racing System) was slowest on his F3 return in place of Ayrton Simmons.

Only 29 cars are present at Imola, with injured Juan Manuel Correa's seat at ART left vacant.

F3 Imola Qualifying Result:

Cla	Driver	Team	Time	Gap
1	Zane Maloney	Trident	1'41.180
2	Roman Staněk	Trident	1'41.287	0.107
3	Jak Crawford	Prema Powerteam	1'41.296	0.116
4	Gregoire Saucy	ART Grand Prix	1'41.297	0.117
5	Oliver Bearman	Prema Powerteam	1'41.589	0.409
6	Victor Martins	ART Grand Prix	1'41.945	0.765
7	Isack Hadjar	HitechGP	1'41.971	0.791
8	Zak O'Sullivan	Carlin	1'42.005	0.825
9	Caio Collet	MP Motorsport	1'42.169	0.989
10	Kush Maini	MP Motorsport	1'42.301	1.121
11	Ido Cohen	Jenzer Motorsport	1'42.508	1.328
12	Franco Colapinto	Van Amersfoort Racing	1'42.620	1.440
13	Kaylen Frederick	HitechGP	1'42.645	1.465
14	Oliver Rasmussen	Trident	1'42.729	1.549
15	Alexander Smolyar	MP Motorsport	1'42.840	1.660
16	Hunter Yeany	Campos Racing	1'43.130	1.950
17	Nazim Azman	HitechGP	1'43.184	2.004
18	William Alatalo	Jenzer Motorsport	1'43.323	2.143
19	Francesco Pizzi	Charouz Racing System	1'43.335	2.155
20	Rafael Villagomez	Van Amersfoort Racing	1'43.409	2.229
21	Arthur Leclerc	Prema Powerteam	1'43.619	2.439
22	Reece Ushijima	Van Amersfoort Racing	1'43.715	2.535
23	Brad Benavides	Carlin	1'44.083	2.903
24	Pepe Martí	Campos Racing	1'44.273	3.093
25	Federico Malvestiti	Jenzer Motorsport	1'44.394	3.214
26	László Tóth	Charouz Racing System	1'44.427	3.247
27	David Vidales	Campos Racing	1'44.471	3.291
28	Enzo Trulli	Carlin	1'45.550	4.370
29	David Schumacher	Charouz Racing System	1'46.431	5.251
View full results