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Qualifying report

France F3: Vesti beats Hauger to pole position at Paul Ricard

ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti took pole in FIA Formula 3 qualifying at Paul Ricard, beating Prema Racing’s Dennis Hauger to the top spot.

Frederik Vesti, ART Grand Prix

Frederik Vesti, ART Grand Prix

Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

The Mercedes junior went quickest with a 1m50.882s with less than five minutes left of the 30-minute qualifying session, almost two-tenths clear of Hauger, who made a minor error on his last lap while attempting to take back pole.

MP Motorsport’s Victor Martins came in third, with Trident’s Jack Doohan in fourth and Ciao Collet in fifth and Clement Novalak in sixth.

Doohan was out on track first, leading the 30-strong pack around a very bunched up first lap.

ART Grand Prix’s Juan Manuel Correa managed to find space to take the first flying lap, but went wide and had to take the run off on the way down to Turn 3, forcing him round the bollards to return to the track the long way round. This caused a yellow flag as a large portion of the field were about to start their first fast laps.

His team-mate Alexander Smolyar was the first to set a fast lap, with a 1m52.393s, before Vesti set a 1m52.395s.

But they were the only two drivers to set fast laps before there was a red flag eight minutes into the session after Prema Racing’s Arthur Leclerc came to a halt on the circuit with a locked front left wheel.

The disappointed Ferrari junior driver was unable to get the car going again and was pushed off the track by the marshals, ending his qualifying before he was able to set a time.

The lights went green with 22 minutes to go, with the times then tumbling, with Hauger, Collet, Martins and Doohan all quickly breaking into the 1m51s.

By halfway through the session, the top 15 was separated by just one second.

This session sets the grid for Sunday’s feature race, while for Saturday’s sprint race, the top 12 will be reversed.

This will see Jenzer Motorsport’s Calan Williams start on pole tomorrow, with Trident’s David Schumacher in second and Charouz Racing System’s Logan Sargeant in third.

Correa, who was confirmed today to be rejoining the Sauber Academy, will start fourth, with Hitech Grand Prix’s Ayuma Iwasa in fifth.

France F3 - Qualifying results

Cla Driver Team Laps Time Gap
1 Denmark Frederik Vesti France ART Grand Prix 13 1'50.882  
2 Norway Dennis Hauger Italy Prema Powerteam 12 1'51.063 0.181
3 France Victor Martins Netherlands MP Motorsport 12 1'51.122 0.240
4 Australia Jack Doohan Italy Trident 12 1'51.165 0.283
5 Caio Collet Netherlands MP Motorsport 12 1'51.187 0.305
6 United Kingdom Clement Novalak Italy Trident 13 1'51.213 0.331
7 Russian Federation Alexander Smolyar France ART Grand Prix 13 1'51.269 0.387
8 Ayumu Iwasa United Kingdom HitechGP 12 1'51.484 0.602
9 United States Juan Manuel Correa France ART Grand Prix 12 1'51.503 0.621
10 United States Logan Sargeant Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 13 1'51.525 0.643
11 Germany David Schumacher Italy Trident 11 1'51.550 0.668
12 Australia Calan Williams Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 12 1'51.575 0.693
13 Italy Matteo Nannini Germany HWA AG 12 1'51.613 0.731
14 United Kingdom Olli Caldwell Italy Prema Powerteam 12 1'51.648 0.766
15 Tijmen van Netherlands MP Motorsport 13 1'51.669 0.787
16 Jak Crawford United Kingdom HitechGP 12 1'51.718 0.836
17 Czech Republic Roman Staněk United Kingdom HitechGP 12 1'51.772 0.890
18 Italy Lorenzo Colombo Spain Campos Racing 14 1'51.809 0.927
19 Amaury Cordeel Spain Campos Racing 14 1'51.929 1.047
20 United Kingdom Johnathan Hoggard Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 12 1'52.051 1.169
21 Brazil Enzo Fittipaldi Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 12 1'52.334 1.452
22 United States Kaylen Frederick United Kingdom Carlin 13 1'52.453 1.571
23 United Kingdom Jonny Edgar United Kingdom Carlin 13 1'52.453 1.571
24 Oliver Rasmussen Germany HWA AG 12 1'52.475 1.593
25 Pierre-Louis Chovet Spain Campos Racing 13 1'52.564 1.682
26 Reshad de Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 13 1'52.795 1.913
27 Filip Ugran Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 12 1'52.823 1.941
28 Rafael Villagómez Germany HWA AG 12 1'52.946 2.064
29 Ido Cohen United Kingdom Carlin 13 1'53.023 2.141

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