GP3 Hungary: Luca Ghiotto takes pole position in closing moments
Championship leader Luca Ghiotto edged out Emil Bernstorff on his final run in an extremely close GP3 qualifying to clinch pole position at the Hungaroring
Trident driver Ghiotto, who set the initial pace on his opening run, traded fastest times with Bernstorff and Marvin Kirchhofer for the majority of the session.
The Italian however left his best lap for his final run, pipping Bernstorff by just 0.036s when the chequered flag fell, with a time of 1m34.030s.
Mercedes junior driver Esteban Ocon, who was fastest in free practice, also left it late to set his best time.
The Frenchman jumped from seventh to third in the closing stages, demoting Kirchhofer and Jimmy Eriksson down to fourth and fifth.
Koiranen GP driver Matt Parry, who ran wide on several occasions, was able to pull some strong laps together to qualify sixth ahead of Alex Palou and Ferrari protege Antonio Fuoco.
Fresh off the back of his maiden series win at Silverstone Kevin Ceccon qualified in ninth, only a fraction clear of Pal Varhaug who rounded out the top 10.
ART driver Alfonso Celis Jr completed four laps but failed to set a time and will start behind Samin Gomez in last place.
QUALIFYING RESULT
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luca Ghiotto | Trident | 1m34.030s | 12 |
| 2 | Emil Bernstorff | Arden International | 0.036s | 15 |
| 3 | Esteban Ocon | ART Grand Prix | 0.184s | 12 |
| 4 | Marvin Kirchhofer | ART Grand Prix | 0.201s | 12 |
| 5 | Jimmy Eriksson | Koiranen GP | 0.329s | 15 |
| 6 | Matt Parry | Koiranen GP | 0.492s | 14 |
| 7 | Alex Palou | Campos Racing | 0.496s | 14 |
| 8 | Antonio Fuoco | Carlin | 0.541s | 12 |
| 9 | Kevin Ceccon | Arden International | 0.714s | 14 |
| 10 | Pal Varhaug | Jenzer Motorsport | 0.715s | 13 |
| 11 | Mitch Gilbert | Carlin | 0.721s | 14 |
| 12 | Matheo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 0.736s | 13 |
| 13 | Seb Morris | Status Grand Prix | 0.843s | 12 |
| 14 | Ralph Boschung | Jenzer Motorsport | 0.971s | 11 |
| 15 | Artur Janosz | Trident | 0.978s | 14 |
| 16 | Alex Fontana | Status Grand Prix | 1.041s | 15 |
| 17 | Sandy Stuvik | Status Grand Prix | 1.061s | 14 |
| 18 | Jann Mardenborough | Carlin | 1.078s | 14 |
| 19 | Adderly Fong | Koiranen GP | 1.225s | 14 |
| 20 | Zaid Ashkanani | Campos Racing | 2.110s | 14 |
| 21 | Alex Bosak | Arden International | 2.205s | 14 |
| 22 | Samin Gomez | Campos Racing | 3.134s | 13 |
| - | Alfonso Celis | ART Grand Prix | - | 4 |
Hungary GP3: Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon tops free practice
Hungary GP3: Luca Ghiotto claims commanding victory in race one
Why Ford can offer Red Bull what Porsche could not in F1
With Ford's confirmation of a partnership with Red Bull Powertrains imminent, it gives the Milton Keynes squad more pulling power in the American market. It's one of the key aspects the Detroit marque can offer which Porsche, expected to tie up with Red Bull before the deal fell through, could not
Ford confirms Formula 1 return for 2026
American car giant Ford has officially confirmed its return to Formula 1 in 2026, ahead of Red Bull's car launch in New York.
The design changes teams face as F1 launch season begins
Formula 1 fans are eagerly waiting to see how much of the Red Bull RB19 being unveiled in New York City later on Friday is actually new.
Friday favourite: How Volvo's "no ego" pole king endeared himself to a BTCC champion
With the likes of Andy Rouse, Steve Soper, Alain Menu and Paul Radisich to chose from, Tim Harvey is spoiled for choice when it comes to picking a favourite team-mate. But it's a driver that the 1992 British Touring Car champion only raced alongside for a single season, Swedish ace Rickard Rydell, that is his number one in our ongoing weekly series
Ranking the 10 best drivers from F1's junior series in 2022
The ladder to F1 never gets any less slippery. But a strong cast of Formula 3 and Formula 2 aces proved sure of foot as they continued their climbs in 2022
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
Why the Formula 3 benchmark's 2022 season hinges on qualifying
Prema Racing has long dominated FIA Formula 3, taking the teams’ title in two of the past three seasons. But its start to 2022 has been trickier than usual, and the answers lie in its qualifying performance
How the ultra-tight F3 title fight is taking shape
With just five points separating the top five after two rounds, FIA Formula 3 looks set for another thrilling season in 2022. But who stands the best chance of pulling away from that pack, and who are the contenders bubbling under?
The F3 newcomer making good on his unusual career path
Joining the FIA Formula 3 grid as a rookie with a team new to the series could prove daunting for most, but then there aren't many drivers who have the extensive experience Franco Colapinto brings from his time racing sportscars. The Argentinian explains how his LMP2 experience is already helping him in 2022
The British trio hunting for F3 title glory
The 2022 FIA Formula 3 season kicks off this weekend in Bahrain. British trio Zak O’Sullivan, Ollie Bearman and Jonny Edgar have all become proteges of Formula 1 teams, and are talents to watch this year
How an outsider demolished a rank of F1 juniors
His career has been a slowburner but Gregoire Saucy trounced a collection of F1 juniors in Formula Regional by Alpine last year, and now he’s preparing to do it again in FIA F3. Here’s how the Swiss caught the world by surprise in 2021 and how he plans to do it all over again
Ranking the top 10 F2 and F3 drivers of 2021
With a veritable feast of feeder series talent in 2021, FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 produced some of its most exciting racing yet. Although Prema Racing drivers once again dominated the respective series, drivers from other teams also stole the limelight to mark themselves out as stars of the future, or validate their highly-regarded standing
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.