Joel Eriksson denies Lando Norris Macau Grand Prix pole
BMW junior Joel Eriksson edged McLaren Formula 1 reserve Lando Norris in the second qualifying session to grab pole position for the Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix qualification race
After losing his overnight pole earlier in the session to Dan Ticktum, Norris jumped back to the top of the times after he fitted a new set of Yokohama tyres to his Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen during the second of four red flags.
But then Eriksson, who also had all new rubber fitted all-round to his Motopark Dallara-Volkswagen during the same interval, pipped F3 European champion Norris by a mere 0.024 seconds.
During the third stoppage, Norris alighted from his car, conserving tyres for the races - he has four new Yokohamas left, compared to the two of closest rivals Eriksson, Callum Ilott and Maximilian Gunther.
After the third red flag, there was time remaining for two flying laps, during which Ferrari junior Ilott - who had been baulked right at the end of an earlier flier - vaulted his Prema Powerteam machine to third ahead of team-mate Gunther.
Ilott set a purple sector in the middle mountain section, but suffered oversteer as his tyres faded near the end of the lap, and he ended up 0.090s adrift of Eriksson.
Luckily for Ilott, that was moments before the fourth and final red flag brought the session to a conclusion.
A delighted Eriksson said: "I didn't manage a lap early on because of too much traffic and red flags.
"I was P7 and went to the box for four new tyres, then I was warming them, finding a clear space, and I asked what was the maximum I needed to do [over the radio].
"It was really difficult at the beginning, but then everything went my way so I'm really happy.
"The tyres here fit my driving style and they fit the Motopark car really good."
Ferdinand Habsburg made it two Carlin drivers in the top five, but his session ended early when he damaged his suspension, although he made it back to the pits.
Ticktum's sensational performance in his third competitive F3 weekend continued, the Motopark-run Red Bull junior taking sixth, although he was twice denied what would have been at least a top-four position by red flags while he was near the end of a lap.
Mick Schumacher lines up as best Macau rookie in seventh for Prema, ahead of a trio of red-flag-causing culprits.
Yuhi Sekiguchi triggered the final stoppage when he creamed his car into the wall at R Bend, Sergio Sette Camara suffered his second Fishermen's Bend smash of the weekend, and Guan Yu Zhou had a hefty prang on the mountain.
The other red flag was caused early on by Jehan Daruvala, who crashed in the Solitude Esses - his third accident of the weekend.
Second qualifying times
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Joel Eriksson | Motopark with VEB | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m10.720s | - |
2 | Lando Norris | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m10.744s | 0.024s |
3 | Callum Ilott | SJM Theodore Racing by Prema | Dallara/Mercedes | 2m10.810s | 0.090s |
4 | Maximilian Guenther | SJM Theodore Racing by Prema | Dallara/Mercedes | 2m11.156s | 0.436s |
5 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m11.245s | 0.525s |
6 | Dan Ticktum | Motopark with VEB | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m11.437s | 0.717s |
7 | Mick Schumacher | SJM Theodore Racing by Prema | Dallara/Mercedes | 2m11.483s | 0.763s |
8 | Yuhi Sekiguchi | B-MAX Racing Team | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m11.559s | 0.839s |
9 | Sergio Sette Camara | Motopark with VEB | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m11.569s | 0.849s |
10 | Guanyu Zhou | SJM Theodore Racing by Prema | Dallara/Mercedes | 2m11.781s | 1.061s |
11 | Sacha Fenestraz | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m11.880s | 1.160s |
12 | Tadasuke Makino | Motopark with VEB | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m11.929s | 1.209s |
13 | Pedro Piquet | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 2m12.050s | 1.330s |
14 | Devlin Defrancesco | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m12.349s | 1.629s |
15 | Marino Sato | Motopark with VEB | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m12.558s | 1.838s |
16 | Kenta Yamashita | B-MAX Racing Team | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m12.563s | 1.843s |
17 | Ralf Aron | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 2m12.644s | 1.924s |
18 | Sho Tsuboi | TOM'S | Dallara/Toyota | 2m13.604s | 2.884s |
19 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2m13.710s | 2.990s |
20 | Ritomo Miyata | TOM'S | Dallara/Toyota | 2m13.721s | 3.001s |
21 | Alex Palou | ThreeBond Racing with Drago Corse | Dallara/Threebond | 2m13.863s | 3.143s |
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