Juncadella takes pole for F3 debut

The Formula BMW graduate was the standout rookie performer throughout the session, setting a reasonable time early on while Macau Grand Prix winner Edoardo Mortara set the pace.

Prema Powerteam driver Juncadella then snatched the top spot with five minutes remaining, and while there were plenty of changes in the places directly behind him, the Spaniard's time was never troubled by his more experienced rivals.

Mortara was bumped down to fifth place as the majority of drivers improved their times in the final five minutes, but he responded to move back into second with two minutes remaining.

The Italian's joy was short-lived though, as the next three cars across the line - Laurens Vanthoor, Marco Wittmann and Valtteri Bottas - all bettered his time. Mortara then managed to set the fastest time through the first sector, but his final effort fell away in the latter stages, leaving him fifth, and the slowest of the VW-powered Signature drivers.

The last couple of minutes were a bit quieter as most drivers had used the best of their tyres by then, but one driver to improve with his final lap was ART's Alexander Sims, who had to settle for sixth on the grid.

While Juncadella stole the headlines at the front of the field, the next best F3 rookie was Mucke Motorsport's Carlos Munoz in seventh.

Pos  Driver                  Team       Car  Time       Gap
 1.  Daniel Juncadella       Prema      D/M  1m52.624s
 2.  Laurens Vanthoor        Signature  D/V  1m52.750s  + 0.126s
 3.  Marco Wittmann          Signature  D/V  1m52.754s  + 0.130s
 4.  Valtteri Bottas         ART        D/M  1m52.781s  + 0.157s
 5.  Edoardo Mortara         Signature  D/V  1m52.834s  + 0.210s
 6.  Alexander Sims          ART        D/M  1m53.453s  + 0.829s
 7.  Carlos Munoz            Mucke      D/M  1m53.593s  + 0.969s
 8.  Nicolas Marroc          Prema      D/M  1m53.672s  + 1.048s
 9.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs     Motopark   D/V  1m53.709s  + 1.085s
10.  Roberto Merhi           Mucke      D/M  1m53.742s  + 1.118s
11.  Jim Pla                 ART        D/M  1m53.988s  + 1.364s
12.  Antonio Felix Da Costa  Motopark   D/V  1m54.581s  + 1.957s
13.  Matias Laine            Motopark   D/V  1m55.098s  + 2.474s