Misano European F3: Mick Schumacher leads Prema top four on grid
Mick Schumacher claimed pole position for the opening race of the Formula 3 European Championship weekend at Misano
Schumacher headed a Prema Powerteam 1-2-3-4 on the Italian squad's home ground, pipping Marcus Armstrong by 0.019 seconds, with Guan Yu Zhou 0.058s adrift of pole and Robert Shwartzman just 0.071s off the pace.
Most of the field used two full sets of Hankook tyres from their weekend allocation of three sets, with rain forecast from Saturday afternoon onwards.
But Prema boss Rene Rosin said that using two sets in Q1 - despite Q2 counting for two races - is a strategy the team has tried before.
"It was just to get the confidence with the first set, to get the time on the second," he said.
"We have used this strategy at previous races, and we continued with what was our plan.
"The time always comes on the second set anyway [hence it's not a problem having only one fresh set if Q2 is dry]."
Rosin also said that "Mick did a great job in qualifying", a discipline at which he struggled before his breakthrough pole last month at Spa.
The fastest driver not representing Prema, which has not carried out a private test at Misano for three years, was championship leader Dan Ticktum in fifth position.
The Red Bull junior topped the two-day pre-season official test at the Adriatic track, but could not better the leading Prema quartet this time, although his Motopark machine was within a tenth of pole.
Top Carlin driver was Jehan Daruvala in sixth, the Indian dropping from a mid-session provisional pole after everyone had completed their first runs.
A pair of Motopark drivers will line up on the fourth row, with recent form man Juri Vips pipping Jonathan Aberdein to seventh.
Ralf Aron's frustrations have carried over from Silverstone, the Estonian proving the odd man out of the Prema quintet as he took ninth, while Carlin's Sacha Fenestraz completed the top 10.
Enaam Ahmed beat Hitech GP team-mate Alex Palou to 11th, Palou dropping from second after the first runs.
Surprise Silverstone poleman Fabio Scherer only got out in the middle of the session when everyone started their second runs, and was 17th in his Motopark car.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mick Schumacher | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m27.934s | - |
| 2 | Marcus Armstrong | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m27.953s | 0.019s |
| 3 | Guanyu Zhou | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m27.992s | 0.058s |
| 4 | Robert Shwartzman | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.015s | 0.081s |
| 5 | Dan Ticktum | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.020s | 0.086s |
| 6 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.067s | 0.133s |
| 7 | Juri Vips | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.172s | 0.238s |
| 8 | Jonathan Aberdein | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.177s | 0.243s |
| 9 | Ralf Aron | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.224s | 0.290s |
| 10 | Sacha Fenestraz | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.254s | 0.320s |
| 11 | Enaam Ahmed | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.257s | 0.323s |
| 12 | Alex Palou | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.283s | 0.349s |
| 13 | Ben Hingeley | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.288s | 0.354s |
| 14 | Marino Sato | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.294s | 0.360s |
| 15 | Sebastian Fernandez | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.351s | 0.417s |
| 16 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.513s | 0.579s |
| 17 | Fabio Scherer | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.597s | 0.663s |
| 18 | Artem Petrov | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.620s | 0.686s |
| 19 | Nikita Troitskiy | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.682s | 0.748s |
| 20 | Sophia Florsch | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m28.987s | 1.053s |
| 21 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m29.423s | 1.489s |
| 22 | Keyvan Andres | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1m29.519s | 1.585s |
GP3 Spa: Beckmann seals first pole in tight qualifying session
GP3 debutant Verschoor excluded from Spa qualifying
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
How Prema continued its dominance of F1's junior ladder in 2021
Taking three of the four titles and producing two outstanding champions in the process, Prema Racing remained the team to beat in Formula 1's feeder series in 2021. Team boss Rene Rosin reveals the traits that helped Dennis Hauger and Oscar Piastri to come out on top in Formula 3 and Formula 2
From zero to hero: How F3's 2021 champion bounced back
After a disastrous 2020 in FIA Formula 3 with Hitech, Dennis Hauger began to doubt himself - with the self-belief he had built through success in junior series evaporating. But after regrouping, he stormed to the F3 title in 2021. Here’s how he did it