Qualifying 1: Piquet's pole

The session started on a track that was still damp around the tree-lined grand prix loop of the Brands circuit, meaning that early times were unrepresentative. However, just as lap-times were beginning to drop substantially, Power lost control and shunted heavily at Westfield, bringing out the red flags to stop the session. It took 20 minutes to extract Power from his machine. He has now been taken to a nearby hospital for X-Rays.

New champion Alan van der Merwe (Carlin) was on a flying lap at the time of Power's crash. On seeing the incident he aborted his lap and backed off, only to lose control and crash at Sterlings, damaging his car sufficiently to ensure he would play no further part in the session.

When the green flag finally flew, seven minutes of the session remained, with track conditions notably faster than before. This led to a late dash, with times constantly dropping. Will Davison (Menu) appeared to have bagged pole with moments of the session remaining, only for Piquet (Piquet Sports) to squeeze in a lap 0.064s faster to claim the top spot for himself.

Eric Salignon ended the session third fastest, ahead of Hitech team-mate Danny Watts and Carlin's Jamie Green. Formula Renault champion Lewis Hamilton (Manor) was an impressive seventh fastest on his British F3 debut.

2002 champion Robbie Kerr was 16th fastest on his return to the series, piloting an Alan Docking Racing run Lola. He did, however, end the session faster than his successor as champion, with van der Merwe's error leaving him 17th on the grid.

Ernesto Viso claimed the early advantage in the three-way fight for the Scholarship class crown. The P1 Motorsport driver will line up 12th overall on the grid, with nearest rival Karun Chandhok (T-Sport) back in 18th overall. Steven Kane (T-Sport) will start from 19th.

Nelson Piquet Jr Piquet Sports Dallara-Mugen 1m19.073s
Will Davison Menu Dallara-Opel 1m19.139s
Eric Salignon Hitech Dallara-Renault 1m19.159s
Danny Watts Hitech Dallara-Renault 1m19.321s
Jamie Green Carlin Dallara-Mugen 1m19.363s
Billy Asaro P1 Motorsport Dallara-Mugen 1m19.397s
Lewis Hamilton Manor Dallara-Mugen 1m19.461s
Clivio Piccione Manor Dallara-Mugen 1m19.538s
Andrew Thompson Hitech Dallara-Renault 1m19.547s
Robert Dahlgren Fortec Dallara-Renault 1m19.615s