Red Bull Formula 1 junior Dan Ticktum takes double Zandvoort pole
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Dan Ticktum took a double pole position in the second qualifying session of the Formula 3 European Championship round at Zandvoort
The Motopark-run Red Bull Formula 1 Junior found a clear path through a messy session that featured two red flags, gravel on the track at the chicane and the inevitable traffic problems on a circuit where fast corners flow into one another.
Ticktum's Dallara-Volkswagen was able to beat Prema Powerteam ace Ralf Aron for the overall fastest time by 0.171 seconds, and his second-best time - which earned him pole for race three - was also quicker than the fastest anyone else could manage.
"For the three hours between sessions we completely got our heads down," said Ticktum, who had claimed fifth on the grid for race one.
"I drove the car the same as before, and the car and myself were pretty hooked up.
"We just needed to switch the tyres on a little bit better and create the right amount of energy in them.
"I love this track - that definitely makes a difference because everything flows a bit: the car was dancing and it was mega."
Because of the chaos on track, the grids for races two and three are arguably the most divergent in championship history.
Prema men Aron, Mick Schumacher, Marcus Armstrong and Guan Yu Zhou were second, third, fifth and sixth for race two, but 17th, 18th, 23rd and fourth respectively for race three.
"The first lap I pushed I had a slower car in front of me, then there was gravel on track every lap," said Aron.
"The last lap was decent but then I got yellow flags - it was bloody unbelievable."
Armstrong, meanwhile, suffered a slipping clutch, consigning him to a back-row start for race three.
Splitting that Prema quartet on overall fastest times was Alex Palou, fourth fastest for Hitech GP, and he will line up eighth for race three.
Carlin made a small step forward from Q1 with Ferdinand Habsburg taking seventh and ninth spots, although the Austrian caused the second red flag right at the end of the session with an off into the gravel at the fast Mastersbocht right-hander.
The team's real star, however, was Nikita Troitskiy, who vaults from 12th for race two to third for race three.
Norisring winner Juri Vips was eighth in his Motopark machine but jumps forward to join team-mate Ticktum on the front row for the finale.
Rounding out the top 10 overall were Marino Sato (Motopark) in ninth and Prema man Robert Shwartzman.
Sato moves up to seventh for race three, while apart from Troitskiy there are three more drivers who leap into the top 10 for the finale.
These are Motopark's Fabio Scherer in fifth, the sixth-placed Carlin-run car of Jehan Daruvala and Motopark racer Jonathan Aberdein in 10th.
The other red flag was caused seven minutes in by a crash for Julian Hanses.
Race two qualifying
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dan Ticktum | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.779s |
2 | Ralf Aron | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.171s |
3 | Mick Schumacher | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.232s |
4 | Alex Palou | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.268s |
5 | Marcus Armstrong | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.392s |
6 | Guanyu Zhou | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.395s |
7 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.411s |
8 | Juri Vips | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.414s |
9 | Marino Sato | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.426s |
10 | Robert Shwartzman | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.446s |
11 | Fabio Scherer | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.462s |
12 | Nikita Troitskiy | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.552s |
13 | Jonathan Aberdein | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.577s |
14 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.613s |
15 | Sebastian Fernandez | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.816s |
16 | Enaam Ahmed | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.851s |
17 | Ben Hingeley | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.893s |
18 | Sacha Fenestraz | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1.218s |
19 | Sophia Florsch | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.351s |
20 | Julian Hanses | ma-con | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1.523s |
21 | Artem Petrov | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.765s |
22 | Keyvan Andres | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.882s |
23 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2.279s |
24 | Petru Florescu | Fortec Motorsports | Dallara/Mercedes | 2.345s |
Race three qualifying
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dan Ticktum | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1m28.938s |
2 | Juri Vips | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.391s |
3 | Nikita Troitskiy | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.471s |
4 | Guanyu Zhou | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.581s |
5 | Fabio Scherer | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.659s |
6 | Jehan Daruvala | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.722s |
7 | Marino Sato | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.758s |
8 | Alex Palou | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 0.844s |
9 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 0.857s |
10 | Jonathan Aberdein | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1.003s |
11 | Sebastian Fernandez | Motopark | Dallara/Volkswagen | 1.020s |
12 | Robert Shwartzman | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.181s |
13 | Enaam Ahmed | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.321s |
14 | Sophia Florsch | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.720s |
15 | Artem Petrov | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 1.787s |
16 | Keyvan Andres | Van Amersfoort Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 2.006s |
17 | Ralf Aron | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 2.006s |
18 | Mick Schumacher | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 2.140s |
19 | Petru Florescu | Fortec Motorsports | Dallara/Mercedes | 2.203s |
20 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2.212s |
21 | Ben Hingeley | Hitech Bullfrog GP | Dallara/Mercedes | 2.285s |
22 | Sacha Fenestraz | Carlin | Dallara/Volkswagen | 2.317s |
23 | Marcus Armstrong | PREMA Theodore Racing | Dallara/Mercedes | 4.241s |
24 | Julian Hanses | ma-con | Dallara/Volkswagen | 5.737s |
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