Ricciardo takes Hungary pole
Daniel Ricciardo has claimed pole position for this afternoon's opening Formula Renault 3.5 race at the Hungaroring
The Red Bull Formula 1 reserve driver set a searing pace, his time of 1m31.168s over half a second quicker than championship leader Mikhail Aleshin.
On a good day for Tech 1 Racing, Ricciardo's team-mate Brendon Hartley will start third. The Kiwi will be aiming to recover lost ground in the championship race after a first lap accident and technical trouble resulted in non-scoring at the previous round at Magny-Cours.
"It wasn't a great session to be honest, but I'll take third," said Hartley. "My starts are usually pretty good. Last year I got pushed to the outside and spun, so I won't be making that mistake again.
"Tyre wear could be a problem here. Perhaps some people will be trying to preserve their tyres, but I think will be pushing on. A podium is my minimum objective."
Fortec drivers Sten Pentus and Jon Lancaster will line-up in fourth and fifth. Estonian Pentus edged out his British team-mate by 0.011s. Former GP2 racer Nelson Panciatici will join Lancaster on the third row for Junior Lotus Racing.
Magny-Cours winner Nathanael Berthon brought out the red flags six minutes into the half hour session. The Frenchman, who was second fastest in free practice on Friday, will start last after being stripped of his only time.
"As it was the start of qualifying, the car had a lot of fuel in it," said Berthon. "I just touched a kerb and went off. It was the really fast right hander (Turn 10). I took a little knock to my head but otherwise I am okay. It's my first accident of the season, but it's not over yet. I need points, even if I can't make it into the top five, I will be trying for a top 10."
Italian Formula 3 champion Daniel Zampieri also lost his fastest lap and will start 11th. The Ferrari Academy driver was penalised for running over the white line dividing the track and the pitlane exit.
"I crossed it by a really small amount," said Zampieri. "The rules are you lose your best lap, but it's a shame as were looking really fast."
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Daniel Ricciardo Tech 1 1m33.168s 15 2. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1m33.728s +0.560 12 3. Brendon Hartley Tech 1 1m33.902s +0.734 16 4. Sten Pentus Fortec 1m33.988s +0.820 12 5. Jon Lancaster Fortec 1m33.999s +0.831 14 6. Nelson Panciatici Junior Lotus 1m34.261s +1.093 14 7. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m34.285s +1.117 11 8. Anton Nebylitskiy KMP 1m34.346s +1.178 15 9. Jan Charouz P1 1m34.383s +1.215 11 10. Victor Garcia KMP 1m34.404s +1.236 14 11. Daniel Zampieri Pons 1m34.414s +1.246 12 12. Stefano Coletti Comtec 1m34.424s +1.256 13 13. Federico Leo Pons 1m34.450s +1.282 14 14. Keisuke Kunimoto Epsilon 1m34.686s +1.518 13 15. Jake Rosenzweig Carlin 1m34.812s +1.644 13 16. Albert Costa Epsilon 1m34.855s +1.687 16 17. Julian Leal Draco 1m34.871s +1.703 13 18. Daniil Move Junior Lotus 1m34.962s +1.794 15 19. Greg Mansell Comtec 1m35.025s +1.857 13 20. Sergio Canamasas Interwetten 1m35.070s +1.902 14 21. Bruno Mendez Interwetten 1m35.767s +2.599 9 22. Nathanael Berthon Draco times deleted 9
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