Qualifying: Enge blitzes the pack
FIA Formula 3000's man of the moment Tomas Enge stormed to a dominant pole position at Magny-Cours today (Friday)
The Czech's Coca-Cola-backed Nordic entry set his quickest tour on his second lap of the session, which was over half a second ahead of Super Nova's Mark Webber - a gap almost unheard of in F3000 terms. The quickest times were almost exclusively set in the opening moments of the first session and, try as they might, no one could get anywhere near his time.
"I knew I had to put everything into the first three laps," said Enge. "Just like Barcelona and the Nurburgring, the main reason was the rubber left by the Formula 1 cars. It was a fantastic time, although I did make one small mistake."
To add insult to the opposition's injury, Enge's car was stuck in third car for most of the second session, and would have been prone to attack.
Webber said: "Maybe I was too hard on the tyres initially, but I can't take it away from Tomas. He hooked it all up and the rest of us didn't."
Red Bull's Patrick Friesacher will start third, ahead of series leader Justin Wilson in the second Nordic entry.
Mario Haberfeld (Super Nova) is a season-best fifth, just a few hundreths ahead of sixth-placed David Saelens, who attempted to carve out his own version of the Magny-Cours circuit by ploughing across the grass and gravel in his European Minardi machine.
Sebastien Bordais (DAMS) will start from seventh, ahead of Arden Team Russia's Darren Manning. Jonathan Cochet was tenth in his second outing for the Prost Junior Team despite an off-track excursion. He was surprisingly demoted from ninth by Antonio Pizzonia's Petrobras machine in the dying moments of the session.
For full qualifying results click here.
Enge win blows title race wide open
Wilson clings to series lead as Webber wins
Deletraz switches from Prema to TF Sport for ELMS title defence
Two-time European Le Mans Series champion Louis Deletraz will leave Prema to join the TF Sport-run Racing Team Turkey for his third campaign in the championship this season.
Beating Pro cars at Daytona "cherry on the cake" for GTD-winning Aston team
Beating the GTD Pro entries en-route to winning the Daytona 24 Hours GTD class was "an extra cherry on the cake" for Heart of Racing Aston Martin driver Ian James.
Bertelli investigating more WRC opportunities after Sweden
Lorenzo Bertelli is already working to secure another World Rally Championship outing this year following a planned drive in a rented Toyota GR Yaris at Rally Sweden in February.
Everything we know about the 2023 MotoGP season: Riders, bikes, tracks and more
The 2023 MotoGP season is almost upon us, with one of the biggest shake-ups in the series’ history ahead. Find out all you need to know about calendars, sprint races, teams, bikes and more.
Ranking the 10 best drivers from F1's junior series in 2022
The ladder to F1 never gets any less slippery. But a strong cast of Formula 3 and Formula 2 aces proved sure of foot as they continued their climbs in 2022
The next steps for France's latest F1 hopeful after an F2 title miss
Theo Pourchaire entered the 2022 Formula 2 season a firm favourite for the title after remaining with ART Grand Prix for a second season. But an unexpected charge from Felipe Drugovich and MP Motorsport meant the Frenchman was forced to settle for second. What went wrong for the Sauber protege, and where does he go from here?
The remarkable career turnaround of an ever-improving F2 talent
Sixth in the F2 standings heading into this month's final round, but within touching distance of third, Enzo Fittipaldi has quietly put together a strong first full season in the Formula 1 support series, recovering well from the scary Jeddah start crash that cut his 2021 campaign short. It marks a turn in fortunes for the Brazilian who thought he'd bid hopes of a career in Europe goodbye two years ago
What the future holds for two Red Bull juniors fighting in the F2 battleground
Despite having two talented drivers, albeit at very different stages of their careers, Prema Racing has had mixed fortunes in FIA Formula 2 this year. Both drivers told Autosport how they rate their seasons so far – and their next steps beyond 2022
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
The on-form F1 protege carrying America's hopes on his shoulders
Two feature race wins in as many rounds have helped Logan Sargeant to emerge as the closest challenger to runaway Formula 2 points leader Felipe Drugovich. The Williams F1 junior couldn't have timed his rise better, with interest in grand prix racing on the rise in his US homeland, and he could be his country's best shot at getting a driver on the grid for the first time since 2015
What racing in Australia means for the future of F1's junior series
The announcement that FIA Formula 2 and 3 would race alongside the Australian Grand Prix from 2023 came as a surprise, not only to fans but to the series’ teams too. But with Formula 1’s boom in popularity bringing more fans to the championships, team principals are relishing the opportunity
The other Doohan charting his way to motorsport success
Heading into FIA Formula 2 this season, there was a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan. The 2021 F3 runner-up joined a new team for his next challenge, as well as signing up to the Alpine Academy. He told Autosport how he’s tackling the step up - with some help from his motorcycle legend father
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.