Stoneman on pole, Palmer only 14th
Dean Stoneman has given himself the chance to move into a strong position in the Formula 2 title race after taking pole position for Sunday's second race at Oschersleben, while rival Jolyon Palmer could only manage 14th
With the damp circuit drying throughout the half hour, the session's last laps were always going to be decisive.
Stoneman - who took a six-point lead in the standings after his victory earlier today - unleashed a 1m22.3s lap in the final minutes to claim the top spot. He had a high-speed spin on his next lap, bouncing through the gravel and coming to rest in the middle of the track as the chequered flag came out.
"It was a bit of a bumpy ride," said Stoneman. "I touched a puddle and it just spat me off the track. But it's looking good for the championship now, the further back Jolyon is the better for me."
Nicola de Marco and Kazim Vasiliauskas also made late charges to secure second and third, both within a tenth of Stoneman.
"Qualifying was wet here last year and I learned from spinning off then," said Vasiliauskas. "I thought somebody would spin at the end so I used my boosts earlier to do the time."
Sergei Afanasiev and Benjamin Bailly were fourth and fifth thanks to their earlier efforts.
Palmer was one of many drivers unable to improve at the conclusion, when Plamen Kralev went off and caused a yellow flag in the final sector.
Jack Clarke will start from the back of the grid after spinning off as one of the first drivers to venture out on slicks mid-way through the session.
Pos Driver Time Gap 1. Dean Stoneman 1m22.314s 2. Nicola de Marco 1m22.370s + 0.056s 3. Kazim Vasiliauskas 1m22.395s + 0.081s 4. Sergei Afanasiev 1m22.730s + 0.416s 5. Benjamin Bailly 1m23.039s + 0.725s 6. Will Bratt 1m23.040s + 0.726s 7. Kelvin Snoeks 1m23.045s + 0.731s 8. Mihai Marinescu 1m23.142s + 0.828s 9. Benjamin Lariche 1m23.493s + 1.179s 10. Philipp Eng 1m23.613s + 1.299s 11. Ricardo Teixeira 1m23.650s + 1.336s 12. Armaan Ebrahim 1m23.992s + 1.678s 13. Ivan Samarin 1m24.173s + 1.859s 14. Jolyon Palmer 1m24.331s + 2.017s 15. Johannes Theobald 1m24.582s + 2.268s 16. Julian Theobald 1m25.289s + 2.975s 17. Plamen Kralev 1m29.043s + 6.729s 18. Jack Clarke 1m34.298s + 11.984s
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