Valtteri Bottas leads James Calado in all-ART GP3 front row in Hungary
Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the first GP3 race of the weekend at the Hungaroring, as ART Grand Prix repeated its one-two performance from free practice
The Finn dominated the session, setting multiple laps good enough for first place in the early running. By the time everyone changed tyres for the final flurry of action he was nearly half a second clear of team-mate James Calado, but the Briton hacked away at that margin in the closing stages.
Calado briefly took pole with two minutes to go, but Bottas was only a few seconds behind him on track and he was quickly back in control.
Mitch Evans edged his way to the front for MW Arden over the course of the session, finally making it all the way to third with his final lap as the chequered flag fell. That knocked Tech 1's Aaro Vainio back to fourth, while RSC Mucke driver Michael Christensen completed the top five after a session where he was strong throughout.
Rio Haryanto (Manor), Nico Muller (Jenzer), Tom Dillmann (Addax) and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Manor) were next up, while Pedro Nunes completed a great session for ART by making the top 10.
Just behind him, championship leader Alexander Sims hauled himself up to 11th with a hugely committed final lap. The Status driver has been struggling all weekend, and he was battling to stay in the top 20 throughout the session until his final effort.
Lewis Williamson was another title contender to struggle. The MW Arden driver had a spin early on after he dropped a wheel onto the grass at Turn 9, and he ended the session down in 15th place.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Valtteri Bottas ART 1m36.763s 2. James Calado ART 1m37.093s + 0.330s 3. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m37.192s + 0.429s 4. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 1m37.273s + 0.510s 5. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke 1m37.354s + 0.591s 6. Rio Haryanto Manor 1m37.396s + 0.633s 7. Nico Muller Jenzer 1m37.466s + 0.703s 8. Tom Dillmann Addax 1m37.477s + 0.714s 9. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor 1m37.515s + 0.752s 10. Pedro Nunes ART 1m37.567s + 0.804s 11. Alexander Sims Status 1m37.576s + 0.813s 12. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1m37.617s + 0.854s 13. Conor Daly Carlin 1m37.621s + 0.858s 14. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 1m37.623s + 0.860s 15. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1m37.645s + 0.882s 16. Matias Laine Manor 1m37.682s + 0.919s 17. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1m37.931s + 1.168s 18. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 1m37.968s + 1.205s 19. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS 1m37.972s + 1.209s 20. Luciano Bacheta RSC Mucke 1m38.089s + 1.326s 21. Dean Smith Addax 1m38.090s + 1.327s 22. Antonio Felix da Costa Status 1m38.094s + 1.331s 23. Ivan Lukashevich Status 1m38.162s + 1.399s 24. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m38.375s + 1.612s 25. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS 1m38.392s + 1.629s 26. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer 1m38.405s + 1.642s 27. Leonardo Cordeiro Carlin 1m38.518s + 1.755s 28. Callum MacLeod Carlin 1m38.670s + 1.907s 29. Thomas Hylkema Tech 1 1m40.474s + 3.711s 30. Gabby Chaves Addax
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