Nikola Tsolov secures pole position for the highly anticipated F3 British Grand Prix. He was closely followed by Ugo Ugochukwu and Rafa Câmara, setting up for an exciting race weekend.
Formula 3 returns to Silverstone for Round 7 of the championship, with less than 30 points separating the title contenders. This weekend could prove decisive ahead of the season finale in Monza, where every point will count.
Green flags at the British GP
As 30 minutes of qualifying begin, all drivers are out on track except for the ART trio, who are left in the pit lane to build a gap to the rest of the field.
This weekend’s F3 race directives state that drivers cannot slow down during sector 3. Therefore, if they have committed to a flying lap, they are not allowed to back out during sector 3. This is to reduce traffic and dangerous situations for drivers.
The initial flying laps are being set, with championship leader Câmara setting the pace early with a 1:46.318. This is a solid improvement from the Brazilian’s free practice session earlier today.
Stenshorne had been down in P16 but managed to improve with a solid lap that lifts him to 11th, crucially placing him within the top 12 and keeping reverse grid hopes alive.
However, his lead is taken by his championship rival, Tsolov. Who storms to the top of the timesheets with a 1:45.655. Putting him 0.344s clear of Tramnitz, with Inthraphuvasak slotting into third.
Similarly to Free practice before, track limits are proving to be an issue for many drivers. Several drivers had their first flying lap times deleted due to track limit violations.
With less than 20 minutes remaining, a few drivers pit for a new set of faster hard tyres.
Brad Benavides sets a storming lap, placing himself on the second row in fourth place. The American driver is 0.461 seconds behind the lead of Tsolov. However, it doesn’t last for long as Poland’s Roman Bilinski steals P4 away from Benavides.
Final 10 minutes
TRIDENT are showing an insane pace this qualifying, with Strømsted and Câmara trading fastest sectors. With just 10 minutes remaining in the session, the Brazilian managed to set the fastest time of qualifying, almost half a second clear of his championship rival Tsolov.
TRIDENT are using their drivers strategically so that Câmara and Strømsted both get a tow on their flying laps.
If the order stays as is, Benavides would start from reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race, lining up alongside Bilinski on the front row, a huge opportunity for both drivers to perform strongly.
ART are beginning to show their hand late in the session as Van Hoepen climbs to P4. While Taponen jumps to sixth and Wharton slots into seventh, a strong collective push from the French outfit as qualifying heads into its final stages.
Câmara’s teammate, Charlie Wurz, caps off a solid qualifying session for the Italian team, placing himself in P4, six tenths behind his teammate on provisional pole.
Final flying laps
Théophile Nael sets the first flying lap of the last 5 minutes and goes to second. Meanwhile, his Van Amersfoort teammate Ivan Domingues has gone up to 10th on his first push lap of the session.
Nikola Tsolov sets the final fastest lap of the session, placing himself on provisional pole for Sunday’s feature race. The Bulgarian set a 1:45.043, just one tenth faster than his main competitor, Câmara.
Tramnitz, who sits second in the standings, didn’t improve on his lap and qualified down in fifth. She will be starting behind both of his championship rivals on Sunday.
In the final moments of the session, Câmara dropped down to third, as PREMA’s Ugo Ugochukwu had his best qualifying of the season in second.
Final Classification for F3 British GP Qualifying
- N. Tsolov
- U. Ugochukwu
- R. Câmara
- M. Boya
- T. Tramnitz
- C. Wurz
- M. Stenshorne
- L. Van Hoepen
- T. Nael
- N. Leon
- C. Ho
- T. Inthraphuvasak
- B. Benavides
- A. Giusti
- N. Stromsted
- B. Badoer
- R. Bilinski
- S. Ramos
- T. Taponen
- J. Wharton
- I. Domingues
- B. Del Pino
- L. Sharp
- M. Zagazeta
- C. Voisin
- N. Johnson
- N. Lacorte
- G. Xiw
- N. Marinangelli
- J.Hedely
