Theophile Nael took a commanding pole position for the Formula 3 Monaco Feature Race, as the series made its long-awaited return after two months.
Closely behind was Brando Badoer, who will line up alongside his rival on the front row. Rookie Freddie Slater rounded out the top three on his first trip to Monaco with F3.
After a prolonged break in the championship, following the cancellation of the Bahrain round, F3 finally returned trackside for one of the most challenging weekends of the season. The Monaco circuit provides a unique challenge for drivers, who had a single practice session yesterday to prepare for the ever-important qualifying today.
Qualifying operates differently in Monaco, with the grid split into two groups based on driver numbers. Group A will feature drivers with even racing numbers, with odd racing numbers making up Group B.
Lights out for Group A
As the clock started, drivers made their way onto the track for their early exploratory laps. With only 16 minutes in the session, it is crucial that drivers immediately find their way and begin setting competitive flying laps.
Ugo Ugochukwu was the first to lead the pack away on a flying lap. The Campos driver set a speedy 1:31.081, quickly replaced by ART rookie Taito Kato, with a blistering 1:26.707.
With eight minutes left in the session, Noah Stromsted had a close brush with the wall on the entry into the final turn. Despite the near miss, the Trident driver still managed to set the fastest time of the session, a 1:26.349.
However, podium sitter in Melbourne, Brando Badoer, quickly brought his name into contention. The Italian set a flying 1:25.287, four tenths faster than Kato’s previous time. Badoer continued to improve his pace as the session progressed, with others struggling to match his pace until the final minutes.
In the final minute, MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen went to the front of the field, only four hundredths clear of Badoer behind. The entire top five drivers of the session were separated by a mere tenth of a second.
Further back, Fionn McLaughlin made contact with the wall on the entry of turn 7. The Hitech driver lost his front wing and was unable to set any more flying laps.
As the chequered flag was waved, it was a fight between Badoer and Ugochukwu for the fastest time in Group A. In the end, Badoer clinched the fastest time by three tenths.
Lights out for Group B
After patiently waiting in the pit lane, it was Group B’s turn to set the pace. As the drivers made their way onto the circuit for warm-up laps, TRIDENT decided to keep Freddie Slater in the pit lane, putting him out of sync with the. rest of the grid. Potentially gifting the Audi-backed driver clear air for his flying runs.
Campos were on top once more in Group B, with Theophile Nael setting the pace early in the session with a 1:25.729. Close behind him was the MP Motorsport driver Alessandro Giusti, who was off the pace by seven hundredths.
As the clock showed five minutes remaining in the session, ART driver Maciej Głldysz matched the front runners, setting a flying 1:25:575. However, he wasn’t at the top for very long, as Slater quickly replaced him, going five tenths faster than his rival.
Similar to group A, the top drivers were all separated by fine margins, with just 1.5 tenths separating the top 4 as drivers prepared for one last cool-down lap.
As drivers resumed flying laps, chaos ensued for the front-runners. Both Slater and Nael made contact with the wall at various points throughout the lap. Despite this, both drivers were able to keep setting faster times, competing only with each other for the fastest time in the session.
The Frenchman set the fastest time of both sessions, a blistering 1:25.522. Slater, with no front wing, managed to end the session second, four tenths behind his rival.
F3 will be back tomorrow for the Sprint Race, which will guarantee a new race winner in the principality.
READ MORE – Theophile Nael ‘gave everything’ for F3 pole position in Melbourne
Discussion about this post