F3: Theophile Nael starts from pole in Monaco
Theophile Nael set the best time in the Formula 3 qualifying in Monaco. Alongside him, Brando Badoer will start from the front row in the Sunday race. The city circuit is too short (3337 meters), so to allow all 30 drivers to make their attempts without interfering with each other, they were divided into two groups, each having 16 minutes. The first "Group A" consisted of drivers with even numbers, while the second "Group B" had odd numbers.
The starting positions for the Sunday race were altered following the qualifying format. The driver from the group with the fastest time earns pole position. The fastest driver from the second group takes the second spot on the Sunday race grid, and then the starting positions alternate between the groups.
The drivers who finished in the top 12 form the reverse starting grid for the Saturday race – the sixth fastest driver from the second group starts from pole, while the sixth fastest driver from the first group takes the second position on the grid. The remaining 10 starting positions are allocated in a similar manner.
In the first group, the following drivers went out for their attempts: Ugochukwu, Stromsted, De Palo, Taponen, Kato, Li, Yamakoshi, Del Pino, Badoer, Sharp, Garfias, McLaughlin, Benavides, Barrichello, and Bhirombhakdi. The drivers did not stay in the pits and immediately headed out onto the track. They initially completed two warm-up laps before starting to push hard. Stromsted set a benchmark of 1:26.843, but his time was quickly surpassed by Taito Kato. Championship leader Hugo Ugochukwu went even faster (1:26.367) and took the lead in the protocol.
Speeds increased with each lap, and Stromsted, who nearly lost control of his car exiting the Rascasse corner, regained the top spot with a time of 1:26.349. The drivers exchanged the best times several more times, and at the end of the first group's qualifying, the best time was set by Brando Badoer (1:24.612), who was three-tenths ahead of Hugo Ugochukwu and six-tenths ahead of Tuukka Taponen.
After a short break, the participants of "Group B" took to the track: Nael, Slater, Lacorte, Si, David, Nakamura, Shin, Wharton, Clero, Ho, Deligny, Kolnagi, Giusti, Gladys, and Slater. Like in the first group, the drivers completed two warm-up laps before starting their fast attempts.
Theophile Nael topped the protocol after his first fast lap with a time of 1:25.729. His time was surpassed by Maciej Gladys by a tenth, but the ART driver could not maintain the lead. Freddy Slater completed a lap in 1:24.986, and Alessandro Giusti moved up to second place. During the next fast lap, Slater brushed the barrier and broke the side plate of his front wing.
Nael regained the lead, surpassing the best time from the first group, ensuring that the fastest driver from his group would start from pole. Slater improved but remained second, as Nael completed the next fast lap even quicker – 1:24.471. Nael's teammate Ernesto Riviera moved up to third place.
For Theophile Nael, this is his second pole of the season after Melbourne. Brando Badoer will start alongside him from the front row on Sunday. Enzo Deligny will start the Saturday sprint from pole.
Results of "Group A"
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. B.Badoer
Rodin Motorsport
1'24.612
-
11
2. U.Ugochukwu
Campos Racing
1'24.963
0.351
11
3. T.Taponen
MP Motorsport
1'25.242
0.630
10
4. B.Del Pino
Van Amersfoort Racing
1'25.308
0.696
10
5. N.Stromsted
Trident
1'25.332
0.720
10
6. H.Yamakoshi
Van Amersfoort Racing
1'25.352
0.740
11
7. T.Kato
ART Grand Prix
1'25.477
0.865
10
8. L.Sharp
Prema Racing
1'25.693
1.081
11
9. N.Bhirombhakdi
DAMS Lucas Oil
1'25.878
1.266
11
10. B.Benavides
AIX Racing
1'25.890
1.278
11
11. K.Li
ART Grand Prix
1'26.014
1.402
10
12. M.De Palo
Trident
1'26.208
1.596
10
13. H.Garfias
Prema Racing
1'26.293
1.681
11
14. F.McLaughlin
Hitech
1'26.387
1.775
09
15. F.Barrichello
AIX Racing
1'26.820
2.208
10
Results of "Group B"
Driver
Team
Time
Difference
Laps
1. T.Nael
Campos Racing
1'24.471
-
11
2. F.Slater
Trident
1'24.877
0.406
10
3. E.Riviera
Campos Racing
1'24.882
0.411
11
4. A.Giusti
MP Motorsport
1'25.028
0.557
10
5. P.Clero
Rodin Motorsport
1'25.129
0.658
10
6. J.Si
DAMS Lucas Oil
1'25.212
0.741
11
7. M.Gladys
ART Grand Prix
1'25.214
0.743
10
8. D.Nakamura
Hitech
1'25.271
0.800
11
9. N.Lacorte
DAMS Lucas Oil
1'25.308
0.837
11
10. K.Ho
Rodin Motorsport
1'25.479
1.008
10
11. E.Delinie
Van Amersfoort Racing
1'25.480
1.009
11
12. E.David
AIX Racing
1'25.520
1.049
10
13. D.Wharton
Prema Racing
1'25.649
1.178
11
14. M.Kolnagi
MP Motorsport
1'25.919
1.448
11
15. U.Shin
Hitech
1'26.223
1.752
11
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F3: Theophile Nael starts from pole in Monaco
Theophile Nael posted the best time in the Formula 3 qualifying in Monaco. Alongside him, Brando Badoer will start from the front row in the Sunday race.