Franco Colapinto took the pole for Van Amersfoort Racing in the debut for pilots and team in FIA Formula 3 in Bahrain.
Gregoire Saucy set the pace in the first 10 minutes of the half-hour session with a 1’46.978, and became the first pilot to come under a 1’47 lap time.
Saucy held on to the top of the times until Alexander Smolyar set a time of 1,46642 with 12 minutes, beating Saucy’s time by more than three tenths. The Russian driver is back in the series as a neutral competitor for 2022, driving a mostly black car unlike his MP teammates Caio Collet and Kush Maini.
Concerned Prema mechanics were seen removing the body of Jak Crawford’s car as liquid from it ran over the pit track. He came out of the pit again in the final minutes after missing crucial laps.
Meanwhile, Colapinto was constantly playing into the game: over his first 7 rounds, his best time was 1’58,252. However, in the final minutes of the session, Colapinto found a remarkable pace, jumping with a 1’46.249 to the top of the times.
Roman Stanek challenged Colapinto to take the place of 1’46.314, but no pilot could improve the time of Van Amersfoorte pilot.
On their final laps, a line of Charouz cars built up toward the line as Smolyar came into the last corner behind them, clearly on a flying lap. Ayrton Simmons, who led the snake, stepped over to start his shot and headed for Smolyar. The couple narrowly avoided a collision, but Smolyar’s last lap was ruined.
There was more trouble for the MP as Maini missed the FIA weight bridge as he returned from a round with seven minutes to go and was put under investigation after the race. A round on the cracked flag, he claimed the third, before any penalty applied.
In contrast to Formula 1 and 2, the F3 qualifying session will be held in Bahrain on the day. However, track temperatures were relatively low for Sakhir, with asphalt at 29C and air temperatures 10 degrees lower. Temperatures dropped steadily throughout the session, due to strong winds around the circuit.
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Qualification Results
| Position | Auto | Chauffeur | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | Franco Colapinto | HWA |
| 2 | 2 | Roman Stanek | Trident |
| 3 | 12 | Kush Maini | MP |
| 4 | 8 | Gregoire Saucy | ART |
| 5 | 7 | Victor Martins | ART |
| 6 | 9 | Juan Manuel Correa | ART |
| 7 | 3 | Zane Maloney | Trident |
| 8 | 11 | Alexander Smolyar | MP |
| 9 | 18 | Isackadjar | Hitech |
| 10 | 20 | David Vidales | Campos |
| 11 | 6 | Oliver Bearman | Prema |
| 12 | 26 | Zak O’Sullivan | Carlin |
| 13 | 10 | Caio Collet | MP |
| 14 | 4 | Arthur Leclerc | Prema |
| 15 | 1 | Jonny Edgar | Trident |
| 16 | 30 | Rafael Villagomez | HWA |
| 17 | 31 | Reece Ushijima | HWA |
| 18 | 25 | William Alatalo | Jenzer |
| 19 | 17 | Kaylen Frederick | Hitech |
| 20 | 22 | Pepe Marti | Campos |
| 21 | 5 | Jak Crawford | Prema |
| 22 | 23 | Ido Cohen | Jenzer |
| 23 | 16 | Francesco Pizzi | Charouz |
| 24 | 27 | Brad Benavides | Carlin |
| 25 | 24 | Niko Kari | Jenzer |
| 26 | 21 | Hunter Yeany | Campos |
| 27 | 19 | Nazim Azman | Hitech |
| 28 | 28 | Enzo Trulli | Carlin |
| 29 | 15 | Ayrton Simmons | Charouz |
| 30 | 14 | Laszlo Toth | Charouz |
Image: Colapinto via Instagram
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