F3: Stanek claims maiden championship pole ahead of Martins

Roman Stanek made it two poles in a row for Trident Motorsport, taking pole position for the first time in his Formula 3 career.

Stanek left it late in the day to take the top spot, securing the fastest time on his last run as others tried and failed to find improvements on the final laps.

His lap of 1m 33.516s was 0.052s clear of Alpine Academy driver Victor Martins. The Frenchman had held provisional pole up until Stanek’s final lap but couldn’t find an improvement on his last effort. MP Motorsport driver Alex Smolyar completed the top three.

Isack Hadjar narrowly beat Arthur Leclerc for fourth place by just 0.005s, with fellow Ferrari Driver Academy prospect Oliver Bearman one place back in sixth. He was followed by Caio Collet, Kaylen Frederick, Jak Crawford and Juan Manuel Correa, who rounded out the top 10 on his return to F3.

Zane Maloney had been set to start from Sprint Race pole but a post-Qualifying penalty for missing the FIA weighbridge means Campos Racing’s David Vidales will start first on Saturday.

Formula 3’s Sprint Race is scheduled to begin on Saturday at 1100 local time.

For the full report, results and more news, visit the official F3 website.