Theóphile Nael clinched pole position on Friday (the 5th) for the feature race of Formula 3’s second round, contested on the street circuit laid out in Monte Carlo, Monaco. In a qualifying format that split drivers into groups, the Campos Racing driver was the quickest, recording a best time of 1:24.471 during his final lap in the group that closed the session.
The fastest of the group that began the session, Brando Badoer will start from second on the grid with a Rodin Motorsport machine after posting a 1:24.612. From there, under the event’s specific regulations, positions are alternated with the faster group occupying the odd-numbered grid slots, while the rest start from the even-numbered positions.
Freddie Slater, in a Trident car, will line up on the third row for Sunday’s race, sharing the second row with Ugo Ugochukwu, the championship leader and Campos Racing pilot. Ernesto Rivera, Ugochukwu’s teammate, will start fifth, while Tuukka Taponen of MP Motorsport closes the group of the six best on the grid.
Alessandro Giusti will start seventh with MP Motorsport, while Bruno del Pino of Van Amersfoort begins eighth. Pedro Clerot, in a Rodin, was the fifth-best of his group and will start ninth, sharing the fifth row with Noah Stromsted of Trident. Gerrard Xie of DAMS is 11th, while Hyiu Yamakoshi of Van Amersfoort completes the top 12 and will start ahead in the Sprint. Fernando Barrichello of AIX Racing will start from 30th.
The session did not feature red flags, but there were a few brushes with the wall, such as the incident involving Fionn McLaughlin in the final moments of the first group. The Hitech driver from Ireland clipped the wall as he approached the tunnel section, damaging the front wing. In the second group, Freddie Slater struck the wall at the same spot with his Trident car but continued on.
The first race of the Monaco Formula 3 weekend will be the Sprint, scheduled to start at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday (the 6th). The main event is slated to begin at 2:55 a.m. on Sunday.
Here are the results from the two groups of F3 qualifying in Monaco:
Group 1
1st – Brando Badoer (ITA/Rodin) – 1:24.612
2nd – Ugo Ugochukwu (USA/Campos Racing) – 1:24.963
3rd – Tuukka Taponen (FIN/MP Motorsport) – 1:25.242
4th – Bruno del Pino (ESP/Van Amersfoort) – 1:25.308
5th – Noah Stromsted (NOR/Trident) – 1:25.332
6th – Hyiu Yamakoshi (JAP/Van Amersfoort) – 1:25.352
7th – Taiyto Kato (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 1:25.477
8th – Louis Sharp (AUS/Prema) – 1:25.693
9th – Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (TAI/DAMS) – 1:25.878
10th – Brad Benavides (AIX Racing) – 1:25.890
11th – Kanato Le (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 1:26.014
12th – Matteo De Palo (ITA/Trident) – 1:26.208
13th – José Garfias (MEX/Prema) – 1:26.293
14th – Fionn McLaughlin (IRL/Hitech) – 1:26.387
15th – Fernando Barrichello (BRA/AIX Racing) – 1:26.820
Group 2
1st – Theóphile Nael (FRA/Campos Racing) – 1:24.471
2nd – Freddie Slater (ENG/Trident) – 1:24.877
3rd – Ernesto Rivera (MEX/Campos Racing) – 1:24.882
4th – Alessandro Giusti (FRA/MP Motorsport) – 1:25.028
5th – Pedro Clerot (BRA/Rodin) – 1:25.129
6th – Gerrard Xie (CHN/DAMS) – 1:25.212
7th – Maciej Gladysz (POL/ART Grand Prix) – 1:25.214
8th – Jin Nakamura (JAP/Hitech) – 1:25.271
9th – Nicola Lacorte (ITA/DAMS) – 1:25.308
10th – Christian Ho (SIN/Rodin) – 1:25.479
11th – Enzo Deligny (FRA/Van Amersfoort) – 1:25.480
12th – Yevan David (SRI/AIX Racing) – 1:25.520
13th – James Wharton (AUS/Prema) – 1:25.649
14th – Mattia Colnaghi (ARG/MP Motorsport) – 1:25.919
15th – Woohyun Shin (COR/Hitech) – 1:26.223
Here is the provisional grid for the Monaco F3 main race:
1st – Theóphile Nael (FRA/Campos Racing) – 1:24.471
2nd – Brando Badoer (ITA/Rodin) – 1:24.612
3rd – Freddie Slater (ENG/Trident) – 1:24.877
4th – Ugo Ugochukwu (USA/Campos Racing) – 1:24.963
5th – Ernesto Rivera (MEX/Campos Racing) – 1:24.882
6th – Tuukka Taponen (FIN/MP Motorsport) – 1:25.24
7th – Alessandro Giusti (FRA/MP Motorsport) – 1:25.028
8th – Bruno del Pino (ESP/Van Amersfoort) – 1:25.308
9th – Pedro Clerot (BRA/Rodin) – 1:25.129
10th – Noah Stromsted (NOR/Trident) – 1:25.332
11th – Gerrard Xie (CHN/DAMS) – 1:25.212
12th – Hyiu Yamakoshi (JAP/Van Amersfoort) – 1:25.352
13th – Maciej Gladysz (POL/ART Grand Prix) – 1:25.214
14th – Taiyto Kato (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 1:25.477
15th – Jin Nakamura (JAP/Hitech) – 1:25.271
16th – Louis Sharp (AUS/Prema) – 1:25.693
17th – Nicola Lacorte (ITA/DAMS) – 1:25.308
18th – Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (TAI/DAMS) – 1:25.878
19th – Christian Ho (SIN/Rodin) – 1:25.479
20th – Brad Benavides (AIX Racing) – 1:25.890
21st – Enzo Deligny (FRA/Van Amersfoort) – 1:25.480
22nd – Kanato Le (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 1:26.014
23rd – Yevan David (SRI/AIX Racing) – 1:25.520
24th – Matteo De Palo (ITA/Trident) – 1:26.208
25th – James Wharton (AUS/Prema) – 1:25.649
26th – José Garfias (MEX/Prema) – 1:26.293
27th – Mattia Colnaghi (ARG/MP Motorsport) – 1:25.919
28th – Fionn McLaughlin (IRL/Hitech) – 1:26.387
29th – Woohyun Shin (COR/Hitech) – 1:26.223
30th – Fernando Barrichello (BRA/AIX Racing) – 1:26.820
