Nael pips Campos team-mate Ugochukwu to Melbourne F3 pole

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Theophile Nael narrowly beat Campos Racing team-mate Ugo Ugochukwu to claim the first FIA Formula 3 pole position of the year in Melbourne.

Ugochukwu had led the session from his first flying lap, maintaining the same 0.4-second margin over the field that he had in free practice with Trident’s Noah Stromsted and Freddie Slater his nearest rivals. Nael meanwhile didn’t have a time on the board, losing his first effort to a track limits offence.

With 10 minutes elapsed, the third Trident driver Matteo de Palo ran wide and into the barriers at Turn 10 to trigger a red flag.

After the restart, Ugochukwu would have a wide moment in the same place while running close up behind Nael, and broke his front wing after collecting the marker board for Formula 1’s straight mode.

Even after having a new front wing fitted, Ugochukwu could not improve his time on his final run at the end of the session. Slater meanwhile set a fastest first sector and looked like he could claim top spot, only to fall 0.061s short of Ugochukwu’s benchmark.

It therefore looked like Ugochukwu could hold on but Nael had one last attempt at the chequered flag and managed to snatch pole by just 0.021s.

ART Grand Prix’s F3 debutants Maciej Gladysz and Taito Kato shone to claim fourth and seventh, with another newcomer Mattia Colnaghi taking sixth for MP Motorsport. DAMS driver Nicola Lacorte slotted into fifth late on.

James Wharton was at one stage second to Ugochukwu and wound up eighth with Brando Badoer ninth for Rodin Motorsport and Stromsted taking 10th. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny and Bruno del Pino were 11th and 12th, locking out the front row of the reversed grid for Saturday’s sprint race.

Qualifying results