Photo: Alastair Staley/GP3 Media Service
Red Bull junior Daniil Kvyat has taken his maiden pole position in the GP3 series, after he was in a league of his own in qualifying at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
While it was his teammate Carlos Sainz, Jr. who briefly flirted with the session lead early on, the Russian didn’t take long to rise to the top of the timesheets. As Kvyat enjoyed what was clearly superior pace in comparison to his opposition, the pole fight was soon entirely devoid of intrigue, and with a further improvement in the closing stages, the Russian ended up clearing his nearest rivals by more than 0.5s.
His Arden teammate Robert Visoiu impressed as well, putting in his best qualifying performance of the year to secure a front row start. Championship contender Tio Ellinas wasn’t among the main frontrunners for most of the 30 minutes, but in the end emerged with a crucial flying lap to put himself in P3.
Carlin drivers Alexander Sims and Nick Yelloly took fourth and fifth respectively, both enduring spins in the closing stages of the session. Sainz wound up sixth, ahead of the ART duo of Conor Daly and Facu Regalia, who will share the fourth row. Kevin Korjus and Lewis Williamson rounded out the top ten.
Session results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Daniil Kvyat | MW Arden | 1:36.933 | 14 | |
| 2 | Robert Visoiu | MW Arden | 1:37.444 | +0.511 | 15 |
| 3 | Tio Ellinas | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:37.526 | +0.593 | 14 |
| 4 | Alexander Sims | Carlin | 1:37.580 | +0.647 | 13 |
| 5 | Nick Yelloly | Carlin | 1:37.602 | +0.669 | 12 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz, Jr. | MW Arden | 1:37.619 | +0.686 | 15 |
| 7 | Conor Daly | ART Grand Prix | 1:37.708 | +0.775 | 11 |
| 8 | Facu Regalia | ART Grand Prix | 1:37.715 | +0.782 | 11 |
| 9 | Kevin Korjus | Koiranen GP | 1:37.723 | +0.790 | 13 |
| 10 | Lewis Williamson | Bamboo Engineering | 1:37.942 | +1.009 | 12 |
| 11 | Dino Zamparelli | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:37.991 | +1.058 | 14 |
| 12 | Jack Harvey | ART Grand Prix | 1:38.111 | +1.178 | 11 |
| 13 | Patric Niederhauser | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:38.113 | +1.180 | 13 |
| 14 | Adderly Fong | Status Grand Prix | 1:38.141 | +1.208 | 14 |
| 15 | Patrick Kujala | Koiranen GP | 1:38.388 | +1.455 | 13 |
| 16 | Giovanni Venturini | Trident | 1:38.419 | +1.486 | 15 |
| 17 | Melville Mckee | Bamboo Engineering | 1:38.450 | +1.517 | 12 |
| 18 | Luis Sa Silva | Carlin | 1:38.495 | +1.562 | 14 |
| 19 | Alex Fontana | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:38.522 | +1.589 | 12 |
| 20 | David Fumanelli | Trident | 1:38.566 | +1.633 | 12 |
| 21 | Aaro Vainio | Koiranen GP | 1:38.606 | +1.673 | 13 |
| 22 | Jimmy Eriksson | Status Grand Prix | 1:38.615 | +1.682 | 14 |
| 23 | Josh Webster | Status Grand Prix | 1:38.660 | +1.727 | 13 |
| 24 | Emanuele Zonzini | Trident | 1:38.934 | +2.001 | 14 |
| 25 | Ryan Cullen | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:39.312 | +2.379 | 13 |
| 26 | Samin Gomez | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:39.474 | +2.541 | 13 |
| 27 | Carmen Jorda | Bamboo Engineering | 1:40.218 | +3.285 | 14 |
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