Sainz leads MW Arden 1-2 in Spa qualifying

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP3 Media Service

Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has taken his first pole position in the GP3 series at Spa-Francorchamps, beating the time set by fellow Red Bull junior Daniil Kvyat in the early stages of the session.

Indeed, it was the Russian who went into he mid-session round of stops as the leader, pulling out a lap that was half-a-second quicker than the opposition’s efforts. While Sainz was effectively nowhere in the first part of the 30-minute shootout, he ended up quickest when it mattered, extracting the most from his car in favorable track conditions to secure pole position.

A slight improvement on his original benchmark time allowed Kvyat to take second, locking out an all-Arden front row. Another early session leader Jack Harvey was the top championship contender in third, set to share the second row with his teammate Conor Daly.

Points leader Tio Ellinas qualified in fifth place, ahead of Alex Fontana and Nick Yelloly. Koiranen’s Kevin Korjus was a realistic threat to Sainz in the closing stages of the race, but a very promising lap of his was undone when he got bogged down in traffic in the form of his teammate Aaro Vainio. As such, the Estonian had to settle for P8, with Facu Regalia and David Fumanelli rounding out the top ten.

Session results