Photo: World Series by Renault
Reigning Eurocup champion Stoffel Vandoorne put in a stunning qualifying lap in wet conditions to top the qualifying for race one of the Formula Renault 3.5 season opener at Monza.
The majority of the 30-minute session saw Vandoorne battle it out with ISR teammates Sergey Sirotkin and Christopher Zanella for pole. With Vandoorne managing a massive improvement right before the red flag cut the session short, Sirotkin was forced to settle for second, while Zanella’s time was good enough for third.
Pre-season favourites Antonio Felix da Costa and Marco Sorensen started the session on slicks, which proved not viable. The Portuguese Red Bull junior managed to pull of the switch to wet tyres in time and salvaged the qualifying performance by taking fourth, while Sorensen ended up way at the back due to the ill-timed red flag.
Russian series veteran Daniil Move took fifth, ahead of compatriot Nikolay Martsenko. Another title challenger, Kevin Magnussen, spent most of the session in the top ten, settling for seventh in the end, ahead of Andre Negrao, Will Stevens and Oliver Webb.
Session Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Fortec Motorsports | 1:45.416 | 12 | |
| 2 | Sergey Sirotkin | ISR | 1:46.393 | 0.977 | 13 |
| 3 | Christopher Zanella | ISR | 1:47.042 | 1.626 | 11 |
| 4 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Arden Caterham | 1:47.051 | 1.635 | 12 |
| 5 | Daniil Move | SMP Racing by Comtec | 1:47.732 | 2.316 | 10 |
| 6 | Nikolay Martsenko | Pons Racing | 1:47.827 | 2.411 | 7 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | DAMS | 1:47.872 | 2.456 | 11 |
| 8 | Andre Negrao | International Draco Racing | 1:48.035 | 2.619 | 10 |
| 9 | Will Stevens | P1 Motorsport | 1:48.048 | 2.632 | 11 |
| 10 | Oliver Webb | Fortec Motorsports | 1:48.134 | 2.718 | 12 |
| 11 | Jazeman Jaafar | Carlin | 1:48.378 | 2.962 | 12 |
| 12 | Lucas Foresti | SMP Racing by Comtec | 1:48.621 | 3.205 | 11 |
| 13 | Norman Nato | DAMS | 1:48.668 | 3.252 | 11 |
| 14 | Carlos Huertas | Carlin | 1:48.711 | 3.295 | 12 |
| 15 | Mikhail Aleshin | Tech 1 Racing | 1:48.932 | 3.516 | 13 |
| 16 | Nico Muller | International Draco Racing | 1:49.049 | 3.633 | 12 |
| 17 | Pietro Fantin | Arden Caterham | 1:49.206 | 3.790 | 7 |
| 18 | Matias Laine | P1 Motorsport | 1:49.285 | 3.869 | 11 |
| 19 | Zoel Amberg | Pons Racing | 1:50.899 | 5.483 | 10 |
| 20 | Emmanuel Piget | Zeta Corse | 1:51.101 | 5.685 | 10 |
| 21 | Arthur Pic | AV Formula | 1:51.567 | 6.151 | 11 |
| 22 | Mihai Marinescu | Zeta Corse | 1:54.420 | 9.004 | 11 |
| 23 | Marlon Stockinger | Lotus | 1:54.823 | 9.407 | 11 |
| 24 | Marco Sorensen | Lotus | 1:55.589 | 10.173 | 11 |
| 25 | Yann Cunha | AV Formula | 1:58.694 | 13.278 | 11 |
| 26 | Nigel Melker | Tech 1 Racing | No Time Set | 11 |