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Mixed conditions in Silverstone saw surprising results for the Formula 3 drivers in Qualifying.
A tough session for championship leader Luke Browning saw him make an incredible last lap effort to take pole position ahead of American driver Max Esterton and Sami Meguetounif.
First laps, rain coming?
With the threat of rain at the Silverstone Circuit, the Formula 3 drivers were out on track for Qualifying as quickly as possible. Everyone knew that getting a banker lap in, especially if the track gets wet, would be crucial for this session.
The first driver to set a fast lap was ART Grand Prix’s Christian Mansell, putting down a lap time of 1:45.839. Right behind him was his teammate Laurens Van Hoepen, going second before Noel Leon took provisional pole and dropped him to third.
Championship leader Browning only managed to go sixth-fastest on his first lap. And sixth quickly turned into seventh, and then eighth, and soon Browning was dropped outside of the top 12.
Things fared differently for the driver who sits second in the standings, Gabriele Mini, who’s lap time put him second, behind Leon and ahead of Oliver Goethe and Dino Beganovic. But Mini was displaced not long after by rookie Alex Dunne, the Irish driver going just 0.07os slower than Leon.
Browning’s second lap put him just into the top 12, as American rookie Esterton went to fifth place on one of flying laps.
More rain
Drivers continued to improve, but with 17 minutes left on the clock, the rain began in earnest, and everyone starting making their way back to the pits.
Leon sat on provisional pole still, his second lap improving on his first time to stay in the top spot with a 1:45.475.
By the time there will 12 minutes left, all 30 drivers were in the pits, and it wasn’t clear whether the conditions would be good enough for anyone to improve. But that didn’t stop anyone from trying, several drivers venturing out onto the track to see if they could gain any positions.
But everyone headed out for a final lap towards the end of the session, and with just four minutes remaining, the improvements in lap time began.
Final laps
To the detriment of Leon, Arvid Lindblad took provisional pole on his final lap, before getting beaten to the top by Callum Voisin with a 1:45.397.
The improvements were only just starting, with Leonardo Fornaroli being the next driver to jump to the top spot. Then Browning, who had spent most of the session sitting outside the top 12, finally got into contention.
He set a lap time of 1:44.992, making him the first and only driver within the 1:44s range, and putting him on pole position. He was challenged by Esterton who was also improving, but the American came second just 0.045s off Browning’s pole time.
Trident’s Sami Meguetounif then qualified in third place, dropping Fornaroli to fourth where he ended the session. Van Hoepen completed the top five.
Charlie Wurz took sixth place ahead of Mansell, Nikola Tsolov, and Voisin. Matias Zagazeta finished tenth, with Lindblad and Leon completing the top 12.
Leon, who spent most of that qualifying session on pole position, will start on pole, but only for tomorrow’s Sprint Race.
Full results can be found here.
Feature Image Credit: Getty Images