ART supreme again in F2 qualifying: now Martins claims pole

ART Grand Prix has once again dominated qualifying in Formula 2. This time Victor Martins was no less than six tenths faster than the competition, with Theo Pourchaire finishing on P3. Only Oliver Bearmann, on behalf of Prema, managed to split the pair from the French racing stable.

After a first set of fast laps, it was Arthur Leclerc and Victor Martins who topped the timesheet. The fastest man of the free practice session, Oliver Bearmann, was also quick off the mark in third place. However, the session was interrupted by a red flag caused by Richard Verschoor.

ART dominates again

The Dutchman lost control of his car in the fast corner combination and got into a spin. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver stayed out of the wall, but did have his car stalled. This did put an end to Verschoor's qualifying, who had had only the 13th fastest time at that point.

After the break, the drivers dived onto the track one more time, and just like in Bahrain, it was an ART party. This time it is Martins who did the fastest time, a whopping seven tenths faster than number two Bearmann. Theo Pourchaire closed in on P3, after which the drivers make one more attempt on the same tyre. This brought Bearmann to within six tenths of Martins, just before a second red flag. This time, it was Leclerc who sidesteped his car, leaving no one able to complete faster time.

As a result, the starting grid for the main race on Sunday is clear. Martins, Bearman and Pourchaire are followed by Jack Doohan, Jehan Daruvala and Ayumu Iwasa. Further in the top ten are Frederik Vesti, Kush Maini, Ralph Boschung and Jak Crawford. Verschoor drops to P20.