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Qualifying report

F3 Monza: Smolyar takes pole as Hadjar crashes out of qualifying

Alexander Smolyar took pole position for the final FIA Formula 3 round of the season at Monza, with Isack Hadjar crashing out in a blow to his title hopes. 

Alexander Smolyar, MP Motorsport

Alexander Smolyar, MP Motorsport

Formula Motorsport Ltd

The MP Motorsport driver leapt up from 24th place to snatch provisional pole with three minutes remaining, setting a 1m37.559s to take the front spot for Sunday’s feature race.  

Zane Maloney took second for Trident, less than 0.05s behind Smolyar, with teammate Roman Stanek in third. 

Heartbreak came for Hadjar halfway through the session, touching the white line at Parabolica before drifting across the track and across the gravel before hitting the wall. 

The Hitech driver had set a purple second sector when he came off, destroying his hopes of taking pole to close the five-point gap to Martins. He will start 16th on Sunday. 

Gregoire Saucy was first to put a time on the board for ART, setting a 1m43.086s before he was quickly demoted by teammate Juan Manuel Correa. 

Stanek then took the top spot, setting a 1m38.431s, with Hadjar slotting into second behind him, while Martins messed up on his first attempt and was forced to go around the bollards at Turn 1. 

Arthur Leclerc was second-fastest on his next attempt with a 1m38.492s, before Stanek, Jonny Edgar and fellow title contender Zane Maloney went faster. 

Stanek then improved to a 1m38.107s for provisional pole, while Maloney and Leclerc were third and fourth respectively, with Ollie Bearman in sixth and Martins in 10th. 

Hadjar’s crash then prompted a red flag while his Red Bull liveried Hitech was removed from the gravel as he looked on distraught. 

As racing resumed, Bearman was next to improve, a 1m38.107s putting him less than 0.1s behind provisional polesitter Stanek. 

The traffic characteristic to qualifying at Monza began with seven minutes remaining, with several drivers opting to head back into the pits rather than immediately embarking on a flying lap. 

The times then began to tumble as Caio Collet went up to fourth, before Smolyar took provisional pole with a 1m37.559s having been running in 24th.  

Martins then went second-quickest, with  a 1m37.888s, before Prema’s Jak Crawford and Leclerc demoted him, though Crawford had his time deleted. 

Championship leader Victor Martins took fourth for ART, with Leclerc in fifth and Bearman in sixth. 

William Alatalo, Crawford and Correa took seventh, eighth and ninth places. 

Collet will start on pole for Saturday’s reverse grid sprint race, with Pepe Marti in second and Edgar in third. 

F3 Monza - Qualifying results:

Cla # Driver Team Time Gap
1 11 Russian Federation Alexander Smolyar
Netherlands MP Motorsport 1'37.559
2 3 Barbados Zane Maloney
Italy Trident 1'37.606 0.047
3 2 Czech Republic Roman Staněk
Italy Trident 1'37.750 0.191
4 7 France Victor Martins
France ART Grand Prix 1'37.774 0.215
5 4 Monaco Arthur Leclerc
Italy Prema Powerteam 1'37.945 0.386
6 6 United Kingdom Oliver Bearman
Italy Prema Powerteam 1'37.960 0.401
7 25 Finland William Alatalo
Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 1'38.023 0.464
8 5 United States Jak Crawford
Italy Prema Powerteam 1'38.031 0.472
9 9 United States Juan Manuel Correa
France ART Grand Prix 1'38.035 0.476
10 1 United Kingdom Jonny Edgar
Italy Trident 1'38.109 0.550
11 22 Spain Josep Maria Martí
Spain Campos Racing 1'38.182 0.623
12 10 Brazil Caio Collet
Netherlands MP Motorsport 1'38.224 0.665
13 29 Argentina Franco Colapinto
Netherlands Van Amersfoort Racing 1'38.283 0.724
14 17 United States Kaylen Frederick
United Kingdom HitechGP 1'38.444 0.885
15 8 Switzerland Gregoire Saucy
France ART Grand Prix 1'38.488 0.929
16 18 France Isack Hadjar
United Kingdom HitechGP 1'38.498 0.939
17 26 United Kingdom Zak O'Sullivan
United Kingdom Carlin 1'38.500 0.941
18 20 Spain David Vidales
Spain Campos Racing 1'38.673 1.114
19 30 Mexico Rafael Villagomez
Netherlands Van Amersfoort Racing 1'38.682 1.123
20 16 Italy Francesco Pizzi
Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 1'38.814 1.255
21 27 United States Brad Benavides
United Kingdom Carlin 1'38.866 1.307
22 31 Japan Reece Ushijima
Netherlands Van Amersfoort Racing 1'38.915 1.356
23 21 Hunter Yeany
Spain Campos Racing 1'39.105 1.546
24 23 Israel Ido Cohen
Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 1'39.122 1.563
25 28 Italy Enzo Trulli
United Kingdom Carlin 1'39.162 1.603
26 24 Italy Federico Malvestiti
Switzerland Jenzer Motorsport 1'39.648 2.089
27 19 Malaysia Nazim Azman
United Kingdom HitechGP 1'39.800 2.241
28 12 India Kush Maini
Netherlands MP Motorsport 1'40.008 2.449
29 14 Hungary László Tóth
Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 1'40.317 2.758
30 15 Alessandro Famularo
Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 1'40.860 3.301

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