Esteban Ocon claims further pole positions in Moscow

In second qualifying of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, the 17-year old Lotus Formula 1 junior driver claimed pole position for the 20th season round and the best starting grid position for race 21. Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam), Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) and Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing) ended up second to fourth in the classification of the fastest lap times. In the ranking of the second-fastest lap times, the order behind Ocon (Prema Powerteam) was Blomqvist, Verstappen and Fuoco. For Ocon, the current FIA Formula 3 European Championship points’ leader, his pole positions were the ninth and tenth of the season.

Starting grid race 2:

Just like in first qualifying, Esteban Ocon (1:27.650 minutes) waited quite long before starting his first attack at pole position. Only eight minutes before the end, he started a fast lap that brought him up from 19th to first place. In the remainder of the session, the Frenchman held on to this position. Two minutes after Ocon’s fastest time, his Italian team-mate Antonio Fuoco (1:27.956 minutes), a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, also upped the ante and improved to second. Later on, Tom Blomqvist (1:27.956 minutes) set the identical lap time as Fuoco, but as he did so after the Italian, he remained third. Max Verstappen (1:28.178 minutes) ended up fourth from Lucas Auer (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:28.194 minutes) and Jordan King (Carlin, 1:28.319 minutes).

Starting grid race 3

In the ranking of the second-fastest lap, the basis for the starting grid positions for the third race, again, nobody was faster than Esteban Ocon (1:28.098 minutes). Tom Blomqvist (1:28.154 minutes) claimed second place from Max Verstappen (1:28.250 minutes) and Antonio Fuoco (1:28.357 minutes). On Sunday afternoon, the two Carlin team-mates Jordan King (1:28.470 minutes) and Jake Dennis (Carlin, 1:28.479 minutes) will line up on the third row of the grid.

Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam): “Qualifying went well, although it wasn’t a perfect lap as I did in first qualifying. This time, I made a few minor errors, but it was still enough to claim both pole positions. I like tracks such as Moscow Raceway with sequences of many corners. I reckon that the start will again be decisive in both races tomorrow. When I manage to do well both times and I can slightly save my tyres, things should be looking quite good for me.”

FIA F3