A slightly different qualifying layout from what we are used to seeing for Formula 3 this weekend. Due to the length of the Monza circuit, F3 qualifying was split into two groups again this year. The groups were established by whether a driver races with an even or odd number.

Trouble before the session starts

Disaster had already struck for championship contender Ugo Ugochukwu. During the final moments of practice, the driver made contact with Mateo De Palo. This was determined to be solely Ugo’s fault by the FIA stewards. Therefore, he will receive a five-place grid drop in both the sprint and the feature races in Monza. This set back meant qualifying was extremely important to get right to minimise the damage already done.

Group A

The even-numbered cars were the first to head out for qualifying in Italy. The first group had ten minutes on the clock, but we didn’t see cars on track until the final five minutes of the session. This meant that there was only time for most of the cars to complete one flying lap.

The jeopardy meant it was crucial to get your lap right. Unfortunately for Ugo, he made a mistake in turn 1, running wide and costing him time. The Campos driver was unable to go for a second lap and ended up 10th in Group A.

A few drivers managed to make it to the line before the chequered flag for a second flying lap. One of those drivers was Matteo De Palo. He made the most of this second opportunity and went fastest overall with a 1:38.143. A great comeback after the incident earlier in qualifying. He pipped Kanato Le to provisional pole by 0.020s.

After the session, the top 6 were: De Palo, Le, Kato, Yamakoshi, Barrichello, and Taponen.

Group B

Yet again, drivers in the odd-numbered group B decided to wait until the final minutes of the session to head out for their flying laps. With De Palo’s 1:38.143 to beat for pole, each driver’s single lap was vital to secure a good position in Monza.

Freddie Slater performed remarkably across his lap, storming to P1 in the group by two tenths over Lacorte in P2. His time of 1:38.114 also meant that he secured pole position for Sunday’s feature race ahead of his teammate in Trident, Matteo De Palo.

Ernesto Rivera took third in Group B ahead of Guisti, Colnaghi and Pedro Clerot, who rounded out the top 6.

For tomorrow’s reverse grid Sprint Race, it will be Tuuka Taponen who will start first alongside Clerot in the P2 slot.

The Formula 3 Sprint Race in Monza starts at 9:30 local time. Currently, only one point separates the top two in the drivers’ championship, but all of that can change this weekend.