Franco Colapinto has taken pole for Van Amersfoort Racing on the debuts for both driver and team in FIA Formula 3 in Bahrain.
Gregoire Saucy set the pace in the first 10 minutes of the half-hour session with a 1’46.978, becoming the first driver to get below a 1’47 lap time.
Saucy held on to the top of the times until, with 12 minutes to go, Alexander Smolyar set a 1’46.642, beating Saucy’s time by more than three tenths. The Russian driver has returned to the series as a neutral competitor for 2022, and is driving a largely black car unlike his MP team mates Caio Collet and Kush Maini.
Concerned Prema mechanics were seen removing the bodywork of Jak Crawford’s car as fluid leaked from it across the pit lane. He re-emerged from the pits in the final minutes having missed crucial laps.
Meanwhile Colapinto played himself in steadily: Over his first seven laps his best time was a 1’58.252. However, in the final minutes of the session Colapinto found remarkable pace, leaping to…