Double pole for Max, P11 and P1 on the grid
Published on 11 October 2014 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen bounced back after a frustrating first race, by claiming pole position for both the second and third race of the penultimate FIA Formula 3 European Championship round at Imola. Unfortunately, The Dutchman must serve the last of his three 10-place grid penalties, incurred for an engine change, forcing him to start from eleventh in race 2. On top of that, he received a one-race suspended ban after colliding with Roy Nissany in race 1. Despite these set backs, the Red Bull protégé showed tenacity with a dominant performance in qualifying.
In the 20 minute qualifying session, Max is at front from the word go. His first flying lap takes him up to second. After half a dozen laps, Max sets an impressive 1:36.816, the fastest time of the day. With six minutes remaining, the session is red-flagged after Ed Jones loses control at turn five, Villeneuve. It is a severe crash but the Briton is able to get out of the wreck unaided. He was taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Race control decides it is too dark to resume the session and thus, Max' fastest laps remain at the top of the time tables, granting him a double pole.
“It went well from the start. The car felt a lot better than yesterday, something I noticed this morning in the race too. Hopefully I can have a good start and a clean first lap tomorrow. I want score a lot of points and I think we're capable to do well.” Due to his grid penalty, Blomqvist inherits the prime spot on the grid for race two ahead of championship leader Esteban Ocon and Antonio Giovinazzi. For the final race of the weekend, Verstappen junior will be on pole, followed by Ocon, Fuoco and Blomqvist.
Via Twitter and Facebook we will keep you updated throughout the weekend, followed by a full report on Verstappen.nl at the end of the day’s action.
The full schedule for the Imola Euro F3 round can be found here.
Furthermore, you can follow Max via the official live timing and the livestream (races only).
FIA Formula 3 European Championship Round 10 – Imola - Day 2, Saturday 11 October:
Results race 1
Results qualifying 2
Results qualifying 3 (race 3 grid)
