Smolyar claimes maiden F3 pole in wet Hungary qualifying

Aleksandr Smolyar sealed his maiden FIA Formula 3 pole position during a wet qualifying session in Hungary.

The 30-minute qualifying session had been rescheduled for a later slot on Friday after the first attempt to run the session earlier in the day was suspended following a red-flag period with drivers aquaplaning off the circuit amid treacherous conditions.

When qualifying did eventually run, it was ART Grand Prix driver Smolyar who pipped Prema’s Logan Sergeant as the duo traded fastest laps in what was a thrilling conclusion to the rain-hit session.

Smolyar’s best lap of a 1m51.348s proved enough for him to claim pole, two-tenths clear of Sargeant and his ART GP teammate Theo Pourchaire in third.

Frederik Vesti was fourth-fastest for Prema, ahead of Calan Williams, who rose up to secure fifth on the grid for the weekend’s opening race with a late improvement.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri could only manage P6 after lapping slowest out of the three Prema drivers, ahead of Sebastian Fernandez and Richard Vershoor, who was a second off the pace in eighth for MP Motorsport.

Rounding out the top were Bent Viscaal and Red Bull junior Denis Hauger in his Hitech Grand Prix machine.

Fellow Red Bull junior and Hitech teammate Liam Lawson was a lowly 11th, with Olli Caldwell and Max Fewtrell also missing out on a top 10 starting spot in P12 and P13.

Practice pacesetter David Beckmann was only 14th fastest for Trident.

FULL RESULTS FROM FIA FORMULA 3 QUALIFYING FROM THE HUNGARORING IN HUNGARY. 

POLE FOR SMOLYAR!@AlexSmolyar1 aces the conditions and takes his first pole position for @ARTGP in Formula 3! #HungarianGP #F3 pic.twitter.com/Q464sgAgOt

— Formula 3 (@FIAFormula3) July 17, 2020