Rosenqvist grabs Macau pole position

Felix Rosenqvist

Felix Rosenqvist (2:11.506 minutes) will be starting from pole position for tomorrow's ten lap qualifying race for the 61st running of the Macau Grand Prix. In second qualifying, in which 17 of the first 20 drivers managed to set faster lap times than in yesterday's first qualifying session, Rosenqvist moved up from his ninth place after yesterday's session to the top of the time sheets and thus claimed pole position for the Macau qualifying race.

"Early in the session, I did two laps, then came in to have four new tires on the car, and I did my fast lap all on my own," Rosenqvist reported.

"In fact, I was quite surprised that the gap was so big."

Indeed, the Swede was no less than 0.236 seconds faster than Esteban Ocon (SJM Theodore Racing by Prema, 2:11.742 minutes), the reigning FIA Formula 3 European Champion. Just with Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing, 2:11.747 minutes), who was classified third after qualifying, Ocon will be dropped two places on the grid for tomorrow's qualifying race for having failed to come in to have his car weighed in free practice yesterday.

Felix Rosenqvist

As a result, Ocon and Verstappen will be starting from fourth and fifth place respectively. That promoted Lucas Auer (kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport, 2:11.838 minutes) to second on the grid alongside Rosenqvist to lock out the front row for the Mucke Motorsport team. Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 2:11.922 minutes), who was fastest in yesterday's first qualifying and failed to post a faster time today, will be starting from third place.

Competing in the prestigious event in Macau for the fifth time, Rosenqvist clearly was the fastest driver at the 6.12 kilometers long Guia circuit on Friday. In the morning, he was first in free practice with 2:11.743 minutes, making him the only driver to post a sub-2:12 lap time. In second qualifying, the Swede doubled up by claiming pole position. The only blot on his copybook was a crash at Maternity in free practice in the lap after the one in which he set his fastest time.

"That was quite stupid, also because I lost two tires there, which is not very good for the weekend," Rosenqvist admitted. "But being on pole position makes me quite confident for tomorrow and Sunday. We know that the speed is there."

Second-fastest qualifier Esteban Ocon commented: "Today, things were going much better than yesterday. We finally found the speed. Of course, it is a pity that I will be dropped two places, but I am still starting from the second row and we all know that you can overtake in Macau." Ocon, who made an impressive Formula 3 debut with a top ten finish at Macau last year, is well aware of the significance of the event. "This is the one everybody wants to win, and the race so many great drivers have won in the past. It is the best race in the world."

Third in qualifying and fifth on the grid, Max Verstappen is the best-placed Macau rookie. "The circuit is really cool," the Dutchman commented. "Yesterday, I had some problems as the tires started overheating, but today, I was a able to run faster and faster and I am quite pleased with the result."

Austrian Lucas Auer wasn't too happy with his fourth fastest time: "I could have gone faster, but starting from the front row obviously is a good position and the performance of Felix and myself shows how strong we are as a team. Now, hopefully, we can convert that into good race results tomorrow and Sunday."

The qualifying race starts tomorrow at 13.45 hrs local time (6.45 hrs CET) and will determine the starting grid positions for the Sunday's main race, the Suncity Group Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix.

Lineup

POS NO DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME LAPS BEHIND
1 20 Felix ROSENQVIST SWE Kashbet.com by Mucke M.sport 2:11.506 14 0.000s
2 1 Esteban OCON FRA SJM Theodore Racing by Prema 2:11.742 15 0.236s
3 5 Max VERSTAPPEN NLD Van Amersfoort Racing 2:11.747 14 0.241s
4 19 Lucas AUER AUT Kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport 2:11.838 14 0.332s
5 17 Jordan KING GBR GR Asia with Carlin 2:11.953 16 0.447s
6 27 Nick CASSIDY NZL Three Bond with T-Sport 2:11.979 14 0.473s
7 14 Tom BLOMQVIST GBR Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2:12.013 13 0.507s
8 3 Nicholas LATIFI CAN SJM Theodore Racing by Prema 2:12.067 13 0.561s
9 28 Roberto MERHI ESP W66.com Double R Racing 2:12.129 14 0.623s
10 22 Markus POMMER DEU Motopark 2:12.259 15 0.753s
11 29 Stefano COLETTI MCO EuroInternational 2:12.429 8 0.923s
12 15 Antonio GIOVINAZZI ITA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2:12.436 15 0.930s
13 16 Sean GELAEL IDN Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2:12.524 16 1.018s
14 11 Alex PALOU ESP Fortec Motorsports 2:12.631 13 1.125s
15 23 Felix SERRALLES PRI Team West-Tec F3 2:12.952 16 1.446s
16 2 Antonio FUOCO ITA SJM Theodore Racing by Prema 2:13.066 15 1.560s
17 31 Will BULLER GBR Signature 2:13.255 14 1.749s
18 10 Santino FERRUCCI USA Fortec Motorsports 2:13.581 15 2.075s
19 18 Yu KANAMARU JPN Carlin 2:13.731 16 2.225s
20 9 Martin CAO CHN Fortec Motorsports 2:14.112 15 2.606s
21 21 Tatiana CALDERON COL JZR/ Mucke Motorsport 2:14.112 16 2.606s
22 26 Richard GODDARD AUS Three Bond with T-Sport 2:14.122 16 2.616s
23 7 Kenta YAMASHITA JPN Toms 2:14.471 15 2.965s
24 6 Gustavo MENEZES USA Van Amersfoort Racing 2:14.555 15 3.049s
25 30 Dan WELLS GBR Toda Racing 2:15.373 12 3.867s
26 12 Mitsunori TAKABOSHI JPN B-Max Racing Team 2:15.974 13 4.468s
27 25 CHANG Wing Chung MAC Team West-Tec F3 2:16.135 16 4.629s
28 8 Sam MACLEOD GBR Toms 2:16.859 11 5.353s

* Ocon and Verstappen have two-place penalties

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com