Tom Dillmann took pole position for the GP3 Series curtain raiser at Istanbul for Carlin, denying Status GP driver Alexander Sims by just 0.029 seconds.
Early in the session Sims traded places at the top of the timesheets with fellow title favourites Valtteri Bottas (ART) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Status).
Free practice pacesetter Nigel Melker was the first to stop for fresh tyres, and immediately went top in his Mucke car. As the rest of the field switched to new rubber, Sims went second quickest, ahead of Dillmann and Bottas.
Lewis Williamson then went quickest for MW Arden, but he was displaced by fellow Brit Sims towards the end of the session. He didn't stay there for long though, as Dillmann stole pole position.
Sims and Williamson maintained second and third places, but Williamson was later given a grid penalty for crossing the white line at the pit lane exit. As he commited the offence twice, he was given two three-place penalties, dropping him to ninth.
This promoted Andrea Caldarelli to third for Tech 1, with Melker ending up fourth. Bottas will share the third row of the grid with teammate James Calado. Michael Christensen and Mitch Evans qualified seventh and eighth for ART and Arden respectively, with Williamson and Nico Muller (Jenzer) rounding out the top ten for the Race 1 grid.
Qualifying session results:
| Pos | Driver | Entrant | Time | Gap |
| 1 | Tom Dillmann | Carlin | 1:45.391 | |
| 2 | Alexander Sims | Status Grand Prix | 1:45.420 | 0.029 |
| 3 | Lewis Williamson | MW Arden | 1:45.529 | 0.138 |
| 4 | Andrea Caldarelli | Tech 1 Racing | 1:45.534 | 0.143 |
| 5 | Nigel Melker | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:45.541 | 0.150 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Lotus ART | 1:45.624 | 0.233 |
| 7 | James Calado | Lotus ART | 1:45.641 | 0.250 |
| 8 | Michael Christensen | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:45.652 | 0.261 |
| 9 | Mitch Evans | MW Arden | 1:45.668 | 0.277 |
| 10 | Nico Muller | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.672 | 0.281 |
| 11 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Status Grand Prix | 1:45.702 | 0.311 |
| 12 | Dean Smith | Addax Team | 1:45.773 | 0.382 |
| 13 | Rio Haryanto | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:45.825 | 0.434 |
| 14 | Simon Trummer | MW Arden | 1:45.955 | 0.564 |
| 15 | Gabriel Chaves | Addax Team | 1:45.963 | 0.572 |
| 16 | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:45.977 | 0.586 |
| 17 | Marlon Stockinger | Atech CRS GP | 1:45.071 | 0.680 |
| 18 | Dominic Storey | Addax Team | 1:46.071 | 0.727 |
| 19 | Nick Yelloly | Atech CRS GP | 1:46.118 | 0.802 |
| 20 | Pedro Nunes | Lotus ART | 1:46.193 | 0.802 |
| 21 | Luciano Bacheta | RSC Mucke Motorsport | 1:46.193 | 0.836 |
| 22 | Zoel Amberg | Atech CRS GP | 1:46.227 | 0.868 |
| 23 | Ivan Lukashevich | Status Grand Prix | 1:46.259 | 0.885 |
| 24 | Tamas Pal Kiss | Tech 1 Racing | 1:46.276 | 0.935 |
| 25 | Matias Laine | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:46.326 | 0.948 |
| 26 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.339 | 1.013 |
| 27 | Maxim Zimin | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.404 | 1.098 |
| 28 | Leonardo Cordeiro | Carlin | 1:46.489 | 1.280 |
| 29 | Conor Daly | Carlin | 1:46.671 | 1.297 |
| 30 | Aaro Vainio | Tech 1 Racing | 1:45.391 | 0.029 |
