Antonio Giovinazzi was delighted to secure his maiden GP2 Series pole position during just his third qualifying session since moving into the championship, and at the same time securing his first points of the season.
The Italian took his Prema Racing machine to the top of the timing screens early in the session, and despite a strong attack from the ART Grand Prix team, was able to secure top spot with a lap of 1:51.752, just 0.089 seconds clear of Nobuharu Matsushita.
Giovinazzi is now hopeful of converting his first pole into his first win around the Baku Street Circuit during Saturday’s Feature race, although he will be hoping to finally finish inside the points after two disappointing weekends in Spain and Monaco so far in 2016.
“It is really exciting for me to score my first pole position here at Baku because it’s a street course and also a new track for everybody,” said Giovinazzi. “I’d say that today’s lap was perfect.
“I touched the wall on my first attempt, but then I managed to put it all back together in the second one. I want to thank Prema, for their stunning job, as well as our sponsor Jagonya Ayam. I hope to repeat the same result tomorrow in race 1”.
