GP3 Series points leader Alexander Albon took his second pole of the season around Hockenheim. The Thai driver beat his team-mate Charles Leclerc by eight-hundredths of a second, with the bonus points for pole position giving Albon a seven point lead heading into the weekend’s races.
Antonio Fuoco didn’t start the session in the best of moods after complaining about a set-up issue, before being called in for scrutineering. Meanwhile championship rival Leclerc went top as the drivers set their initial time.
It wasn’t long before Albon moved to the top of the standings as the track temperature increased. Behind him the field sorted out their positions, eventually diving into the pits. With a fairly clear race track, Matt Parry took the opportunity to one-up Albon and go top.
The second half the session saw drivers struggling under the pressure. Jake Dennis, Leclerc and Nirei Fukuzumi initially made a mistake, though Dennis returned on the following lap to take provisional pole. As his rivals struggled under pressure, Albon retook pole with two minutes to run.
Despite his mistake, Leclerc found space for another run, though it wasn’t enough to beat Albon who took his second pole position of the season. With both ART Grand Prix title contenders on the front row, the field set themselves up for an exciting encounter later this afternoon.
Behind them, Dennis was third after being pushed off the front row by the Monegasque driver, as Nyck De Vries was fourth. After a disastrous start to the session, Fuoco recovered to take fifth from early leader Parry, with Fukuzumi and Alex Palou rounding out the top eight.
2016 GP3 Series Hockenheim Qualifying Results
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