After setting the pace in free practice, Callum Ilott remained the driver to beat during qualifying as the British racer took pole position for the first race of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship weekend at Pau.
With qualifying split in two due to the tight nature of the legendary Pau circuit, Ilott set the best time in the first of the two sessions with a 1:09.514s, which was comfortably enough for him to take top spot in his group.
The Prema Powerteam driver then watched as Group B took to the track, but no one was able to usurp his time, with Lando Norris setting the best time of 1:09.724s to top his session and thus join his fellow Briton on the front row for Carlin.
Championship leader Joel Eriksson will start third on the grid for Motopark, meaning the three drivers that have shared the race wins so far in 2017 start in the top three positions, with Maximilian Günther fourth for Prema Powerteam.
Joey Mawson was again the pick of the Van Amersfoort Racing quartet, with the Australian starting an excellent fifth, while Jake Dennis will start sixth but will be ruing a red flag during the Group B session, as he was setting a time that was more than two-tenths of a second faster than what he ultimately managed.
Guan Yu Zhou will start seventh for Prema Powerteam ahead of Hitech Grand Prix duo Jake Hughes and Nikita Mazepin, while Pedro Piquet completed the top ten for Van Amersfoort Racing.
Pau Race 1 Qualifying Results
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