Caio Collet will start from pole position in the FIA F3 feature race in Spa-Francoshamps, with Zak O’Sullivan starting on reverse grid pole for the sprint race on Saturday.
Every driver began the session on wet tires as the rain fell on the track.
As the drivers completed their first flying laps, Prema’s Oliver Bearmann topped the times with teammate Arthur Leclerc and Swiss driver Gregoire Saucy.
However, with just under 20 minutes left in the session, Red Bull junior Jak Crawford spun and was unable to get his Prema car going again, prompting a red flag and forcing the entire grid back into the pits.
When the session was green flagged and the drivers exited the pits, everyone was on slick tires. The drivers were struggling to get the tires up to temperature on a greasy track, but with just over 10 minutes of qualifying remaining, championship leader Isack Hadjar went top of the times with a 2:18.666 but was then swiftly overtaken by fellow Frenchman Victor Martins.
As the session progressed and the slick tires were getting up to temperature, Roman Stanek went top of the timing sheets with four minutes remaining, with an impressive 2:13.944.
However, despite improving his time, Stanek would finish the session in fifth, as Caio Collet took his first ever F3 pole position, as Zayn Maloney, Francesco Pizzi and Oliver Goethe made up the rest of the top 5.
Zak O’Sullivan finished the session in twelfth, meaning he will start Saturdays sprint race from the best seat in the house, with Juan Manuel Correa alongside him in second.
Qualifying spelled disappointment for the championship leaders, as Isack Hadjar finished twenty-third, only just ahead of rival Victor Martins.
