Provisional Macau GP pole for Carlin’s Da Costa
Following a strong first practice session this morning, which saw Nasr as the pacesetter, the cars took to the track this afternoon for Qualifying 1 ahead of the Macau Grand Prix. Nasr was once again quick during the opening laps however he had Da Costa and Sainz looking racy behind him as the times fell and the serious battles for position began.
With the time ticking down Sainz and Nasr began swapping places at the top and by the mid-way point it was Spaniard Sainz who had the upper hand while Da Costa was also lying in the top 10 waiting to make his move. Buller meanwhile was also having a solid run, re-familiarizing himself with the track and making his way up the time sheets.
For Abt, who had been very feeling unwell all day, the session was a difficult one; however despite his illness he was comfortably running within the top ten before a red flag, following a crash for Andrea Roda, brought proceedings to a stop with just six minutes left on the clock.
As everyone made their way back out on track there was very little time to complete a flying lap. Unfortunately Nasr brushed the wall on his final lap which ended his session prematurely and although he sustained very little damage, the contact ruined his final lap meaning he provisionally lines up in sixth place for Saturday’s qualifying race.
Abt continued to drive well despite feeling ill; qualifying just outside of the top ten in 11th, while Buller, who had also tapped the wall during his final lap, placed his car in 15th position overall. Unfortunately for Harvey a steering problem meant that he was unable to get the most out of his session – provisionally qualifying in 18th.
Having taken provisional pole Da Costa said, ‘It’s obviously really great to get provisional pole but tomorrow is another day where everything could change. The weather could play its part but we’ll just have to take it as it comes.
‘The track got quicker as the session went on and I was able to get my lap in at the end at the perfect time. I feel in tune with the car and I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of the weekend brings us.’
Results
Pos | Driver | Team/Car | Time | Behind |
1. | Antonio Felix da Costa | Carlin Dallara-VW | 2m13.400s | +0.000s |
2. | Felix Rosenqvist | Mucke Dallara-Mercedes | 2m13.420s | +0.020s |
3. | Carlos Sainz Jr | Carlin Dallara-VW | 2m13.421s | +0.021s |
4. | Alex Lynn | Fortec Dallara-Mercedes | 2m13.718s | +0.318s |
5. | Daniel Juncadella | Prema Dallara-Mercedes | 2m13.800s | +0.400s |
6. | Felipe Nasr | Carlin Dallara-VW | 2m14.076s | +0.676s |
7. | Alexander Sims | T-Sport Dallara-Nissan | 2m14.085s | +0.685s |
8. | Raffaele Marciello | Prema Dallara-Mercedes | 2m14.266s | +0.866s |
9. | Felix Serralles | Fortec Dallara-Mercedes | 2m14.366s | +0.966s |
10. | Pascal Wehrlein | Mucke Dallara-Mercedes | 2m14.397s | +0.997s |
11. | Daniel Abt | Carlin Dallara-VW | 2m14.433s | +1.033s |
12. | Tom Blomqvist | Euro International Dallara-VW | 2m14.798s | +1.398s |
13. | Pipo Derani | Fortec Dallara-Mercedes | 2m14.819s | +1.419s |
14. | Hannes van Asseldonk | Prema Dallara-Mercedes | 2m14.837s | +1.437s |
15. | Will Buller | Carlin Dallara-VW | 2m14.855s | +1.455s |
16. | Harry Tincknell | Fortec Dallara-Mercedes | 2m14.975s | +1.575s |
17. | Jazeman Jaafar | TOM's Dallara-Toyota | 2m15.200s | +1.800s |
18. | Jack Harvey | Carlin Dallara-VW | 2m15.562s | +2.162s |
19. | Sven Muller | Prema Dallara-Mercedes | 2m15.625s | +2.225s |
20. | Kevin Korjus | Double R Dallara-Mercedes | 2m15.768s | +2.368s |
21. | Jimmy Eriksson | Double R Dallara-Mercedes | 2m16.062s | +2.662s |
22. | Hideki Yamauchi | B-Max Dallara-Toyota | 2m16.461s | +3.061s |
23. | Mitchell Gilbert | Mucke Dallara-Mercedes | 2m16.714s | +3.314s |
24. | Lucas Auer | Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW | 2m16.845s | +3.445s |
25. | Lucas Wolf | URD Dallara-Mercedes | 2m17.672s | +4.272s |
26. | Yuichi Nakayama | TOM'S Dallara-Toyota | 2m17.705s | +4.305s |
27. | Luis Sa Silva | Angola Dallara-Mercedes | 2m18.004s | +4.604s |
28. | Andrea Roda | Jo Zeller Dallara-Mercedes | 2m18.140s | +4.740s |
29. | Dennis van de Laar | Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW | 2m19.335s | +5.935s |
30. | Ryo Hirakawa | RSS Dallara-Toyota | No Time | No Time |