Provisional Macau GP pole for Carlin’s Da Costa

Carlin’s Antonio Felix da Costa has taken a great provisional pole position in this afternoon’s qualifying session for the Macau Grand Prix in his Volkswagen powered Dallara Formula Three car. After a fast paced first qualifying session it was the Red Bull Junior driver who came out on top with team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr close behind in third position. Felipe Nasr had another strong session however made slight contact with the wall on his final flying lap to qualify sixth while Daniel Abt, who had been suffering with illness all day, qualified in 11th position. William Buller ended the session in 15th while Jack Harvey qualified 18th after suffering with a steering issue during the session.

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