Hegewald takes stunning pole for Race One at Spa
The German, who has topped every session so far in Spa, set his best time of 2:08.890s shortly after a red flag period to recover Sebastian Hohenthal's stricken car from the top of Eau Rouge.
Spaniard Andy Soucek, who has an excellent record at Spa, was second, with Canadian Robert Wickens in third – both drivers also setting their time in the final half of the session.
Julien Jousse held provisional pole prior to the red flag, but the Frenchman failed to improve in the latter stages and had to settle for fourth. Kazim Vasiliauskas took fifth, with Henry Surtees sealing an impressive day by securing sixth on the grid.
Milos Pavlovic and Alex Brundle rounded out the top eight ahead of Jolyon Palmer, who enjoyed his best qualifying performance of the season in ninth, with Philipp Eng completing the top ten.
Mikhail Aleshin didn't take part in the session following damage sustained in an earlier free practice crash.
Tobias Hegewald said: "I'm really happy with today. I tried my best to do a good lap and I didn't make any mistakes, so it has been a good day for me. After the red flag I was worried that I had wasted my new tires, and I tried to save them as best as I could on the way back to the pits. After the red though I think the track was in perfect condition. It's my favorite circuit and I love driving here, so I'm really happy to be starting from pole tomorrow – hopefully I can finish where I start!"
Andy Soucek said: "After free practice I was a bit disappointed – it's the first time I've been to Spa and not been in the top five. We made a few changes for qualifying and the new rubber made a massive difference which we hadn't expected, so that was a nice surprise. I have a good position for tomorrow, and with Bortolotti and Aleshin down the order there is a chance to score some valuable points. It's all about leaving Spa with at least a top three so I can go into the next round with good points in my pocket."
Robert Wickens said: "After the weekend I had in Brno I'm just glad to be back in a press conference! I got caught out a little by the red flag, and then my next lap had the potential to be better until I caught traffic, so I'm a little disappointed. However a top three is still good for the race tomorrow, and I'll be treating the race as if it were my last – points are so critical, and in the end it could be one point that decides the champion. I'm hoping to pounce on this opportunity to score, especially as some of my championship opponents are starting down the grid."
Qualifying One results:
1. Tobias Hegewald, 2:08.890s
2. Andy Soucek, +0.091s
3. Robert Wickens, +0.375s
4. Julien Jousse, +0.559s
5. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.923s
6. Henry Surtees, +1.435s
7. Milos Pavlovic, +1.529s
8. Alex Brundle, +1.597s
9. Jolyon Palmer, +1.631s
10. Philipp Eng, +1.854s