MP Motorsport’s Felipe Drugovich took pole position under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in a qualifying session which saw three red flags.
The Brazilian driver drove “the lap of my life” in the closing moments of the thirty-minute session and will be starting alongside Trident’s Richard Verschoor in Sunday’s Feature Race.
Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan followed up his pole position in Bahrain the week before by setting the third fastest time of the session.
Last year’s Sprint Race 1 winner, Marcus Armstrong was at the top of the timing boards when the final red flag of the session came out with five minutes remaining. The Kiwi decided not to go back out once the session was restarted and dropped down to fourth place.
Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung ended the session is frustration after looking like the fastest driver on the circuit by far.
The Swiss driver set purple sector after purple sector on his hot laps but ran in a number of unfortunate events which led him to finish the session with the fifth fastest time on the grid.
Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
The first red flag of the session was brought out with eighteen minutes remaining after Théo Pourchaire’s engine caught fire. The ART Grand Prix driver suffered a heavy crash in qualifying which meant a rebuild on the rear end which was likely to be the cause of the fire.
This means the championship leader will start both races of the weekend from twenty-first position.
Carlin’s Liam Lawson will start Sunday’s race from sixth position, with Ayumu Iwasa and Calan Williams on the row behind after qualifying in seventh and eighth, respectively.
After pit-stop disappointment in Bahrain’s Feature Race for Jüri Vips, he fell foul to traffic at turn twenty-two in the dying moments of qualifying meaning the best position he could put himself in was ninth.
He’ll be starting on the front row of Saturday’s Sprint Race, alongside Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes who will be starting on pole after setting the tenth fastest time of the day.
Charouz Racing System’s Cem Bölükbasi was unable to take part in the qualifying session, after a nasty shunt in Practice bought him a trip to the hospital for check-ups.
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 11 | Felipe Drugovich | BRA | MP Motorsport | ||
| 2 | 20 | Richard Verschoor | NLD | Trident | ||
| 3 | 3 | Jack Doohan | AUS | Virtuosi Racing | ||
| 4 | 7 | Marcus Armstrong | NZL | Hitech Grand Prix | ||
| 5 | 15 | Ralph Boschung | CHE | Campos Racing | ||
| 6 | 5 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Carlin | ||
| 7 | 17 | Ayumu Iwasa | JPN | DAMS | ||
| 8 | 21 | Calan Williams | AUS | Trident | ||
| 9 | 8 | Jüri Vips | EST | Hitech Grand Prix | ||
| 10 | 24 | Jake Hughes | GBR | Van Amersfoort Racing | ||
| 11 | 1 | Dennis Hauger | NOR | PREMA Racing | ||
| 12 | 12 | Clément Novalak | FRA | MP Motorsport | ||
| 13 | 16 | Roy Nissany | ISR | DAMS | ||
| 14 | 4 | Marino Sato | JPN | Virtuosi Racing | ||
| 15 | 2 | Jehan Daruvala | IND | PREMA Racing | ||
| 16 | 22 | Enzo Fittipaldi | BRA | Charouz Racing System | ||
| 17 | 9 | Frederick Vesti | DNK | ART Grand Prix | ||
| 18 | 14 | Olli Caldwell | GBR | Campos Racing | ||
| 19 | 6 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Carlin | ||
| 20 | 25 | Amaury Cordeel | BEL | Van Amersfoort Racing | ||
| 21 | 10 | Théo Pourchaire | FRA | ART Grand Prix | ||
| 22 | 23 | Cem Bölükbasi | TUR | Charouz Racing System |