Mick Schumacher takes Race 1 pole
PREMA Theodore Racing really played their A-game today in qualifying 1 for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship round at Misano. With a stellar overall performance in qualifying 1, the team placed four of its cars at the top end of the charts to lock out the two front rows for race 1.
Back from two wins in the previous rounds at Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, Mick Schumacher posted a stunning laptime to secure his second pole of the year. In an incredibly tight-knit pack of contenders, the top four were covered by just 8 hundreds of a second.
Kiwi rookie Marcus Armstrong ended up less than 0.02s away from his team-mate, while Chinese racer Guanyu Zhou was third by 0.07s after even having a potential P1 lap deleted for track limits. On top of that, Russian Robert Shwartzman ended up P4 confirming how competitive the team got in the home round. Despite finishing in P9, Ralf Aron was still less than three tenths adrift after leading the practice session.
Guanyu Zhou, Car #1
“It’s tough to see a pole lap time deleted. For me, it was on the limit, but deleted means deleted. Anyway, I managed to show a top-3 potential over the two laps which definitely means that we have great chances for the races and for qualifying 2.”
Mick Schumacher, Car #4
“It feels amazing to be on top in such an exciting qualifying session. Moreover, we confirmed our pace after winning in Silverstone, and we know we have everything it takes to continue on the same page in the races and for the rest of the weekend.”
Ralf Aron, Car #7
“It hasn’t been easy today as we struggled with set-up issues in qualifying after leading practice. Anyway, we are not far from the top we will try to maximize our results and then do our best in qualifying 2.”
Marcus Armstrong, Car #8
“To be honest, I would have liked to be on pole because the car was great and I felt good as well. I think that the whole package deserves the pole, but it’s close, so close. I’m happy anyway as the car it’s really good here at Misano and we have great potential for the races too.”
Robert Shwartzman, Car #10
“It has been a positive qualifying session as we were able to fight for the pole and ended up really close to it despite scoring the fourth place in the end. We now look forward to keeping the same momentum on race day.”
