Austria – First pole for Hadjar, Martins accompanies him on the first row

We take the same and start again. After their double in the Sprint Race at Silverstone, Isack Hadjar (Hitech GP) and Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) offered a new double in F3 to France. Impressive since the start of the season, the first city finally saw its efforts rewarded in qualifying, perhaps the last detail that remained to be resolved.

Recent comments from Helmut Marko, in charge of driver development for the Red Bull Junior Team, to AUTOhebdo seem to have given wings to Isack Hadjar. Often praised for his consistency and his intelligence on the track, the Ile-de-France native proved his supporters right. If he was discreet during the first run with the 13th fastest time, the member of the Austrian team's academy made everyone agree during the last where he showed off his talent.

Coming out of the pit lane among the first, Isack Hadjar took advantage of an excellent track position to avoid any disruption in traffic, thus giving himself a clean lap. Winning bet. After putting the tires in the correct temperature window, the driver Red Bull confirmed on the finish line with the best time in 1'19″759. A performance which allowed him to dislodge his compatriot and friend Victor Martins, until now in control of the qualifying session.

Victor Martins could have responded immediately but the stop on the track by Zdenek Chovanek (Charouz) and the appearance of the red flag in the final moments forced him to take his foot off, thus losing all hope of a first pole position in F3. Under the checkerboard and angry at the bad luck which struck him once again at the best of times, the ART Grand Prix driver ranked 2nd, 2 tenths behind Isack Hadjar and just ahead of Oliver Bearman (Prema). The latter, however, risks losing his 3rd position after a dangerous send-off on track by his team which ended with contact with Zak O'Sullivan (Carlin) in the pit lane.

A situation that could benefit his teammate Arthur Leclerc. Fourth in the session, the Monegasque could take advantage of a possible penalty on Oliver Bearman's grid to gain a place for the Main Race this Sunday. It remains to be seen whether management will now opt for a sporting or only financial sanction...

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