Victor Martins back in business, Doohan on pole in the rain

This will do the French driver good. After two difficult meetings in Austria and Hungary, Frenchman Victor Martins set the second qualifying time this Friday at Spa-Francorchamps, and thus boosted his confidence. Australian Jack Doohan, for his part, took the opportunity to score his first FIA pole Formula 3, despite difficult weather conditions. 

To achieve a good time in this session, it was better to get out early. And both men understood it. In this little game, it was Jack Doohan who was the smartest by setting the pole time on his first lap, before the rain intensified and reduced the competition's chances of beating him. Victor Martins (MP Motorsport) followed him on track by a few seconds and also managed to set a good time, as did his teammate Caio Collet, 4th. And since Spa is Spa, the sun ended up making an appearance in the second part of the session, improving grip on the track and almost returning it to the conditions at the start of the session. The Tricolore, who lit the first sector in purple at the end of the session, seemed to have been hampered by Fréderik Vesti (ART Grand Prix) and was unable to get pole. An investigation has also been opened. 

Hauger outside the Top 12

At the end of the session, certain drivers, like Alexander Smolyar (3rd) in particular, therefore improved and gained places. But no one was able to go after the Doohan-Martins duo. The other Frenchman Clément Novalak (Trident), fastest free practice contested this Friday morning, achieves the sixth fastest time and once again displays his consistency. We will also note the performance of Logan sargeant, 5th at the wheel of his Charouz, and Johnathan Hoggard, 9th with Jenzer Motorsport. 

The big surprise of this session concerns Prema. Since none of the three drivers managed to grab the top 12, synonymous with a reverse grid. Arthur Leclerc indeed failed in 13th position, just ahead of his teammate and championship leader Dennis Hauger. Olli Caldwell, for his part, could not do better than the 18th time. The opportunity for Doohan to regain points from the Norwegian, who as a reminder enjoys a lead of 63 points over the poleman of the day, is therefore very great. 

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