Jul 8

Jul 8 Leonardo Fornaroli tops blistering Formula 3 qualifying at Silverstone

Leonado Fornaroli was unbeatable as he took his maiden FIA Formula 3 pole position at Silverstone, leading the field in a frantic ending to the qualifying session.

Leonardo Fornaroli scored his maiden FIA Formula 3 pole position at Silverstone. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

His Trident teammate Oliver Goethe was second fastest after a late burst of pace, with Pepe Martí leading the charge for Campos Racing in third.

"I'm very happy," said Fornaroli.

"Silverstone is a track that I love and to take my first pole position here, it's special for me."

"Today I felt very comfortable with the car and also with the track. Also, thanks to Trident for the mega job they did, and to my family."

With the first representative laps complete it was Paul Aron at the top of the timing sheets with a lap of 1:46.191 in his #1 PREMA Racing car, soon headed off by Fornaroli as the field took to the track once again.

It was Fornaroli, Aron, and Gabriele Minì at the top as drivers stayed out for one final lap, as the Italian went fastest again despite a momentous shuffle in the order behind him.

"I think the key point for this weekend's qualifying was the preparation on the simulator," said the Trident driver.

"I think we did a mega job with my engineer, and also with my teammates and with the team manager."

"We work all together and as soon as I went on the track for free practice, I was feeling already very comfortable with everything and I think they key point was just the preparation on the simulator."

Leonardo Fornaroli on track during qualifying at Silverstone. *(Formula Motorsport Limited)*

The running order was changing with each river who crossed the line, with Goethe up into second ahead of the Campos pair of Pepe Martí and Christian Mansell, the Australian finishing with his best qualifying result of the season so far.

The teammates followed each other across the line to take third and fourth on the grid for Sunday's feature race.

Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto qualified fifth, with second-placed Martí ahead of him on the grid but bemoaning his performance.

"The session itself was quite bad," said the Spaniard.

"From my side, I think I made a lot of mistakes in the first run, so that put me a little bit out of position. Then, I think the pace of the second run was much better. I think I did a much better run and the lap was pretty nice."

"Also, we have to be optimistic and say that obviously we can fight for a good weekend and score good points, but at the same time Trident have done a really good job it seems."

Third-place in the championship standings, Dino Beganovic is tied with Martí on points, but faces a significant setback after an engine failure meant he did not set a lap in qualifying.

"It's a shame, we had a great pace in free practice, and it felt really good initially, but the engine had an issue on my first push lap,” said Beganovic.

“It will be about damage limitation this weekend, trying to recover some positions and hopefully grab some points in both races."

Aussies Hugh Barter and Tommy Smith were 14th and 22nd respectively, with American Maxwell Esterton making his debut and qualifying 24th for Rodin Carlin.

Hitech Pulse-Eight driver Sebastian Montoya will start alongside MP Motorsport's Jonny Edgar when the reverse-grid sprint race is underway at 6.20pm Saturday (AEST).

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2023 FIA Formula 3 Championship - Round 7 Silverstone Qualifying Result