Two in a row for Victor Martins with Formula 2 pole at Silverstone
Victor Martins took pole in Silverstone to go two-from-two in the Formula 2 double-header.
Victor Martins took his third pole position of the FIA Formula 2 season at Silverstone. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
The French driver was on top when Amaury Cordeel spun off into the barriers, bringing out the red flag and stopping the session.
When running resumed the session was shortened to make time for barrier repairs in the gap before Formula 1 qualifying, leaving teams and drivers racing to find lap time with just eight minutes remaining.
Martins set a lap of 1:39.832 in the final minutes to take the top spot for Sunday's feature race ahead of Kush Maini and Ayumu Iwasa.
"It was another good day I would say," said the ART Grand Prix driver.
"Friday we’ve always been quick and always been fighting for pole position."
"Now I have three, two in a row from Austria and now.
"Honestly, we did a mega job today, the team also. I’ve had a great car since this morning and in qualifying was just all about getting a clean lap, getting there from the first push with the soft tyres and then waiting to see if I would have another opportunity or if there was traffic or yellow flags.
"Honestly it was quite a messy session, with yellow flags and double yellows and all those kinds of things and red flags, but we managed it well.
"We got up there from the first run and then were confident on the second one also, so it’s a nice feeling."
Victor Martins on track during Formula 2 qualifying at Silverstone. (Formula Motorsport Limited)
Ayumu Iwasa, then Ollie Bearman both went quickest in the final part of the session, before Martins returned to the top of the time sheets.
A final flurry of laps mixed up the order behind him, with Maini up to second and Iwasa only managing third-fastest on his final attempt.
Aussie Jack Doohan will start alongside him on the second row of the grid after qualifying fourth, with Frederik Vesti on pole for the reverse-grid sprint race on Saturday.
The FIA Formula 2 field returns to Silverstone for the sprint race at 10.10pm Saturday (AEST).
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2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship - Round 9 Britain Qualifying
- Victor Martins
- Kush Maini
- Ayumu Iwasa
- Jack Doohan (AUS)
- Ollie Bearman
- Enzo Fittipaldi
- Zane Maloney
- Theo Pourchaire
- Isack Hadar
- Frederik Vesti
- Roy Nissany
- Arthur Leclerc
- Jehan Daruvala
- Dennis Hauger
- Jak Crawford
- Roman Stanek
- Richard Verschoor
- Ralph Boschung
- Brad Benavides
- Clement Novalak
- Amaury Cordeel
- Juan Manuel Correa
