Nael leads Campos 1-2 in dramatic F3™ Melbourne qualifying

Théophile Nael took the first Aramco Pole Position Award of the season, narrowly beating his Campos Racing teammate Ugo Ugochukwu to take P1 in a dramatic qualifying session for the FIA Formula 3™ championship. With his final lap of the day, the French driver completed a 1:34.187 to edge out Ugochukwu by just 0.021s.

This result secures a front-row lockout for the Spanish squad for Sunday’s Feature Race, with TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater qualifying in third. For the home fans, the session provided plenty of tension as Melbourne-native James Wharton and late call-up Patrick Heuzenroeder took to the track.

Wharton, driving for PREMA Racing, showed significant pace early in the session. Following a red flag period caused by Matteo De Palo hitting the barrier at Turn 10, Wharton surged up the timing screens to sit in second place.

As the track evolved and drivers moved onto their final sets of fresh tires, Wharton ended the session in a solid eighth position with a 1:34.621. Patrick Heuzenroeder, making his category debut this weekend as a substitute at Campos Racing, found the steep learning curve of the Albert Park street circuit challenging.

He finished the session in 24th position with a 1:35.156. The session was far from straightforward for the leaders, as Ugochukwu suffered front wing damage after hitting a polystyrene board during his second run.

Despite a quick wing change in the pitlane, he was unable to improve on his final attempt, opening the door for Nael to snatch the top spot in the dying seconds. Other notable performances included Nicola Lacorte, who climbed to fifth for DAMS Lucas Oil, and the Van Amersfoort Racing duo of Enzo Deligny and Bruno del Pino.

By qualifying 11th and 12th respectively, the Dutch outfit has secured a front-row start for Saturday’s reverse-grid Sprint Race. The FIA Formula 3™ field returns to the track for the Sprint Race tomorrow morning at 11:15 am local time.