Oliver Bearman, representing Prema Racing, has secured pole position for the upcoming Formula 2 round in Jeddah. Meanwhile, Zane Maloney, who has won two races in Bahrain, finds himself in a disappointing 16th place on the starting grid.
Bearman, a member of the Ferrari Academy, quickly established himself as the frontrunner during the session. He engaged in a battle for the fastest lap with Dennis Hauger from MP Motorsport and Paul Aron from Hitech Pulse-Eight. Hauger’s teammate, Franco Colapinto, encountered some trouble as he brushed against the wall while trying to keep up with the leading pack.
Kush Maini from Invicta Racing also made a strong showing, positioning himself as a contender for the front row. However, Bearman’s teammate Kimi Antonelli soon overtook him. Nevertheless, Bearman swiftly reclaimed the top spot towards the end of the session, setting a time of 1:42.217, which secured him pole position for Saturday’s Feature race.
Following Bearman and Maini, Jak Crawford from DAMS qualified in third place, while Victor Martins from ART Grand Prix completed the second row.
Enzo Fittipaldi from Van Amersfoort Racing secured fifth place, with Antonelli ultimately settling for sixth. Antonelli’s performance was commendable, considering the strong competition.
Hauger could not improve upon his initial speed and finished the day in seventh place, ahead of Isack Hadjar from Campos Racing. Aron also failed to better his previous runs and ended up on the fifth row, with Richard Verschoor from Trident just ahead in ninth place.
Pepe Marti, Hadjar’s teammate, qualified in 11th place, followed by Roman Stanek from Trident in 12th. Colapinto could not improve his position and settled for 13th, while Zak O’Sullivan, a promising talent from Williams, secured 14th place for ART.
Maini’s teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto, will start in 15th place, alongside Maloney, who had a strong start to the season but finds himself further back on the grid this time.
The remaining positions on the grid will be filled by Juan Manuel Correa, Taylor Barnard, Joshua Durksen, Ritomo Miyata, Amaury Cordeel, and Rafael Villagomez.