Practice
Campos Racing’s Theophile Nael hit the ground running in Monte Carlo, finishing fastest of all in Practice on a 1:25.794.
Trident driver Freddie Slater was able to split up the Campos cars at the head of the field, ending up second and just over half a tenth off the top spot. Ugo Ugochukwu rounded out the top three for the Spanish team.
Following a short Virtual Safety Car test along with preparation laps, PREMA Racing’s James Wharton set the initial benchmark that was quickly beaten by several drivers.
Gerrard Xie set a 1:28.109 to lead for DAMS Lucas Oil before a Red Flag was thrown following a crash for Wharton at Turn 14.
With the Australian out of his car and the PREMA cleared away, barrier repairs took place and once completed, the session was extended by 15 extra minutes.
The light went green once more with 28 minutes on the clock, and everyone was eager to get back out on track.
Theophile Nael and teammate Ernesto Rivera went to P1 next, before Xie restored DAMS to the top of the times on a 1:27.444.
Maciej Gladysz put ART Grand Prix on top with 18 minutes to go, 0.195s clear of the field but with the track continuing to improve. Brando Badoer then logged a 1:27.055 for Rodin Motorsport to become the newest driver to lead the field.
With 13 minutes left, Bruno del Pino set a 1:26.482 to further lower the time to beat for Van Amersfoort Racing.
Nael returned Campos to P1 with a 1:26.460, 0.022s quicker than del Pino in second while teammate Ugochukwu filtered into third just over a tenth down on the Frenchman.
That was until Slater set the new fastest time of the session, with the Trident going comfortably quickest on a 1:26.135.
Ugochukwu bettered that by a shade, but Nael broke into the 25s on a 1:25.806 to lead a Campos 1-2.
Despite traffic in the final corners, Slater was able to move himself up to P2 and cut the deficit to 0.169s.
Nael found one final improvement, setting a 1:25.794 to cap off an impressive session. Slater achieved a personal best on his final lap too, cutting the gap to 0.069s at the chequered flag.
Qualifying
Group A
The even numbered cars headed out for the first segment of the session and Championship leader Ugochukwu set the early pace on a 1:31.081 as the built laps continued.
A 1:26.367 from the Campos driver brought the time to beat down, and Noah Stromsted was able to displace him despite an error in the penultimate corner by 0.018s.
Tuukka Taponen went up to third for MP Motorsport, leaving the top three split by just 0.014s at the halfway stage.
Taito Kato delivered a 1:25.988 to become the next driver to take top spot provisionally, until Ugochukwu and then Badoer bettered that time. The Italian laid down a 1:25.287 to take top spot going into the final five minutes.
Kato improved on his next lap to cut the deficit to 0.190s as the track continued to improve. Ugochukwu got to within 0.060s of the Rodin driver, who abandoned his next lap after an error.
Taponen then found a personal best in sectors one and two to go up to provisional pole on a 1:25.242 with less than two minutes remaining.
With the chequered flag waving, Ugochukwu found one final improvement to go P1 but that was usurped by Badoer as he returned to provisional pole setting a 1:24.612, three and a half tenths quicker than rest.
Group B
While the majority of Group B headed straight out onto circuit, Trident opted to hold Freddie Slater in order to get some clear air.
The second set of drivers chose to run more preparation laps before serious attempts were made, and it was Theophile Nael that led the way with half the session to go on a 1:25.729.
Maciej Gladysz was the first to bring the times down, going to P1 on a 1:25.575 until Slater bettered that as he dipped underneath the 1:25s on a 1:24.986.
Slater improved in the first sector with three minutes to go, but slight contact with the barriers at Turn 7 left him with front wing endplate damage and he had to abandon the lap.
Behind the Briton, Nael was flying heading towards the final two minutes, and despite his own contact with the barriers at the final corner, set provisional pole on a 1:24.552.
With the clock at zero, Slater delivered a purple middle sector but an untidy final section left him second in Group B.
Nael found even more time to take pole in Monaco on a 1:24.471. Campos teammate Ernesto Rivera wound up third in Group B on his F3 Qualifying debut to cap off a positive day for the Spanish team.
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