Dino Beganovic won qualifying for the first round of the Formula 3 season in Bahrain. This was the Prema driver’s first pole position in his career. Hitech’s Luke Browning will join him from the front row for Saturday’s race.
All the riders immediately rushed to the track as soon as the stopwatch started counting down the 30-minute session. The young pilots let their tires warm up for two laps and then started attacking. During the fast lap he lost speed and stopped on Oliver Goethe’s track. Yellow flags appeared in the first sector and many entered the pits, aborting the attempt.
Of those who stayed on track, Max Esterson set the best time, completing a lap in 1:47.573 seconds. Leonardo Fornaroli and Sami Megetunif were less than a tenth behind him. This completed the first attempt.
Seventeen minutes before the end of the session, the riders started returning to the track. They let the tires warm up again for two laps, then started attacking. Fornaroli’s first result was blocked by Marie Boya and Christian Mansell moved up to second place. But Fornaroli managed to improve and regain the lead. Dino Beganovich showed the second time. Megetunif and Gabriele Mini also improved Boi’s result, posting third and fourth fastest times respectively.
Six minutes before the end of the session the riders left for the final attempt. There was only time left for one fast lap, leaving no opportunity to correct any mistakes. Alex Dunne topped the scoresheet, but his result was surpassed by Mansell and Tzolov.
Dino Beganovic then moved up to first, while Browning and Meaney placed second and third. Fornaroli was unable to improve and dropped to sixth place.
Nikita Bedrin, who competed under the Italian flag, qualified eighteenth. Charlie Wurtz and Sebastian Montoya, the sons of former Formula 1 drivers, recorded the sixteenth and twenty-ninth fastest times respectively.
The starting grid for the sprint has been reversed: the drivers in the first twelve places will start tomorrow in reverse order. Laurens van Heupen will start from pole on Friday. Nikola Tsolov will start the race with him from the front row.
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. D. Beganovich | Prema Racing | 1’46,431 | – | 10 |
| 2. L. Browning | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1’46,598 | 0.167 | 10 |
| 3. G. Mini | Prema Racing | 1’46,601 | 0.170 | 10 |
| 4. S.Megetunif | Trident | 1’46,795 | 0.364 | eleven |
| 5. S. Ramos | Trident | 1’46,798 | 0.367 | eleven |
| 6. L. Fornaroli | Trident | 1’46,805 | 0.374 | eleven |
| 7. T. Tramnitz | MP Motorsport | 1’46,828 | 0.397 | eleven |
| 8. K. Mansell | ART Grand Prix | 1’46,843 | 0.412 | eleven |
| 9. A. Lindblad | Prema Racing | 1’46,873 | 0.442 | 10 |
| 10. M. Esterson | Jenzer Motorsport | 1’46,934 | 0.503 | eleven |
| 11. N. Tsolov | ART Grand Prix | 1’46,941 | 0.510 | eleven |
| 12. L. van Hoepen | ART Grand Prix | 1’46,962 | 0.531 | eleven |
| 13. N. Leon | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1’47,031 | 0.600 | eleven |
| 14. A. Dunn | MP Motorsport | 1’47,133 | 0.702 | 12 |
| 15. M. Boya | Campos Racing | 1’47,170 | 0.739 | eleven |
| 16. C. Wurtz | Jenzer Motorsport | 1’47,191 | 0.760 | 10 |
| 17. O. Goethe | Campos Racing | 1’47,198 | 0.767 | eleven |
| 18. N. Bedrin | PHM AIX Racing | 1’47,209 | 0.778 | eleven |
| 19. K. Voisin | Rodin Motorsport | 1’47,216 | 0.785 | eleven |
| 20. M. Zagazeta | Jenzer Motorsport | 1’47,217 | 0.786 | 10 |
| 21. D. Loke | Rodin Motorsport | 1’47,219 | 0.788 | eleven |
| 22. M. Stenshorn | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1’47,471 | 1,040 | eleven |
| 23. T. Intrafuvasak | PHM AIX Racing | 1’47,735 | 1,304 | eleven |
| 24. K.Stuka | MP Motorsport | 1’47,745 | 1,314 | eleven |
| 25. S. Floersch | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1’47,812 | 1,381 | eleven |
| 26. D. Dufek | PHM AIX Racing | 1’47,878 | 1,447 | 07 |
| 27. T. Smith | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1’47,929 | 1,498 | eleven |
| 28. P. Vishnitsky | Rodin Motorsport | 1’47,971 | 1,540 | eleven |
| 29. S. Montoya | Campos Racing | 1’48,358 | 1,927 | eleven |
| 30. K. Shields | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1’48,565 | 2,134 | eleven |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
