Arjun Maini qualifies P8; Russell on pole: GP3 Series

George Russell has delighted the local fans with a sterling drive in cool conditions in this afternoon’s qualifying session in Silverstone, leading the way for most of the session to claim his second pole position ahead of ART Grand Prix teammates Anthoine Hubert and Nirei Fukuzumi.

The Briton stopped the clock with a laptime of 1:46.608 to claim pole by a tenth in a tight session, which took place under overcast but dry conditions. All of the drivers were immediately on track given the chance of rain, looking to at least secure a banker lap while they could.

The early pace was fast and frantic: Santino Ferrucci, Bruno Baptista, Steijn Schothorst, Niko Kari, Alessio Lorandi and Hubert all spent time on top of the timesheets before Russell grabbed P1 with a 47.5s, and with tyres clearly beyond their best the entire field returned to the pits for fresh rubber and to plan how best to use it.

When they finally returned to the track the pace was no less rapid: Dorian Boccolacci missed pole by five thousandths before the ART teammates hit the front: Jack Aitken, Fukuzumi and finally Russell ran faster again, with Hubert slotting into P2 with 2 minutes remaining. Fukuzumi looked to improve on his final lap but was slightly wide in sector 3, and the top 3 was set.

Behind then Boccolacci, Lorandi, Aitken, Niko Kari, Arjun Maini, Ryan Tveter and Julien Falchero were all within a second of the top spot and will be looking to make up the gap tomorrow when they hit the track once again for race 1.