Stoffel Vandoorne has continued his crushing form, dominating his rivals to steal a record sixth pole in a row in scorching conditions this afternoon in Barcelona, leading almost all session long to take the top spot from Williams test driver Alex Lynn and Pierre Gasly.
The ART driver was untouchable today, stopping the clock at 1:29.273 late in the session to take pole by over four tenths, despite the best efforts of the remainder of the field. The Belgian was briefly delayed by a red flag on the first flying lap, brought out by a slowing Artem Markelov at turn 4, but the field was soon underway again and Vandoorne set the pace immediately, with Lynn closing to within a tenth as the field returned to the pits.
With temperatures ever increasing the drivers soon returned to the fray: Gasly closed to two tenths off the pace, but Vandoorne crushed his own best time once more and, although Lynn improved too, it was not enough to stop the Belgian claiming the top spot once again.
Behind the top three Mitch Evans, Alexander Rossi, Daniel De Jong, Raffaele Marciello, Rio Haryanto, rookie Nick Yelloly and Julian Leal closed out the top ten places, and will all be hoping for better conditions when battle resumes in tomorrow’s feature race.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.273 | 9 |
| 2. | Alex Lynn | DAMS | 1:29.680 | 12 |
| 3. | Pierre Gasly | DAMS | 1:30.051 | 12 |
| 4. | Mitch Evans | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:30.106 | 10 |
| 5. | Alexander Rossi | Racing Engineering | 1:30.154 | 10 |
| 6. | Daniel De Jong | MP Motorsport | 1:30.169 | 9 |
| 7. | Raffaele Marciello | Trident | 1:30.191 | 9 |
| 8. | Rio Haryanto | Campos Racing | 1:30.291 | 12 |
| 9. | Nick Yelloly | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:30.375 | 12 |
| 10. | Julian Leal | Carlin | 1:30.402 | 12 |
| 11. | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | 1:30.411 | 9 |
| 12. | Norman Nato | Arden International | 1:30.416 | 10 |
| 13. | Richie Stanaway | Status Grand Prix | 1:30.420 | 10 |
| 14. | Nobuharu Matsushita | ART Grand Prix | 1:30.649 | 11 |
| 15. | Jordan King | Racing Engineering | 1:30.686 | 11 |
| 16. | Sergio Canamasas | MP Motorsport | 1:30.722 | 13 |
| 17. | Robert Visoiu | Rapax | 1:30.879 | 11 |
| 18. | Marco Sorensen | Carlin | 1:30.891 | 9 |
| 19. | Nathanaël Berthon | Lazarus | 1:31.029 | 8 |
| 20. | Marlon Stockinger | Status Grand Prix | 1:31.042 | 10 |
| 21. | Johnny Cecotto | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:31.049 | 10 |
| 22. | André Negrao | Arden International | 1:31.390 | 10 |
| 23. | Sergey Sirotkin | Rapax | 1:31.394 | 14 |
| 24. | Rene Binder | Trident | 1:31.397 | 10 |
| 25. | Zoel Amberg | Lazarus | 1:31.751 | 10 |
| 26. | Artem Markelov | RUSSIAN TIME | — | — |