Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto claimed P1 in the Imola F2 Quali session amidst a number of track time deletions and demotations.
Bortoleto will start on Pole for the Feature Race on Sunday beside the Campos of Isack Hadjar, who was promoted after PREMA’s Oliver Bearman received a penalty for track limit violations. Joshua Durksen will start from P3, followed by Zane Maloney and Roman Stanek in P4 and P5 respectively in the Imola F2 Quali.
A number of drivers struggled with track limits today, wreaking havoc on the grid. More issues arose with drivers struggling with the entry to kerbs in the Imola F2 Quali session, and Oliver Bearman’s team remarking that the wind made an already tricky track even more difficult. As a result, many track times were deleted and many drivers plummeted from the top of the times to the bottom.
As it Happened
First out at the green flag was Zane Maloney, eager to post a lap time before the possibility of another red flag, crossing the line with a 1:28.496 before Oli Bearman bettered with a 1:28.218.
The first yellow flags of the session were waved as Josep Maria Martí had a spin, before recovering and continuing without too many issues.
Gabriel Bortoleto posted a 1:28.044 as the lap times continued to fall, with Maloney once again topping the times three tenths ahead. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a huge talking point at the moment with rumours swirling about the possibility of an F1 seat, improved to ninth. Bortoleto, keen to get back to the top, set a fastest first sector, followed by a yellow middle sector, but recovered to once again take the lead. Breaking into the 1:27s with 1:27.739.
Franco Colapinto was next to run into trouble, finding himself in the grass, but made a swift recovery.
The Halfway Point
With sixteen minutes to go, all of the drivers had headed into the pits. Bortoleto remained at the top of the times, followed by Maloney and Hadjar in P2 and P3 respectively.
Four minutes later, the cars began to return to the grid as the drivers embarked on their last few runs of the session, led by Denis Hauger. The fastest times began to be posted thick and fast, as Bearman solidified his place at the top with a 1:27.111 amidst an ever-changing top five. Antonelli posted a great lap to sit in P3, with both PREMA cars split by Hadjar, one tenth behind the Brit in P2.
As the final flying laps rolled around, all eyes were on Antonelli and Hadjar who were showing pace. However, both failed to improve on their last lap, staying where they were. However, they were knocked down to P3 and P4 after an excellent lap by Bortoleto, who stole pole position from Bearman with a 1:27.056.
Confusion At the Chequered Flag
At the chequered flag, however, there was confusion for drivers like Bearman, who was handed a penalty for exceeding track limits after receiving a black and white flag during the session. He was demoted to P16. Andrea Kimi Antonelli also had a time deleted, landing him in P18 alongside Victor Martins in P19. Consequently, that promoted Hadjar to P2 alongside Bortoleto. More times may well be deleted as the laps continue to be reviewed on the tricky Emilia Romagna track.
The reverse-grid pole for tomorrow’s Sprint race will see Franco Colapinto start P1 beside Richard Verschoor in P2. With a lot of catching up to do, drivers like Martins looking to recover the weekend.
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