A qualifying of changeable conditions and interruptions sees Freddie Slater take back to back pole positions.
After a chaotic end to practice gave us a glimpse of what to expect from this qualifying, it is Slater who was hoping to clinch pole position to aid his championship challenge against Ugo Ugochukwu.
As the green light released the field, the pressure was on to get this done quickly, as rain was reportedly in the air.
First Push Laps
The field was eager to get onto the track as light rain began to fall, knowing that these were possibly the best track condition they were going to get in this session.
Louis Sharp was first to cross the line to begin his lap with James Wharton close behind – they were first to find out what they were dealing with in these changeable conditions.
Tuukka Taponen was flying on the first runs, being 0.500s quicker than Sharp in just the first sector and momentarily taking provisional pole, before Slater continued his form from practice to snatch it from him soon after. Championship leader Ugochukwu was behind in 7th.
Battle For The Tow
It was almost a car park down the Kemmel straight as the drivers were hesitant to take the lead as they know they could put themselves at a disadvantage, but with heavier rain on the way, they needed to hurry it up for a shot at any chance to improve.
The drivers had already been warned that they should not be travelling side by side for extended periods of time in qualifying sessions to avoid repercussions.
Red Flag
With nine minutes to go, the field were, once again, tightly packed together as drivers avoided handing out a tow.
Unfortunately, on the run down to Stavelot, there was an incident in the middle of the pack involving Noah Strømsted, Hiyu Yamakoshi and Yevan David, with all three drivers being forced to retire from the session.
As the red flag flew, the heavy rain we had been waiting for finally started to fall, with the chance of drivers being able to improve their lap times falling with each minute that passed.
Qualifying Will Not Be Resumed
As the rain fell heavier under red flag conditions and just nine minutes left on the clock, the decision was made to end qualifying under the red flag. Therefore, the drivers were no longer able to improve lap time in the wet conditions.
After just one flying lap, Freddie Slater takes his second pole position in a row, followed by Taponen in P2 and Yamakoshi in P3, despite his involvement in the crash that caused the red flag.
This leaves championship leader Ugochukwu in P7, and 3rd place Theophile Nael in P10 meaning they will start P6 and P3 in tomorrows Sprint Race.
Multiple Investigations
At the end of qualifying there are still a few drivers under investigation for multiple incidents.
The incident that caused the red flag will be investigated after the session, involving Strømsted, David and Yamakoshi. We may expect to see one of those drivers possibly lose their lap time should they be found at fault.
Nael, Wharton and Sharp are also under investigation for an incident at Turn 4.
Formula 2 will continue tomorrow, for the Sprint Race at 13:15 local time.
Featured Image Credit: Formula 3 on X