It was a tricky second qualifying session for the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin crew in Imola this afternoon as fading light disrupted the 20 minute session; despite this Tom Blomqvist set the second fastest time however he will line up on pole position tomorrow morning as Max Verstappen, who had set the fastest time, faces a penalty. Antonio Giovinazzi once again showed his speed at his home event and set the fourth fastest time but likewise will move up to third position with Verstappen’s penalty applied. Sean Gelael was also enjoying a strong qualfying however a red flag towards the end meant that he was unable to improve and was in 15th overall.
The three Jagonya Ayam with Carlin drivers left the pit lane for the dry session however it was clear that the light could cause an issue as the clock counted down. Leaving the pit lane a battle for the top spot was quick to commence with Giovinazzi jumping to provisional pole in the opening minutes. However the times began to fall and Gelael and Blomqvist soon brought their Jagonya Ayam with Carlin cars up into the top ten in seventh and ninth respectively.
Blomqvist pushed on his next lap to move up to second overall which in turn meant that team mate Giovinazzi fell down in the top five. This changing of position continued over the next few minutes until the majority of the field returned to the pit lane with the light continuing to fade. Heading back out on track the drivers had very little chance to improve before a red flag came out to deal with an on track accident.
By this point as the cars came back into the pits Blomqvist was in second position, Giovinazzi in fourth and Gelael was in 15th. The light continued to fade at a rate of knots and it was decided that visibility was too poor to continue meaning that the rest of the drivers’ intended running came to a premature end.
On pole provisionally for the second race of the weekend was Verstappen however the Red Bull Junior still carries over a 10 place grid penalty for a previous engine change which will instead see Blomqvist line up on pole for tomorrow morning’s race with Giovinazzi in third and Gelael 15th.
Blomqvist said of his pole, ‘It was a difficult qualifying because it was getting really dark outside and everyone rushed to the end of the pit lane at the start. So it was a bit messy but I managed to get a good track position and was able to get a good lap to set my place for the first race tomorrow. My second fastest lap wasn’t as good and I’ll start from fourth but I think overall we did a solid job and know that we’re quick here as we head into tomorrow.’
Giovinazzi added, ‘There were a lot of times being cancelled due to track limits so that was difficult because I lost a lap with that but it’s good to be up there for tomorrow morning. My second lap (tenth position) wasn’t great so we have a bit of work to do tomorrow afternoon but I’ll do the best I can at my home event and I’m sure we can improve.’
Gelael said, ‘We definitely had the pace which you could see from the first half of the session however a combination of the red flag and the fading light which ended the session early meant that I just wasn’t able to show my speed. So it’s a shame because we’ve been quick here all weekend and I’m enjoying the track. But it’s all to play for tomorrow when I will start from 15th and 13th respectively.’
-Ends-
For more information or high resolution photos, please contact Stephanie Tindall on
Press Release Dilihat Sebanyak 1496 kali
