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Megan White

F2 Imola: Vips romps to pole over fellow Red Bull junior Iwasa

As the sun set over the storied Italian venue, Hitech Grand Prix driver Vips took his first pole of the season with a 1m40.221s lap that put him 0.15s clear of nearest challenger Iwasa (DAMS).

Vips took an early lead with a 1m41.599s before a red flag halted running for 10 minutes after Campos Racing’s Olli Caldwell spun off exiting the Tamburello chicane.

Despite challenges from Jake Hughes (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Campos’ Ralph Boschung, who briefly took over the top spot with just under 10 minutes remaining, Vips managed to improve and ended the session on top for a first pole since Baku last year.

Behind rookie Iwasa, Jack Doohan will start third for Virtuosi, the Alpine junior having shot up from 21st with a brilliant last-minute flying lap.

Boschung was first to set a quick lap after the session was delayed by the late-running Formula 1 qualifying session, with a 1m45.248s.

Though MP Motorsport’s Clement Novalak soon demoted him, Boschung reclaimed the top spot until he was surpassed by Vips.

Hughes briefly held the top spot prior to the red flag, before Vips once again improved on his time.

Iwasa was an excellent second for DAMS (Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool)

ART Grand Prix driver Frederik Vesti made his first outing onto the track after the stoppage, having suffered an issue that left him stuck in the pits for much of the session. After reaching as high as seventh, the Mercedes junior was forced to settle for 16th at the flag.

Carlin’s Liam Lawson went third quickest at the halfway point, setting a 1m41.929s, while current championship leader and the man one place above the Kiwi in the standings Felipe Drugovich went fourth.

But the pair failed to keep up with the rest of the pack as the times tumbled and will start in 14th and 12th respectively. Hughes fared even worse and slipped back to 17th.

Theo Pourchaire and Marcus Armstrong were also running inside the top five in the closing stages before slipping back to seventh and ninth.

Boschung held on to take fourth place, with Prema Racing rookie Dennis Hauger making it three Red Bull juniors in the top five.

Iwasa's team-mate Roy Nissany was sixth, slipping back from third in the closing stages.

Logan Sargeant will start on pole for Saturday’s reverse-grid sprint race, with Armstrong in second and Jehan Daruvala in third.

However Sargeant and Hughes will both be investigated after the session for impeding.

F2 Imola Qualifying Result:

Cla Driver Team Time Gap
1 Estonia Jüri Vips United Kingdom HitechGP 1'40.221  
2 Japan Ayumu Iwasa France DAMS 1'40.378 0.157
3 Australia Jack Doohan Virtuosi Racing 1'40.431 0.210
4 Switzerland Ralph Boschung Spain Campos Racing 1'40.496 0.275
5 Norway Dennis Hauger Italy Prema Powerteam 1'40.572 0.351
6 Israel Roy Nissany France DAMS 1'40.621 0.400
7 France Theo Pourchaire France ART Grand Prix 1'40.862 0.641
8 India Jehan Daruvala Italy Prema Powerteam 1'40.886 0.665
9 New Zealand Marcus Armstrong United Kingdom HitechGP 1'41.004 0.783
10 United States Logan Sargeant United Kingdom Carlin 1'41.062 0.841
11 Germany David Beckmann Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 1'41.129 0.908
12 Brazil Felipe Drugovich Netherlands MP Motorsport 1'41.131 0.910
13 Switzerland Clement Novalak Netherlands MP Motorsport 1'41.173 0.952
14 New Zealand Liam Lawson United Kingdom Carlin 1'41.199 0.978
15 Brazil Enzo Fittipaldi Czech Republic Charouz Racing System 1'41.235 1.014
16 Denmark Frederik Vesti France ART Grand Prix 1'41.434 1.213
17 United Kingdom Jake Hughes Van Amersfoort Racing 1'41.520 1.299
18 Amaury Cordeel Van Amersfoort Racing 1'41.592 1.371
19 Netherlands Richard Verschoor Italy Trident 1'42.144 1.923
20 Australia Calan Williams Italy Trident 1'42.498 2.277
21 United Kingdom Olli Caldwell Spain Campos Racing 1'42.954 2.733
22 Japan Marino Sato Virtuosi Racing 1'43.311 3.090
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