Formula Renault 3.5
Norman Nato (DAMS) followed up team-mate Kevin Magnussen’s successful Saturday by seizing the his first pole in Sunday’s stop-start qualifying session at Motorland Aragon, the Frenchman leading the way from Carlos Huertas (Carlin) and Sergey Sirotkin (ISR).
There were pitfalls aplenty awaiting the drivers on a thoroughly wet track, with Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin) and Marlon Stockinger (Lotus) both sliding off early and bringing the session to a temporary halt.
On the restart Norman Nato (DAMS) and Stoffel Vandoorne (Fortec Motorsports) set the first benchmark times only for Kevin Magnussen (DAMS) to suffer a mishap that brought the red flag out. The field was given one last opportunity to beat the Frenchman’s time, but an off-track excursion for Matheo Tuscher (Zeta Corse) brought the session to a premature end.
That left Norman Nato and Carlos Huertas sharing the front row, with Sergey Sirotkin (ISR), Arthur Pic (AV Formula), Stoffel Vandoorne and Will Stevens (P1 by Strakka Racing) behind them. Yesterday’s winner and current points leader Kevin Magnussen was relegated to the back of the grid, the same fate that yesterday befell Antonio Felix da Costa, who will start ninth on the grid this afternoon.
Speaking afterwards, Norman Nato said: “It was the way I started that made all the difference. My aim was to stay on the track and make as few errors as possible, which was very hard to do. I’m delighted with my first pole and I’d like to thank the whole team.”
The race starts at 14:30 and will be shown live on Eurosport.
Official Renault Sport Press Release.