Formula Renault 3.5
The drivers in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series kicked of today’s action. They all came out on worn rubber early on. Robin Frijns and Nico Müller were the first to set a time and swapped provisional pole in the first part of the session until Jules Bianchi split them.
Arthur Pic and Marco Sorensen then upped the pace and the Frenchman bagged provisional pole in 1m 41.490s from Sorensen, Müller, Bianchi, and Frijns. Then everybody dived into the pits to put on fresh rubber.
Nicolay Martsenko went off in Corner 3 bringing out the red flag. The session restarted with six minutes left so the final grid positions hinged on one of two laps.
Frijns, Sorensen and Bianchi quickly left their rivals trailing in their wake and the new leader of the FR 3.5 Championship, Robin Frijns, snatched pole with a stunning lap in 1m 39.991s, the first time the 1m 40-barrier has been broken at the Nürburgring in this category, from Sorensen, Bianchi, Pic and Cesar Ramos.
Robin Frijns: “I’m not really at my best in the morning but my car’s so good that it’s a real pleasure to drive. We’ve got everything perfectly set up and we’ve optimised our level of performance. I just have to make a good start as that’s been my weak point so far. Being in the championship lead doesn’t change my approach.”
Marco Sorensen: “Yesterday I didn’t have much success in qualifying as I was caught up in traffic all the time and we lacked pace. The team’s done a great job and today we’re much quicker. I know how to win as I proved at Spa-Francorchamps where I won the first race so there’s no reason not to come first in the second one here today.”
Official Renault Sport Press Release.