Freddie Slater Takes FIA Formula 3 Pole After Rain and Red Flag Disrupt Spa Qualifying

Slater strikes early to secure pole

Freddie Slater claimed his second Aramco Pole Position Award after setting the pace on his opening attempt in a rain-affected FIA Formula 3 qualifying session. The TRIDENT driver posted a 2:05.150, a quarter of a second faster than Tuukka Taponen, who secured P2 for MP Motorsport.

Hiyu Yamakoshi completed the top three for Van Amersfoort Racing, although his session ended in the incident that brought out the Red Flag. All drivers involved were reported to be OK, but the worsening conditions meant qualifying could not restart.

Slater’s result builds on the pace he showed earlier in the weekend. Read more in our report on Freddie Slater leading Spa-Francorchamps Formula 3 practice.

Early laps decide the order

Rain began falling at the start of the session, prompting drivers to push immediately before the track deteriorated. Louis Sharp initially led with a 2:06.864, only for teammate James Wharton to move ahead. Pedro Clerot then took provisional first place before Yamakoshi went quicker, with Taponen beating the Japanese driver by 0.088 seconds.

Slater responded with the decisive lap, going to the top as the field completed its first runs. Drivers attempted to continue as the rain intensified, but further improvements quickly became difficult. Fionn McLaughlin was told that heavy rain was five minutes away, while Noah Stromsted climbed to fourth on his second lap ahead of Ernesto Rivera.

The battle for track position then became a defining feature of the session. Drivers backed off to prepare their next flying laps, with several seeking a slipstream while avoiding the disadvantage of leading the field. Those who completed a third attempt found that the worsening conditions had removed any realistic chance of improving and returned to the pit lane with 17 minutes remaining.

Red Flag ends the fight

Cars re-emerged with just under half the session remaining, but the final sequence produced more than a contest for position. Stromsted collided with Yevan David, who then tagged José Garfias, while Yamakoshi was also involved. The incident forced a Red Flag with 9:38 left, as the TRIDENT, AIX Racing and Van Amersfoort Racing cars were cleared.

With the rain continuing to increase, the session was abandoned. Stromsted and Rivera finished fourth and fifth, followed by Mattia Colnaghi, Clerot, Brando Badoer, Ugo Ugochukwu and Théophile Nael. Taito Kato was 11th, ahead of Jin Nakamura in 12th.

The FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race is scheduled for 10:00 local time, with Hitech’s Nakamura set to start from reverse-grid pole.