Théophile Nael beats Ugochukwu to Barcelona pole by 0.039s

Nael extends perfect pole streak in Barcelona

Théophile Nael continued his commanding start to the season by claiming a third consecutive Aramco Pole Position award, edging Campos Racing teammate Ugo Ugochukwu in a tightly contested Barcelona qualifying session.

Nael’s decisive lap, a 1:28.263, proved just enough to secure P1 by only 0.039s over Ugochukwu, underlining both his precision and Campos Racing’s strength across the session. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Hiyu Yamakoshi completed the top three after a qualifying hour defined by fine margins and late pressure.

The result followed a strong earlier showing from Campos, with Nael having already set the tone in Barcelona Free Practice. That momentum carried directly into qualifying, reinforcing the impression created when Théophile Nael led a Campos Racing 1-2-3 in Barcelona Free Practice.

Campos sets the early pace

After the first runs, it was Ugochukwu who held provisional pole with a 1:28.707, putting him 0.491s clear of Taito Kato. Campos Racing was immediately prominent, with Ernesto Rivera third and Nael fifth, while Brando Badoer split the Campos trio in fourth.

The field then returned to the pit lane as teams fitted a fresh set of Hard tyres for the final qualifying push. When the cars rejoined with less than 18 minutes remaining, Bruno del Pino briefly moved to the top with a 1:28.621, improving by 0.086s.

That benchmark did not last. Nael found time where it mattered most, producing the fastest first, second and third sectors to vault to the head of the order. His 1:28.263 gave him the advantage over Ugochukwu, while Badoer slotted into third at that stage.

Final laps fail to dislodge Nael

With six minutes left, the field filtered back out for one last attempt. Nael did not improve on his final lap, leaving the door open for those behind, but nobody could find enough performance to beat the Campos driver’s time.

Ugochukwu remained second after a difficult middle sector on his final run, while Yamakoshi secured third. Badoer and Kato followed in fourth and fifth, ahead of Bruno del Pino, Rivera and Deligny.

Tuukka Taponen took ninth for MP Motorsport, with Freddie Slater and James Wharton next. Gerrard Xie rounded out the top 12 and is set to start from reverse-grid pole for Saturday’s Barcelona Sprint Race, scheduled for 10:05 local time.