Prema’s Oliver Bearman will line up in pole position for Saturday’s Formula 2 round in Jeddah, with double Bahrain race winner Zane Maloney languishing down in 16th.
Ferrari Academy man Bearman set the early pace in the session, trading fast times with MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Paul Aron, with Hauger’s team-mate Franco Colapinto brushing the wall on his initial run in an attempt to keep-up with the pack.
Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini was the next man to place himself firmly into contention, placing himself provisionally on the front row.
Bearman’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli soon displaced him, but the Indian was quickly back ahead, with Bearman going fastest yet again towards the end of the session, setting a time of 1:42.217 which would be just enough to cement pole position for Saturday’s Feature race.
Behind Bearman and Maini was DAMS’ Jak Crawford, with ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins completing the second row.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Fittipaldi qualified in fifth place, with Antonelli eventually bumped-down to sixth, but it was a sterling effort from the Italian teenager nonetheless.
Hauger could not better his early speed, ending the day seventh ahead of the Campos Racing of Isack Hadjar.
Aron was also unable to improve upon his earlier runs and completed the fifth row, with Trident’s Richard Verschoor just ahead in ninth.
Hadjar’s team-mate Pepe Marti qualified 11th, with the second Trident of Roman Stanek 12th. Colapinto could not better 13th, with Williams prospect Zak O’Sullivan 14th for ART.
Maini’s team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto will line-up in 15th, with the season’s early pace-setter Maloney alongside him.
Juan Manuel Correa, Taylor Barnard, Joshua Durksen, Ritomo Miyata, Amaury Cordeel and Rafael Villagomez complete the grid.
