Mercedes’ Doriane Pin kept her slight F1 Academy title hopes alive with a double pole position in Qatar.
Pin bettered Ferrari’s Maye Weug and title rival Abbi Pulling to top the time sheets with approximately two-tenths of a second separating the trio.
Pin was looking strong coming into the session having topped both practice sessions.
As ever, each driver’s fastest time would set their grid position for Race 1, with their second fastest time setting the grid for Race 2.
A delay to the start of the session shortened proceedings from 30 minutes to 23, giving the drivers less time to push the pace envelope.
Pin and Weug held the top two positions with just 2 minutes of the 23 remaining, with just under two-tenths of a second separating the pair.
Champion elect Pulling, meanwhile, was six-tenths off of the pace at this point, with traffic hindering the progress of the Alpine driver.
Pin was able to push the pace further to ensure she topped the timesheets, with Weug set to join her on the front row for Race 1.
Pulling was unable to impress upon the top two and will head the second row for Race 1, alongside Williams’ Lia Block, who made a late improvement.
Red Bull’s Hamda Al Qubaisi went fifth fastest in the session to claim a spot on Row 3 for Race 1 alongside impressive wildcard Alisha Palmowski.
Next up in the order was Nerea Marti in the Hilfiger-liveried machine run by Campos, ahead of McLaren’s Bianca Bustamante.
Puma’s Aurelia Nobels and Amex’s Jessica Edgar rounded out the top-10 fastest times in the session to secure ninth and 10th on the grid for Race 1.
Pin heads the grid for F1 Academy Race 2 at Qatar
Such was Pin’s pace around the Lusail International Circuit, her second-best time was also the best of the bunch, ensuring she would start Race 2 from pole position.
Consistency from the top three meant that both Weug and Pulling secured the same spots on the grid for both Race 1 and Race 2 (second and third respectively).
However, the order behind the leading trio differed.
Palmowski is slated for a fourth-place starting berth in Race 2, ahead of H. Al Qubaisi and Marti.
The behind them on the grid for Race 2 reads Bustamante, Block, Sauber’s Carrie Schreiner and Nobels.
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