Championship leader Abbi Pulling claimed the F1 Academy Race 1 pole position in the tricky wet conditions at Zandvoort, while Doriane Pin snatched the Race 2 pole after the red flag restart.
Pin’s late effort of 1:46.866s snatched the Race 2 pole in the final few minutes of the session after Pulling’s 1:46.746s saw her seal the Race 1 top spot.
Pulling seemed to have the double pole positions in the bag until a red flag was called in the final 10 minutes of the session, as she failed to protect her spot at the top.
The F1 Academy grid returned to Zandvoort after extensive testing sessions earlier this year, ready to make their mark on the rainy circuit.
Four minutes into the session, a yellow flag was called as Amna Al Qubaisi’s MP Motorsport car momentarily stopped at a corner.
The rain fell hard in the early stages of qualifying, with drivers struggling to keep their cars stable on track.
Jessica Edgar set the first benchmark time before Maya Weug and Pin began trading places at the top spot searching to break the 1:48s mark.
Championship leader Pulling set the fastest time of the session 10 minutes in, clocking in a 1:47.403s to build a gap from the rest of the field.
Several drivers reported struggling with the spray from other cars on track, as rain fell heavy across the entire circuit.
One of the main championship contenders, Chloe Chambers, also spun on track coming out of Sector 2 due to the heavy rainfall.
As the rest of the field struggled in the wet conditions, Pulling set consecutive fastest laps to cut her time down to 1:46.746s.
American rally driver Lia Block greatly improved her performance in Barcelona, placing herself in contention for the top three.
With 20 minutes to go, Block climbed up to second place with a time of 1:47.685s as the grid fought to challenge Pulling.
Pin fell exactly one second behind Pulling, setting a 1:47.837s to claim the third spot before the field filled the pits halfway through the session.
The final 15 minutes saw the Championship leader spin off the track alongside Bianca Bustamente while the conditions proved challenging.
With 10 minutes to go, a majority of drivers returned to the track with the hopes of snatching the top spot from Pulling.
After a spin at Turn 2, Bustamente found herself in 14th place with eight minutes left in the session to improve on her time.
Wild Card driver Nina Gademan put in an incredible lap time of 1:47.315s to climb up to second place on her F1 Academy debut.
The Dutch driver had the position snatched by the Iron Dame who set a time of 1:47.315s to close the gap to Pulling.
A red flag was called as Bustamente locked up heading into Turn 3, losing the car under braking and crashing straight into the barrier.
Bustamente just opted for two new wet tyres but the red flag halted her chance to improve her time.
The session resumed after five minutes, as the Dutch marshals quickly removed the ART Grand Prix car from the first sector.
Block locked up heading into Turn 1, losing out on one of her final push laps in the Zandvoort qualifying session.
The track conditions began to dry in the final three minutes of the session as the drivers needed to cool their tyres in Sector 2.
Pulling fell under pressure from the Iron Dame as she failed to improve on her time after the red flag restart.
The pole positions would be shared by the two Championship rivals as Pin closed in on the British driver, claiming the Race 2 pole position after closing the gap to just 0.1s.
Marti found herself in third place for Race 1, sharing the second spot with Weug who fought her way up to fourth place.
Aurelia Nobels improved on her times after the red flag restart, claiming the fifth fastest time ahead of Gademan.
Gademan solidified her F1 Academy debut with the fastest qualifying time for a Wild Car driver, placing sixth ahead of Chambers.
The Haas-nominated driver fell to seventh after failing to improve on her times after the red flag restart but placed ahead of Block in eighth place.
Hamda Al Qubaisi took the ninth spot on the Race 1 line-up ahead of Jessica Edgar, as they both struggled in the wet conditions.
Race 2 will see a similar lineup with Pin leading the pack ahead of Pulling and Dutch driver Weug sitting on the second row.
Nobels completes the second row ahead of Marti and Gademan, who becomes the best-placed Wild Card driver with her qualification in sixth.
Block will start Race 2 in seventh place, with Hamda Al Qubaisi, Carrie Schreiner, and Tina Hausmann rounding off the top 10.
