Silverstone F3.5: Fittipaldi takes double pole for opener

As track conditions improved over the course of the first session, Fittipaldi’s last lap was well-timed to give the Brazilian his first pole position, with a 1m41.660s ahead of teammate Rene Binder.

The two Lotus drivers head the AVF-run SMP Racing duo on the grid, with Egor Orudzhev taking third ahead of teammate Matevos Isaakyan.

Alfonso Celis Jr was the fastest of the two Fortec drivers, and the Mexican starts ahead of compatriot Diego Menchaca on the third row of the grid.

Teo Martin driver Konstantin Tereshchenko begins Saturday’s race from seventh, ahead of RP’s Roy Nissany, Barone Rampante’s Damiano Fioravanti and Yu Kanamaru, who missed the earlier Friday practice session through illness.

Fittipaldi and Binder will also start Sunday’s race from the front row, with the former setting a 1m47.787s lap on a cold, damp track in Saturday’s second qualifying session. 

Binder was 0.812s behind his Lotus teammate, heading third-place Nissany and Nelson Mason, who was a late addition to the grid for the Teo Martin team.

Orudzhev and Isaakyan produced a third-row lockout for SMP Racing, starting ahead of Menchaca and Kanamaru.

Fioravanti will start from ninth on Sunday, ahead of Celis Jr who could only manage 10th on the grid having set a time 7.676s slower than Fittipaldi’s.

The session was brought to an abrupt halt with one minute to spare, as Barone Rampante’s Giuseppe Cipriani beached his car at Maggotts after spinning off the road in the low-grip conditions.

Konstantin Tereshchenko brought out a Full Course Yellow earlier in the session for a similar incident, finding the gravel trap before the Hangar Straight.

Qualifying 1:

Qualifying 2: