Paul Ricard F3: Gunther completes Prema hat-trick with double pole
Prema's Maximilian Gunther was quickest in the second European Formula 3 qualifying session at Paul Ricard, and will start Races 2 and 3 from pole.
The German led through the dying stages of the session, ending up ahead of George Russell by just 0.017s, the Briton joining him on the front row in both races.
Fellow Prema driver Nick Cassidy will start just behind Gunther in third, the Kiwi driver beating Mikkel Jensen and reigning Italian F4 champion Ralf Aron, another Prema driver.
Motopark's Joel Eriksson became the only car not powered by Mercedes in the top 10 in sixth, with Callum Ilott, Ben Barnicoat and Lance Stroll all less then a tenth behind the Swede.
Stroll, pacesetter of the earlier session, had to settle for ninth despite lapping only 0.370s off the benchmark time set by Prema teammate Gunther.
Formula Renault 2.0 graduate Anthoine Hubert completed the top 10.
Behind an unchanged top three, the final race's grid will see Ilott starting fourth ahead of Jensen, Aron, Barnicoat and Stroll.
UPDATE: George Russell has been excluded from the second qualifying session as he did not have the required amount of fuel remaining in the car after the session. As such, he'll start both Races 2 and 3 at the back.
Qualifying results:
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
| 1 |  Maximilian Gunther | Prema Powerteam | 1:20.881 | |
| 2 |  Nick Cassidy | Prema Powerteam | 1:20.983 | 0.102 |
| 3 |  Mikkel Jensen | kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport | 1:21.035 | 0.154 |
| 4 |  Ralf Aron | Prema Powerteam | 1:21.164 | 0.283 |
| 5 |  Joel Eriksson | Motopark | 1:21.167 | 0.286 |
| 6 |  Callum Ilott | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:21.177 | 0.296 |
| 7 | Ben Barnicoat | HitechGP | 1:21.207 | 0.326 |
| 8 |  Lance Stroll | Prema Powerteam | 1:21.251 | 0.370 |
| 9 |  Anthoine Hubert | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:21.436 | 0.555 |
| 10 | Harrison Newey | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:21.603 | 0.722 |
| 11 |  Sergio Sette Camara | Motopark | 1:21.623 | 0.742 |
| 12 |  Nikita Mazepin | HitechGP | 1:21.623 | 0.742 |
| 13 |  Guan Yu Zhou | Motopark | 1:21.816 | 0.935 |
| 14 |  Alessio Lorandi | Carlin | 1:21.843 | 0.962 |
| 15 |  Niko Kari | Motopark | 1:21.876 | 0.995 |
| 16 |  Raoul Hyman | Carlin | 1:21.915 | 1.034 |
| 17 |  Ryan Tveter | Carlin | 1:22.204 | 1.323 |
| 18 |  Arjun Maini | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:22.453 | 1.572 |
| 19 | Pedro Piquet | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:22.643 | 1.762 |
| 20 | Zhi Cong Li | Carlin | 1:23.037 | 2.156 |
| EX | George Russell | HitechGP | 1:20.898 | 0.017 |
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Paul Ricard F3: Stroll leads Cassidy in first race of 2016
About this article
| Series | Formula European Masters |
| Event | Paul Ricard |
| Location | Circuit Paul Ricard |
| Drivers | Maximilian Gunther |
| Teams | Prema Powerteam |
| Author | David Gruz |
