Third pole position for Paul di Resta

Paul di Resta (Manor Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, 1:33.496 minutes) secured pole position on the grid for the 18th round of the 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series season. It’s the third time this year that the 19-year old Scotsman clinched pole position. Lewis Hamilton (ASM F3, Dallara-Mercedes, 1:34.039 minutes) qualified second, at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, with Franck Perera (Prema Powerteam, Dallara-Opel, 1:34.196 minutes) and Lucas di Grassi (Manor Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, 1:34.498 minutes) finishing third and fourth respectively.

The qualifying session for the 18th round of the Formula 3 Euro Series season, held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, had to be red-flagged twice. At halftime of the session, Átila Abreu (Mücke Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, 1:37.670 minutes) spun off track and stranded in the gravel, thus causing the first red-flag situation. And with just two more minutes to go, Abreu collided with his compatriot, Lucas di Grassi - and again the session was red-flagged. As there were just these two minutes to go, the race control decided to do without restarting the session.

Up to the sudden end of the session, Paul di Resta and Lewis Hamilton were involved in a thrilling battle for pole position. Again and again, they stole each other provisional pole, but at the end of the day, di Resta got the upper hand. Due to the red flags, the new champion, Hamilton, couldn’t strike back and had to settle for second position on the grid.

Paul di Resta (Manor Motorsport): “It’s nice to be the pole-sitter on the grid for the Sunday race. My car was even better than in the free practice session, it was really great. There was only one problem: to find a free lap.”

Lewis Hamilton (ASM F3): “I’m happy with second position on the grid. I wouldn’t say that Paul was invincible, maybe he was just the luckier of us. He set his fastest lap later than me, thus benefiting from better track conditions. But I’m happy that my previous team, Manor Motorsport, succeeded in securing the pole. Furthermore, Paul is a good racing driver, particularly in the wet.”

Franck Perera (Prema Powerteam): “I’m delighted to have qualified third. The track is really difficult, in the rain. I succeeded in making no mistakes whatsoever and that’s why I made it to the top three.”

Track temperature: 12.8 ºC
Air: 11.3 ºC