Oliver Bearman, representing Prema Racing, secured pole position for the next round of Formula 2 in Jeddah. Meanwhile, Zane Maloney, who won two races in Bahrain, finds himself in a disappointing 16th position on the starting grid.
Bearman, a member of the Ferrari Academy, quickly established himself as the leader during the session. He battled for the fastest lap with Dennis Hauger of MP Motorsport and Paul Aron of Hitech Pulse-Eight. Hauger’s teammate, Franco Colapinto, encountered some issues as he brushed against the wall while trying to keep up with the front pack.
Kush Maini of Invicta Racing also had a strong performance, positioning himself as a contender for the front row. However, Bearman’s teammate, Kimi Antonelli, soon overtook him. Nevertheless, Bearman quickly regained the top spot at the end of the session, setting a time of 1:42.217, securing pole position for Saturday’s race.
Following Bearman and Maini, Jak Crawford of DAMS qualified in third place, while Victor Martins of ART Grand Prix completed the second row.
Enzo Fittipaldi of Van Amersfoort Racing secured fifth position, with Antonelli settling for sixth place. Antonelli’s performance was commendable, considering the strong competition.
Hauger was unable to improve his initial speed and ended the day in seventh place, ahead of Isack Hadjar of Campos Racing. Aron also failed to improve on his previous races and ended up on the fifth row, with Richard Verschoor of Trident just ahead in ninth place.
Pepe Marti, Hadjar’s teammate, qualified in 11th place, followed by Roman Stanek of Trident in 12th. Colapinto couldn’t improve his position and settled for 13th place, while Zak O’Sullivan, a promising talent from Williams, secured 14th place for ART.
Maini’s teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto, will start in 15th position, alongside Maloney, who had a good start to the season but finds himself further back on the grid this time.
The remaining positions on the grid will be filled by Juan Manuel Correa, Taylor Barnard, Joshua Durksen, Ritomo Miyata, Amaury Cordeel, and Rafael Villagomez.
