F3: Kato and Taponen take pole in Madrid as Ugochukwu gains the advantage in title fight

Taito Kato took his maiden FIA Formula 3 pole position with a superb performance in Qualifying 1 in Madrid, while in Qualifying 2, it was Tuukka Taponen that came out on top.

In the battle for the championship, Ugo Ugochukwu was fourth in Q1 and second in Q2, while Freddie Slater was down in P17 in the opening session, and eighth in the second set of 20 minutes.

In Q1, Kato beat Rodin Motorsport’s Pedro Clerot to the top spot by just 0.012s with a 1:50.535.

Taponen was third ahead of Ugochukwu, while Enzo Deligny rounded out the top five.

With Saturday’s two Sprint Race grids set by the results of the first Qualifying session, PREMA Racing’s James Wharton will start from reverse pole position.

Campos’ Theophile Nael will line-up alongside him on the front row with the second PREMA of Alex Powell in third.

In Qualifying 2, Ugochukwu looked set for his first pole position in Formula 3 until Taponen eclipsed his time by 0.021s with a 1:49.750.

Clerot wound up P3 despite hitting the barrier at the final corner on his last lap. Kato was fourth, with Mattia Colnaghi in fifth.

That wraps up the day’s action with the Sprint Race set for 11:05 local time on Saturday morning. Until then, you can read a full report from today’s FIA Formula 3 Qualifying in Madrid on the official website here.