F2: Vips takes maiden pole in tricky Imola qualifying

Red Bull junior driver Juri Vips took the first pole position of his Formula 2 career as he mastered tricky conditions at a gloomy Imola.

Vips, already with two podiums to his name this season, moved to the front of the pack with a time of 1m 40.221s.

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That time remained unbeaten to secure the Estonian pole position for Sunday’s Feature Race.

It will be an all-Red Bull junior front-row after rookie Ayumu Iwasa emerged as Vips’ nearest rival, falling short of claiming pole by just a tenth of a second.

Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan, who took pole position at the first Qualifying session of the year at Sakhir, produced an impressive late effort to go third, ahead of Ralph Boschung.

Reigning Formula 3 champion Dennis Hauger secured his best qualifying result of the year in fifth, leading F2 veteran Roy Nissany.

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ART Grand Prix driver Theo Pourchaire was seventh, ahead of Jehan Daruvala and Hitech’s Marcus Armstrong, who recovered strongly after a crash during practice.

Armstrong will start Saturday’s Sprint Race from the front row, alongside Logan Sargeant who took reverse grid pole by ending qualifying in 10th place.

Championship leader Felipe Drugovich, who claimed a commanding pole position and victory at the last event in Jeddah, mustered 12th place.

For more on F2, visit the official series website.