F3 Emilia Romagna: Maloney leads Trident 1-2 for first series pole

Formula Regional European by Alpine graduate Maloney, who narrowly missed out on a debut F3 podium in Bahrain with fourth in the sprint race, set a 1m41.180s lap to take his first series pole for Sunday’s race.

Czech driver Stanek was just 0.107s behind the 2019 British Formula 4 champion in second, with Prema’s Jak Crawford the best non-Trident driver in third.

Crawford's team-mate Ollie Bearman took fifth, just behind ART Grand Prix’s Gregoire Saucy, while Arthur Leclerc’s qualifying was ended prematurely after contact with Enzo Trulli to leave the third Prema driver down in 21st position.

Ido Cohen (Jenzer Motorsport) was first to set a first lap, putting in a 1m48.717s, before Zak O’Sullivan took the top spot for Carlin with a 1m45.134s to lead the first round of running.

Hitech's Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar was first to break the 1m45s mark, topping the timesheet with a 1m44.383s, while championship leader Victor Martins (ART) slotted in to second on his first attempt at a fast lap less than two-tenths behind.

Alpine junior Caio Collet (MP Motorsport) was next to go fastest, setting a 1m44.299s as the times tumbled.

With 10 minutes remaining, Leclerc went quickest with a 1m43.904s, prompting much of the field to dive into the pits before the final runs.

Arthur Leclerc, Prema Racing

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Trulli was the only driver to swap to the medium slick compound as the track surface remained slippery, but was unable to reap the rewards of his risk at the track where his father Jarno finished fifth three times in Formula 1.

Leclerc improved on his earlier time to set a 1m43.619s, with fellow second-year driver Martins just 0.001s behind him in second.

Despite encountering traffic, Stanek then snatched