QUALIFYING: Impressive Slater takes pole with title rival Ugochukwu down the order in Monza

Freddie Slater took the Aramco Pole Position Award in phenomenal style in Monza, completing a 1:38.114 in Group B to beat TRIDENT teammate Matteo De Palo to the top prize.

De Palo set the pace in Group A with a 1:38.143, where Slater’s title rival Ugo Ugochukwu hit trouble and wound up in P10. The Italian will line up on the front row, while Nicola Lacorte will start in third after finishing second in Group B.

GROUP A

It was a slow start to the session but the drivers started to venture out with five minutes to go.

This gave most of them time for just one flying lap, with Hiyu Yamakoshi fastest on a 1:38.261. Taito Kato was just 0.014s behind but ahead of Fernando Barrichello in P3.

Critically, title contender Ugo Ugochukwu had a wide moment at Turn 1, and as a result ended up. Unfortunately for the Campos Racing driver he had no time to start another lap, having taken the chequered flag.

Matteo De Palo was one of the few who was able to get a second lap, and he went to P1 with a 1:38.143, beating Kanato Le to provisional pole by 0.020s.

Kato wound up third ahead of Yamakoshi and Barrichello, as Tuukka Taponen rounded out the top six.

With the final runs complete, Ugochukwu wound up in P10, leaving him with an uphill task for both races.

GROUP B

De Palo’s 1:38.143 was the time to beat, and just like the previous group, the drivers stayed in the pitlane until the final few minutes of the session.

They all had time for just one flying lap and it was Freddie Slater that shone the brightest with a 1:38.114, beating Nicola Lacorte by 0.236s.

Ernesto Rivera was third ahead of MP Motorsport duo Alessandro Giusti and Mattia Colnaghi as Pedro Clerot rounded out the top six.

Slater’s time was good enough to take pole position ahead of his TRIDENT teammate De Palo, with Lacorte set to start P3.

For Saturday’s Sprint Race, Taponen will start from reverse grid pole, with Clerot joining him on the front row.

That wraps up the Monza action for today, with the drivers set to return to the track tomorrow for the Sprint Race at 09:30 local time.