---
title: "Albon snatches pole from Norris in F2 qualifying"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2018/04/27/albon-snatches-pole-from-norris-in-f2-qualifying/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Kyran Gibbons"
section: "Formula 2"
published: "2018-04-27T11:58:43Z"
modified: "2018-04-27T12:07:04Z"
---

# Albon snatches pole from Norris in F2 qualifying

Alexander Albon grabbed pole position for the Azerbaijan Formula 2 feature race, while McLaren Formula 1 reserve driver Lando Norris qualified second.

Albon made use of a tow from Norris on his first run to sit second on the timesheet behind Luca Ghiotto after the first 15 minutes of the session.

DAMS’s Albon improved with his final lap, recording a 1m54.480s to snatch pole position. He demoted Norris and Mercedes F1 junior George Russell in the process, who both also improved on their second and final runs.

With just 90 seconds remaining of the session, Nicholas Latifi spun at Turn 7. He blocked the track in the process, with double waved yellows and a subsequent red flag bringing the session to an end and meaning that drivers were unable to respond to Albon’s benchmark.

Norris and Russell were locked into second and third place as a result. Luca Ghiotto was severely disadvantaged by Latifi’s spin, as he was unable to post a time on his second run. His timesheet topping effort after the first runs left him an eventual fourth.

Santino Ferrucci improved significantly in the closing minutes to qualify a career-best fifth. He and sixth-placed Sergio Sette Camara both blocked each other’s laps earlier in the session and were eventually separated by only 0.012s on the timesheet.

Jack Aitken qualified seventh for ART Grand Prix, while Trident’s Arjun Maini finished eighth. He suffered an excursion at Turn 15 in the first half of the session but like his team-mate Ferrucci, improved significantly on his second run.

Prema Racing’s Nyck de Vries and MP Motorsport’s Ralph Boschung rounded out the top 10.

Maximilian Gunther qualified 11th. He posted only one competitive time during the session after his session was truncated when he stopped on track within the first five minutes. As his car was stranded on the pit exit, the marshalls recovered him back to the pitlane, where his Arden team was able to send him back onto the circuit.

Tadasuke Makino suffered a huge lock-up at Turn 1 en route to 12th. His team-mate and Bahrain sprint race winner Artem Markelov was anonymous in 18th, 3.124s off Albon’s benchmark.