F3: Yamakoshi becomes first Japanese polesitter in Formula 3 with Spielberg stunner

Hiyu Yamakoshi delivered an improvement when nobody else was looking to earn his maiden pole position in FIA Formula 3.

The Van Amersfoort Racing driver opted to run to a different plan in comparison to his rivals and made use of an empty track to take pole.

With the remainder of the pack in the pit lane following their first attempts, the Japanese driver returned to a clear circuit to record his 1:21.730, before boxing himself and watching the rest try to beat his effort.

Thankfully for him, nobody could better it, with Championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu getting closest and winding up second overall, just over one-hundredth of a second away.

MP Motorsport and Scuderia Ferrari Academy Driver Tuukka Taponen earned his best Qualifying result of the season in third.

Noah Stromsted wound up fourth overall having set the pace earlier in the day in Free Practice. TRIDENT teammate and Audi Development Driver Freddie Slater completed the top five.

They were followed by Alessandro Giusti, Taito Kato, Kanato Le and Jin Nakamura in the top 10.

For an in-depth report of the FIA Formula 3 Qualifying session in Spielberg, head to the official website here.