PREMA’s Frederik Vesti placed fourth in qualifying, following his fourth place position in Free Practice.

The Danish driver crossed the line only 0.071 of a second behind his rookie team mate Ollie Bearman, who seized pole for Sunday’s race.

Vesti arrived at Baku third in the Driver’s Championship after a positive round in Melbourne and a Feature Race win in Jeddah.

‘Pole was definitely possible, I was P1 after the first lap’

After putting the car ahead of the rest of the field, he narrowly missed the opportunity for a tow to retain the pole position on his second lap. There was no opportunity to improve when drivers crossed the line quicker as the time ran out, including Bearman.

‘We will be fighting for points tomorrow and Sunday’

Despite narrowly missing out on pole, Vesti has an optimistic outlook on the race; certain that he will be able to fight through the field and secure a good point-securing position in both the Sprint Race and Feature Race.

Vesti achieved his maiden F2 win with ART Grand Prix in Baku last year so the skills to win at this street track are no strangers to the 21-year-old.

‘We know we have a good car for the races so we just need to stay out of trouble and do the maximum we can’

Both PREMA drivers stay positive with their expectations for the team, believing consistent podiums is their main goal so staying out of trouble is vital. Securing this at Baku will be a major step in the championship for the team, so fans will watch on worldwide over the weekend.

Image: Joe Portlock / Formula Motorsport Limited, Joan Codina