Palmer claims Monaco GP2 pole

Jolyon Palmer will start from pole position in Friday's Monaco GP2 feature race for the DAMS squad after setting the fastest time in the quickest of the qualifying sessions.

Split into two 16-minute periods, Group A for odd-numbered cars and Group B for evens, it was the first session that proved most competitive in terms of strength in depth and, most importantly, being the faster it gave Palmer pole position.

Palmer, who was investigated but exonerated for overtaking under yellows in practice, left his run until the closing five minutes of the opening session. His first attempt was a 1m20.774s, which he followed up with a 1m20.969s – either of which were good enough for pole.

In the slower Group B session, Caterham's Rio Haryanto just shaded Palmer's team-mate Stephane Richelmi by 0.011sec. That means Haryanto will start from P2, with Richelmi in P4.

Mitch Evans's late flyer in Group A for Russian Time gave him third on the grid, and demoted Johnny Cecotto Jr (who complained he was held up by Daniel Abt) to fifth. Bahrain winner Stoffel Vandoorne will start sixth for ART.

It was a disastrous day for Felipe Nasr, the Barcelona sprint race winner only qualifying on row eight for Carlin after crashing in morning practice.