Jules Bianchi came out on top in a duel with teammate Valtteri Bottas to take pole position for the first Formula 3 Euro Series race of the weekend at Oschersleben.

The ART pair exchanged places at the top of the order several times during the session, but Bianchi's effort with four minutes to go was good enough to seal the top spot.

Bottas was unable to improve in the closing stages, but his effort was good enough to keep him on the front row, ahead of Bianchi's nearest title rival Christian Vietoris who took third.

The top three enjoyed the best part of a 0.3-second gap back to the chasing pack, which will be led by Manor Motorsport's Roberto Merhi in fourth place.

Signature teammates Jean-Karl Vernay and Mika Maki completed the top six thanks to improving their times in the final moments of the session, while F3 rookie Alexander Sims jumped up to seventh with his final lap.

Former Euro Series race winner and current British F3 frontrunner Renger van der Zande put in a solid performance on his return to the championship with Motopark Academy, taking eighth place, while Esteban Gutierrez and Stefano Coletti completed the top 10.

TIMES:
Pos  Driver                Team            Car  Time       Gap

 1.  Jules Bianchi         ART             D/M  1m20.706s

 2.  Valtteri Bottas       ART             D/M  1m20.838s  + 0.132s

 3.  Christian Vietoris    Mucke           D/M  1m20.847s  + 0.141s

 4.  Roberto Merhi         Manor           D/M  1m21.116s  + 0.410s

 5.  Jean Karl Vernay      Signature       D/V  1m21.134s  + 0.428s

 6.  Mika Maki             Signature       D/V  1m21.186s  + 0.480s

 7.  Alexander Sims        Mucke           D/M  1m21.255s  + 0.549s

 8.  Renger van der Zande  Motopark        D/M  1m21.328s  + 0.622s

 9.  Esteban Gutierrez     ART             D/M  1m21.353s  + 0.647s

10.  Stefano Coletti       Prema           D/M  1m21.370s  + 0.664s

11.  Andrea Caldarelli     SG              D/M  1m21.519s  + 0.813s

12.  Henkie Waldschmidt    SG              D/M  1m21.611s  + 0.905s

13.  Marco Wittmann        Mucke           D/M  1m21.620s  + 0.914s

14.  Sam Bird              Mucke           D/M  1m21.647s  + 0.941s

15.  Cesar Ramos           Manor           D/M  1m21.739s  + 1.033s

16.  Christopher Zanella   Motopark        D/M  1m21.924s  + 1.218s

17.  Tom Dillmann          HBR             D/M  1m21.957s  + 1.251s

18.  Tiago Geronimi        Signature       D/V  1m21.964s  + 1.258s

19.  Jake Rosenzweig       Carlin          D/V  1m21.965s  + 1.259s

20.  Brendon Hartley       Carlin          D/V  1m22.206s  + 1.500s

21.  Pedro Enrique         Manor           D/M  1m22.242s  + 1.536s

22.  Nick Tandy            Kolles & Heinz  D/V  1m22.292s  + 1.586s

23.  Basil Shaaban         Prema           D/M  1m22.480s  + 1.774s

24.  Johan Jokinen         Kolles & Heinz  D/V  1m22.570s  + 1.864s

25.  Johnny Cecotto        HBR             D/M  1m22.865s  + 2.159s