Robert Shwartzman moved towards the brink of clinching the F😼IA Formula 3 title after scoring his first pole position in over four months during qualifying at the Sochi Autodrom on Friday.

Prema Racing's Shwartzman entered the final round of the season with a 33-point lead over teamma♛te Jehan Daruvala in championship standings, but added to his advantage by scoring the four bonus points for taking𒊎 pole in Sochi.

Shwartzman and Daruvala exchanged fastest laps throughout the session, with the Russian eventually prevailing after a final lap time of 1m52.583s to score pole by almost﷽ two-tenths of a second.

It means S▨hwartzman sits 37 points clear with just 44 available, requiring victory from Daruvala if the title ra🐷ce is to stay alive until Sunday.

The result ღmarked Shwartzman's first pole position since the opening round of the year in Barcelona, which also stood as his most recent front-row qualifying result.

Shwartzman's fellow Ferrari junior, Marcus Armstrong, qualified third after being hindered by traffic on h🍃is final run in qualifying, with Niko Kari and Christian Lundgaard taking fourth and fifth place respectively.

Jake Hughes qua🍌lified sixth for HWA Racelab ahead of Trident's Pedro Piquet, with Hitech drivers Leonardo Pulc𓂃ini and Juri Vips following in eighth and ninth. Max Fewtrell completed the top 10 for ART Grand Prix.

Davi🌞d Schumacher made his FIA F3 qualifying debut on Friday, finishing 25th overall, while only 29 drivers took part in the session after David Beckmann withdrew from the weeke꧂nd due to a family emergency.

The 𒊎opening race of the F3 weekend begins at 1015 local tim🌼e on Sunday (0815 BST).