Mansell will line up on pole for Sunday’s F3 feature race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after securing top spot in an especially tight session.

Just 0.056s covered the top four qualifiers, with Mansell to be joined on Sunday’s front row by Arvid Lindblad, while his ART team-mate, Nikola Tsolov, will start third.

“Genuinely as I was crossing the line, my eyes were just straight to the screen,” Mansell recounted of his final qualifying lap.

“As soon as I saw it, it was such an amazing feeling and rewarding feeling.

“For me, as in ART, and for Laurens [Van Hoepen] and Nikola, we’ve all put in so much work.”

The result is Mansell’s first pole in FIA Formula 3 and follows on from a second place finish on the streets of Monaco last time out.

But while the result will see the Novocastrian start from first on the grid come Sunday, it leaves him buried in 12th for the reverse-grid Sprint on Saturday.

In Monaco, Mansell was an opening lap casualty in the Sprint – the innocent victim as the field jostled for track position in Casino Square.

There is less risk in Spain, with the 19-year-old looking to use the race as a platform for Sunday.

“It’s going to be about trying to learn as much as possible for the Feature race,” Mansell explained.

“In the mid-pack you’re going to be fighting and what we’ll be hoping to do on Sunday will be very different to that.

“Being in mid-pack to being in clear air requires a very different balance, but the thing is, ART, they’re not rookies.

“I have full faith in them to give me a car that will deliver well in the Sprint race and also in the Feature.

“So we will collect as much data as we can, as much information as we can to move forward, but apart from that, it’s just another race.”

The Formula 3 Sprint race, scheduled for 21 laps, begins at 10:40 local time on Saturday morning (18:40 AEST).

Frenchman Sami Meguetounif will line up on pole, with Mari Boya second. Championship leader, Gabriele Mini, will start both the Sprint and Feature races from 16th.