Jake Hughes took provi💯sional pole for ♉the Macau Grand Prix in the opening day of FIA Formula 3 action at the Guia Circuit as Dan Ticktum and Callum Ilott both made their returns to the category.

In the first run-out for the new, faster F3 cars that raced in this year's FIA championship at Macau, Hughes was able to take top spot in Q1 for HWA Racelab with a f𒅌astest lap time of 2m06.793s.

Hughes got his lap in just before a string of red flags that resulted in the session being brought to an early end, giving him P1 by just half a tenth of a second from David Beckmann, who took P2 fo🔯r Trident ahead of Red Bull junior Juri Vips.

FIA F3 runner-up Marcus Armstrong ended the day 🎶fourth-fastest for Prema Racing, with teammate and F3 champion Robert Shwartzman lang💜uishing down in ninth place after a series of rapid improvements shuffled the Russian down the order.

America's Logan Sargeant finished fifth for Carlin ahead of teammate and two-time Macau winner Dan Ticktum, who enjoyed his maiden official run-out in the FIA F3 car following testing in Valencia, ha꧂ving started the y📖ear in Super Formula prior to being dropped from Red Bull's junior programme.

Ferrari youngster Callum Ilott finished seventh in his maiden outing in the new car after racing in F2 through 2019, while Formula Regio✱nal European champion Fred𝓡erik Vesti took eighth for Prema.

Drivers will have an opportunity to improve their times in Q2 on Friday at Macau that will set the gri🤡d for Saturday's qualifying race, foll𝓡owed by the grand prix on Sunday.