Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Campos Racing’s Theophile Nael was quickest on the final morning of FIA Formula 3 pre-season testing at Barcelona.
Early on in the three-hour session it was Noah Stromsted (Trident) who was fastest, a 1m27.620s lap putting him 0.034 seconds ahead of Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos). Freddie Slater (Trident) was third, 0.104 behind.
Nael moved into third early in the second hour, 0.085s off the top, and half a second split the top 10. Brando Badoer (Rodin Motorsport) was fifth with a 1m27.891s, ahead of Patrick Heuzenroeder (Campos), Brad Benavides (AIX Racing), Louis Sharp (Prema), Niko Lacorte (DAMS) and Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix).
On his next run, Nael improved to 1m27.525s with the fastest splits in sectors one and three to claim top spot by 0.095s. Once he pitted, the track was empty until Lacorte headed back out with 73 minutes to go.
Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport) rose from 15th to eighth with 64 minutes remaining, setting a 1m28.075s to edge ahead of Sharp by 0.01s, as only a few drivers headed out at a time.
In the final hour, teams turned their attention to long runs and pitstop practice. The final classification was set with 56 minutes to go, when Alessandro Giusti (MP) moved up from 28th to 24th and team-mate Mattia Colnaghi made a big gain that lifted him from last place but only by 0.011s over Gerrard Xie (DAMS)
Half a second split the top seven, and only Bruno del Pino (Van Amersfoort Racing), Colnaghi and Xie were over a second off the pace.
Campos’s trio and Yevan David (AIX) were the only drivers to take the chequered flag, and the most running was completed by Nael and Ugochukwu.
Additional reporting by Ida Wood
Morning session results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Theophile Nael | Campos Racing | 1m27.525s | 46 | |
| 2 | Noah Stromsted | Trident | 1m27.620s | +0.095s | 33 |
| 3 | Ugo Ugochukwu | Campos Racing | 1m27.640s | +0.115s | 46 |
| 4 | Freddie Slater | Trident | 1m27.724s | +0.199s | 37 |
| 5 | Brando Badoer | Rodin Motorsport | 1m27.891s | +0.366s | 26 |
| 6 | Patrick Heuzenroeder | Campos Racing | 1m27.926s | +0.401s | 45 |
| 7 | Brad Benavides | AIX Racing | 1m29.979s | +0.454s | 30 |
| 8 | Tuukka Taponen | MP Motorsport | 1m28.075s | +0.550s | 18 |
| 9 | Louis Sharp | Prema | 1m28.085s | +0.560s | 40 |
| 10 | Niko Lacorte | DAMS | 1m28.090s | +0.565s | 22 |
| 11 | Taito Kato | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.120s | +0.595s | 19 |
| 12 | Christian Ho | Rodin Motorsport | 1m28.132s | +0.607s | 27 |
| 13 | Jin Nakamura | Hitech GP | 1m28.144s | +0.619s | 41 |
| 14 | Pedro Clerot | Rodin Motorsport | 1m28.164s | +0.639s | 28 |
| 15 | Tim Tramnitz | Hitech GP | 1m28.165s | +0.640s | 44 |
| 16 | Maciej Gladysz | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.183s | +0.658s | 17 |
| 17 | Matteo De Palo | Trident | 1m28.286s | +0.761s | 40 |
| 18 | Enzo Deligny | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m28.315s | +0.790s | 26 |
| 19 | James Wharton | Prema | 1m28.338s | +0.813s | 41 |
| 20 | Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi | DAMS | 1m28.343s | +0.818s | 29 |
| 21 | Kanato Le | ART Grand Prix | 1m28.367s | +0.842s | 20 |
| 22 | Yevan David | AIX Racing | 1m28.409s | +0.884s | 27 |
| 23 | Fernando Barrichello | AIX Racing | 1m28.463s | +0.938s | 26 |
| 24 | Alessandro Giusti | MP Motorsport | 1m28.463s | +0.938s | 20 |
| 25 | Hiyu Yamakoshi | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m28.482s | +0.957s | 35 |
| 26 | Fionn McLaughlin | Hitech GP | 1m28.562s | +1.037s | 39 |
| 27 | Jose Garfias | Prema | 1m28.586s | +1.061s | 40 |
| 28 | Bruno del Pino | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m28.590s | +1.065s | 28 |
| 29 | Mattia Colnaghi | MP Motorsport | 1m28.965s | +1.440s | 21 |
| 30 | Gerrard Xie | DAMS | 1m28.976s | +1.451s | 44 |