FIA F3’s pre-season Barcelona test ends with Lacorte-led DAMS 1-2

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Niko Lacorte left it late to top FIA Formula 3’s final pre-season test session at Barcelona, leading a DAMS one-two.

Enzo Deligny (Van Amersfoort Racing) was the pace-setter early on, leading team-mate Bruno del Pino before his other team-mate Hiyu Yamakoshi got within 0.167 seconds of his 1m30.430s.

Five teams did not record laptimes in the first half-hour, and Maciej Gladysz (ART Grand Prix) got ahead of del Pino.

More drivers headed out after, and Brando Badoer (Rodin Motorsport) posted a 1m32.108s to take top spot 38 minutes in. His team-mate Pedro Clerot went third fastest, 0.391s behind.

Ugo Ugochukwu (Campos Racing) demoted him to fourth by 0.03s before red flags waved three quarters of an hour in due to Jose Garfias (Prema) getting into trouble.

Three teams were still without laptimes, but that changed following the restart. Fernando Barrichello (AIX) lowered the pace to 1m31.688s, Ugochukwu improved in third and his team-mates entered the top 10 with their first efforts.

Theophile Nael (Campos) edged ahead of Ugochukwu by 0.075s on his next tour, but lost third shortly after as Noah Stromsted (Trident) got within 0.484s of Barrichello with his first flying lap.

Hour one of three ended with Brad Benavides (AIX), on his first flyer, going fastest by 0.115s before Freddie Slater (Trident) brought out red flags.

The restart occurred 72 minutes in, and shortly after Badoer and Yevan David (AIX) improved to 1m31.936s and 1m32.076s in third and fourth on a congesting track. Hitech GP’s drivers had now posted laptimes too.

There was no change to the top 10 until 85 minutes in, when Tuukka Taponen (MP Motorsport) went eighth quickest ahead of Deligny, who had not improved after topping the timesheet.

As the session’s second half began, Fionn McLaughlin (Hitech) stopped in sector three and triggered red flags.

There was 75 minutes left of the test at the next restart, and Slater posted his first laptime eight minutes later. It placed him eighth, 0.797s from the top, then team-mate Stromsted returned to third by getting within 0.144s of Benavides. There were only four cars on track, but it got busier in the final hour.

Badoer took to the front with a 1m31.473s, before Matteo De Palo (Trident) leaped from 17th to first by going 0.563s faster than anyone else. Christian Ho had risen from 22nd to sixth, but was a second off the pace.

Barcelona was at its busiest with half an hour remaining, and Tim Tramnitz (Hitech) snatched second from Badoer by 0.053s having previously been 21st. Ugochukwu improved to seventh.

Tramnitz reduced Benavides’s gap further to 0.375s with 13 minutes to go, and David set a new personal best in ninth.

The biggest change came six minutes from the end, as Lacorte and Xie jumped from 23rd and 24th to the top. Xie set a 1m30.275s, bettering Benavides by 0.635s, then Lacorte went 0.599s faster than him. The pair pitted straight after, leaving nine drivers taking the chequered flag.

Additional reporting by Ida Wood

Afternoon session results