Photo: FIA F3 European Championship
Rookies led the way in free practice ahead of the opening round of the FIA F3 European Championship at Silverstone.
Prema pair Antonio Fuoco and Esteban Ocon finished first and second in session one, with the Ferrari and Lotus proteges separated by 0.051s respectively.
Karting graduate Max Verstappen was third for Van Amersfoort Racing, with fourth-placed Nicholas Latifi (Prema) also within a tenth of the pace.
Verstappen claimed top spot in the second session, shaving six tenths off Fuoco’s earlier benchmark. Ocon was again second, 0.082s behind the 16-year-old Dutchman, while Fuoco completed the top three.
Carlin drivers filled four of the next five spots, with Ed Jones, Jordan King and Tom Blomqvist rounding out the top six and Antonio Giovinazzi eighth behind Latifi.
Spike Goddard took a strong ninth for the T-Sport team that is powered by Neil Brown Engineering engines, while Felix Serralles completed the top ten for series newcomers West-Tec.
The Signature team have put their return to F3 on hold for now, withdrawing from the opening weekend. Oscar Tunjo had already left the Renault-powered project, and his fellow Colombian Tatiana Calderon has now switched to Jo Zeller Racing for Silverstone, taking over from team regular Sandro Zeller. That leaves 26 cars taking part.
Session times
| Pos | ?Driver | ?Team | Session 1 | Session 2 |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:52.396 | 1:51.716 |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | Prema Powerteam | 1:52.374 | 1:51.798 |
| 3 | Antonio Fuoco | Prema Powerteam | 1:52.323 | 1:51.863 |
| 4 | Ed Jones | Carlin | 1:52.777 | 1:52.040 |
| 5 | Jordan King | Carlin | 1:52.722 | 1:52.082 |
| 6 | Tom Blomqvist | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:52.424 | 1:52.116 |
| 7 | Nicholas Latifi | Prema Powerteam | 1:52.413 | 1:52.259 |
| 8 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:53.510 | 1:52.334 |
| 9 | Spike Goddard | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:53.223 | 1:52.558 |
| 10 | Felix Serralles | Team West-Tec | 1:52.878 | 1:52.594 |
| 11 | John Bryant-Meisner | Fortec Motorsports | 1:53.542 | 1:52.606 |
| 12 | Felipe Guimaraes | Double R Racing | 1:53.065 | 1:52.665 |
| 13 | Dennis van de Laar | Prema Powerteam | 1:52.823 | 1:52.690 |
| 14 | Riccardo Agostini | Eurointernational | 1:53.045 | 1:52.712 |
| 15 | Mitch Gilbert | Fortec Motorsports | 1:53.036 | 1:52.754 |
| 16 | Felix Rosenqvist | kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport | 1:53.001 | 1:54.031 |
| 17 | Lucas Auer | kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport | 1:53.470 | 1:53.013 |
| 18 | Jake Dennis | Carlin | 1:53.922 | 1:53.026 |
| 19 | Sean Gelael | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:53.383 | 1:53.323 |
| 20 | Jules Szymkowiak | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:53.760 | 1:53.442 |
| 21 | Gustavo Menezes | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:53.550 | 1:53.445 |
| 22 | Alexander Toril | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:53.710 | 1:53.455 |
| 23 | Tatiana Calderon | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:54.569 | 1:53.558 |
| 24 | Roy Nissany | kfzteile24 Mucke Motorsport | 1:54.436 | 1:53.572 |
| 25 | Michele Beretta | Eurointernational | 1:54.030 | 1:53.588 |
| 26 | Hector Hurst | Team West-Tec | 1:54.540 | 1:54.362 |