Esterson tops wet F3 practice at Silverstone skipped by Browning

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson was fastest in a wet FIA Formula 3 practice session at Silverstone.

The slippy track surface meant few were willing to head out when the 45-minute session began, with Esterson laying down the first benchmark.

MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz was next to the top, with a third of the 30-car field having set laps after seven minutes.

A 2m02.079s put Prema’s Arvid Lindblad into first place, with Rodin Motorsport’s Joseph Loake slotting into second.

Trident’s Sami Meguetounif was the first driver to set a sub-2m02s lap, 11 minutes in, then moments later Campos Racing’s Mari Boya made a big gain to 2m00.873s.

A third of the way through the session there were still 12 drivers yet to put a laptime down, and Prema’s Gabriele Mini pitted for slick tyres but then soon returned to the pits as the track was not dry enough.

Drivers remaining on the wet compound tyres were still able to improve their pace, and ART Grand Prix’s Nikola Tsolov set a 2m00.550s while Rodin Motorsport’s Cian Shields rose to third with a 2m01.339s.

Two laps later Shields improved to 2m00.267s to go to the top, and soon the track emptied as rain began to fall again as the session entered its second half. The timesheet only featured 22 names, and while some had at least attempted outlaps there was no action at all from Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli, Hitech GP’s Luke Browning and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Tommy Smith.

With 20 minutes to go Esterson returned to first place with a 2m00.153s lap, and two minutes after that Fornaroli finally ventured out and did so on slick tyres. But the rain was getting worse.

Hitech’s F3 debutant James Wharton went fourth fastest with 16 minutes left on the clock, and the track became busy again in the final 10 minutes with everyone on wet tyres. However points leader Browning continued to spectate from the sidelines.

There were scant improvements in the top half of the order thereon, with Meguetounif climbing to 16th with five minutes to go, Prema’s Dino Beganovic going 13th fastest two minutes later despite the haze covering the track then both improving again to 10th and 11th respectively as the chequered flag waved. Jenzer’s Charlie Wurz also improved at the finish to 12th.

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