Photo: Fast Lane Promotion
Simon Gachet set the fastest time in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps practice in Pau as points leader Nyck de Vries crashed.
The field of 24 cars was split into two groups for practice around the twisty street circuit, with each group getting 50 minutes out on track.
Gachet, who sits second in the standings after a pair of podiums at the opening round at Imola last month, went quickest in the first session, for Group B.
The ARTA Engineering driver was over half a second ahead of Matevos Isaakyan, with Akash Nandy, Martin Kodric and Charles Leclerc completing the top five runners in Group B.
Formula Abarth champion Alessio Rovera topped the times in Group A, nearly a tenth off the earlier pace of Gachet.
George Russell, the rookie who sits third in the standings, was three tenths further behind in second, with his Koiranen team-mate de Vries finishing up third. His error brought out the red flags and ended his session early, having just completed nine laps to Russell’s eventual 31.
Prema’s sole entry Alex Bosak (Andrew Tang has been forced to stop racing due to military service) and Alps debutant Ben Barnicoat completed the top five in session two.
Session one times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time? | Gap | Laps? |
| 1 | Simon Gachet | ARTA Engineering | 1:14.375 | 33 | |
| 2 | Matevos Isaakyan | JD Motorsport | 1:14.948 | 0.573 | 28 |
| 3 | Akash Nandy | Tech 1 Racing | 1:15.273 | 0.898 | 30 |
| 4 | Martin Kodric | Fortec Motorsports | 1:15.343 | 0.968 | 32 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Fortec Motorsports | 1:15.614 | 1.239 | 31 |
| 6 | Philo Paz Armand | Tech 1 Racing | 1:15.828 | 1.453 | 30 |
| 7 | Marek Bockmann | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.314 | 1.939 | 28 |
| 8 | Dennis Korneev | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.702 | 2.327 | 29 |
| 9 | Kang Ling | Koiranen GP | 1:16.855 | 2.480 | 31 |
| 10 | Semen Evstigneev | BVM Racing | 1:16.856 | 2.481 | 34 |
| 11 | Matteo Gonfiantini | TS Corse | 1:17.475 | 3.100 | 27 |
| 12 | Luke Chudleigh | Tech 1 Racing | 1:18.449 | 4.074 | 10 |
Session two times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time? | Gap | Laps? |
| 1 | Alessio Rovera | Cram Motorsport | 1:14.471 | 23 | |
| 2 | George Russell | Koiranen GP | 1:14.793 | 0.322 | 31 |
| 3 | Nyck De Vries | Koiranen GP | 1:15.275 | 0.804 | 9 |
| 4 | Alex Bosak | Prema Powerteam | 1:15.327 | 0.856 | 29 |
| 5 | Ben Barnicoat | Fortec Motorsports | 1:15.369 | 0.898 | 25 |
| 6 | Dennis Anoschin | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:15.972 | 1.501 | 28 |
| 7 | Hugo de Sadeleer | Tech 1 Racing | 1:16.024 | 1.553 | 28 |
| 8 | Thiago Vivacqua | Fortec Motorsports | 1:16.660 | 2.189 | 30 |
| 9 | Dario Capitanio | BVM Racing | 1:16.745 | 2.274 | 28 |
| 10 | James Allen | ARTA Engineering | 1:17.181 | 2.710 | 26 |
| 11 | Danyil Pronenko | AS Motorsport by GSK | 1:17.444 | 2.973 | 25 |
| 12 | Pietro Peccenini | TS Corse | 1:18.037 | 3.566 | 25 |