Home Featured Lirim Zendelli leads Trident 1-2 in FIA F3 practice at Red Bull Ring

Lirim Zendelli leads Trident 1-2 in FIA F3 practice at Red Bull Ring

by Bethonie Waring

Photo: Getty Images / FIA F3 Championship

Trident’s Lirim Zendelli topped the times in FIA Formula 3 Championship free practice for round two at the Red Bull Ring by just 0.008 seconds ahead of team-mate David Beckmann.

Prema’s trio spent much of practice at the top of the order, but a flurry of fast laps in the final minutes of the session mixed up the order.

Zendelli was the only driver to set a time quicker than 1m20s and was one of the very last on track, ending the morning with a 1m19.994s.

Campos Racing’s Alex Peroni also left it as late as possible to set his best and was third fastest, 0.043s off Zendelli’s fastest time, with Vesti the best placed Prema driver in fourth after briefly going to the top as the chequered flag waved.

There were a handful of technical problems during the session.

Hitech GP’s Max Fewtrell was the first driver to show issues as he came to a stop on track, bringing out local yellow flags. He tried to pull to the side of the track, but came to a stop before he could. He was able to get going again by himself and returned to the pits.

It was a lengthy stay in the pits for the Renault Formula 1 junior, who had complained about the car being stuck in fifth gear. He ended the session in 24th place.

Points leader Oscar Piastri also had issues, getting out of the car at one point while Prema investigated something in the cockpit. He got back out with 22 minutes on the clock, eventually going seventh fastest, behind team-mate Logan Sargeant.

ART Grand Prix’s Sebastian Fernandez, MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor and Campos Racing’s Sophia Floresch completed the top 10.

David Schumacher sat at the top late on for Charouz Racing System, but returned to the pits just a minute earlier than his rivals and was shuffled down to 14th place.

 

Free practice results
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Lirim Zendeli Trident 1m19.994s 22
2 David Beckmann Trident 1m20.002s +0.008s 23
3 Alex Peroni Campos Racing 1m20.037s +0.043s 18
4 Frederik Vesti Prema 1m20.206s +0.212s 23
5 Alexander Smolyar ART Grand Prix 1m20.256s +0.262s 25
6 Logan Sargeant Prema 1m20.324s +0.330s 23
7 Oscar Piastri Prema 1m20.512 +0.518s 19
8 Sebastian Fernandez ART Grand Prix 1m20.544s +0.550s 22
9 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1m20.549s +0.555s 22
10 Sophia Floersch Campos Racing 1m20.663s +0.669s 21
11 Olli Caldwell Trident 1m20.694s +0.700s 24
12 Theo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1m20.762s +0.768s 24
13 Liam Lawson Hitech GP 1m20.783s +0.789s 19
14 David Schumacher Charouz Racing System 1m20.823s +0.829s 25
15 Bent Viscaal MP Motorsport 1m20.855s +0.861s 20
16 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1m20.875s +0.881s 25
17 Jake Hughes HWA Racelab 1m20.909s +0.915s 27
18 Igor Fraga Charouz Racing System 1m20.920s +0.926s 24
19 Cameron Das Carlin 1m20.996s +1.002s 24
20 Roman Stanek Charouz Racing System 1m21.017s +1.023s 24
21 Jack Doohan HWA Racelab 1m21.024s +1.030s 27
22 Federico Malvestiti Jenzer Motorsport 1m21.042s +1.048s 24
23 Enzo Fittipaldi HWA Racelab 1m21.047s +1.053s 27
24 Max Fewtrell Hitech GP 1m21.101s +1.107s 15
25 Matteo Nannini Jenzer Motorsport 1m21.106s +1.112s 25
26 Clement Novalak Carlin 1m21.173s +1.179s 20
27 Dennis Hauger Hitech GP 1m21.214s +1.220s 18
28 Lukas Dunner MP Motorsport 1m21.229s +1.235s 21
29 Enaam Ahmed Carlin 1m21.342s +1.348s 21
30 Alessio Deledda Campos Racing 1m21.769s +1.775s 21