Mini quickest for Prema at Imola in FIA F3 testing

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Gabriele Mini set the pace in the second session of FIA Formula 3’s post-season test at Imola, with laptimes quicker than in the morning.

Rodin Carlin’s Louis Sharp was first to the top when the session began, setting a 1m49.710s.

After eight minutes the pace had already been brought down to 1m32.138s by Mini, with Prema team-mate Arvid Lindblad 0.577 seconds slower in second place and Carlin’s new GB3 champion Callum Voisin 0.93s behind in third.

Trident’s Santiago Ramos reduced Mini’s advantage to 0.363s, but Mini then improved to 1m31.873s while Lindblad made it a Prema one-two by setting a 1m32.012s.

Their team-mate Dino Beganovic bettered both, setting a 1m31.824s before red flags waved due to PHM Racing’s Joshua Duerksen crashing out at turn three.

The three-hour session was restarted 30 minutes in, but after a few minutes drivers were already being denied the chance to improve as the track went under full course yellow conditions for four minutes. Green flags returned for two minutes before red flags appeared again due to Voisin beaching car in the turn three gravel.

After 13 minutes there was another restart, and towards the end of the first hour Mini returned to first place with a 1m31.306s lap. MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz was 0.102s behind in second, with Beganovic improving to 1m31.428s in third and then moving ahead of Beganovic with a 1m31.331s.

There was no change at the top for over an hour as there was another three red flag stoppages and two FCY periods, with Campos Racing’s Sebastian Montoya – who failed to set a lap in the morning – going fifth fastest with 54 minutes left to go.

Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli went fastest with 48 minutes on the clock, setting a 1m31.265s. His team-mate Sami Meguetounif rose to third place a few minutes later, but by the final half-hour Prema was back on top with Mini and Beganovic lapping in the 1m30s. Fornaroli did two, to sit in third place.

He was later shuffled down to fifth as Campos’s Oliver Goethe set a 1m30.519s to go second fastest and his team-mate Mari Boya went 0.003s faster than Fornaroli to take fourth place, then in the last few minutes Mini improved to 1m30.225s to grow his gap at the top from 0.036s to 0.294s.

Most drivers were in the pits when the chequered flag waved, with Lindblad the highest-placed driver on the timesheet to still be out as he stayed sixth fastest.

Afternoon session results