Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service
Andrea Pizzitola ended his first day in a GP3 car by setting the fastest time in the second session on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi test.
Driving for ART Grand Prix, the Formula Renault 2.0 graduate outpaced Arden tester Mitch Gilbert by half a tenth of a second.
Euroformula Open ace Alex Palou was third quickest for Trident. The 17-year-old will move over to ART on Friday
Matheo Tuscher took his Jenzer car back from morning pace-setter Kevin Ceccon and was fourth fastest. Ceccon’s benchmark remained the quickest of the day, three tenths faster than Pizzitola.
George Russell kept up his impressive pace in his Arden test for winning the BRDC F4 title, with the fifth best time of the afternoon. ART tester Artur Janosz was sixth ahead of Status pairing Matt Parry and Alfonso Celis, with the top ten completed by Koiranen’s Ryan Cullen and Jenzer debutant Ralph Boschung.
Entry list changes for day two see Pizzitola and Janosz switch to Arden in place of Russell and Patrick Kujala, and be replaced at ART by Palou and Celis. Gustavo Menezes takes the Mexican’s place at Status, with Antonio Fuoco moving from Koiranen to Carlin and Jimmy Eriksson returning to Koiranen. Also joining Carlin is Jack Aitken, in place of Ed Jones. Dylan Young takes over from Christopher Mies at Hilmer, and Zaid Ashkanani replaces Palou at Trident.
Day 1 Session 2 times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Andrea Pizzitola | ART Grand Prix | 1:55.832 | 29 | |
| 2 | Mitch Gilbert | Arden International | 1:55.885 | 0.053 | 25 |
| 3 | Alex Palou | Trident | 1:55.971 | 0.139 | 25 |
| 4 | Matheo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:56.034 | 0.202 | 22 |
| 5 | George Russell | Arden International | 1:56.078 | 0.246 | 23 |
| 6 | Artur Janosz | ART Grand Prix | 1:56.258 | 0.426 | 23 |
| 7 | Matt Parry | Status Grand Prix | 1:56.475 | 0.643 | 22 |
| 8 | Alfonso Celis | Status Grand Prix | 1:56.491 | 0.659 | 25 |
| 9 | Ryan Cullen | Koiranen GP | 1:56.517 | 0.685 | 20 |
| 10 | Ralph Boschung | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:56.559 | 0.727 | 18 |
| 11 | Gustavo Menezes | Carlin | 1:56.560 | 0.728 | 19 |
| 12 | Luca Ghiotto | Trident | 1:56.570 | 0.738 | 16 |
| 13 | Steijn Schothorst | Koiranen GP | 1:56.595 | 0.763 | 15 |
| 14 | Ed Jones | Carlin | 1:56.684 | 0.852 | 18 |
| 15 | Antonio Fuoco | Koiranen GP | 1:56.783 | 0.951 | 26 |
| 16 | Seb Morris | Status Grand Prix | 1:56.846 | 1.014 | 19 |
| 17 | Patrick Kujala | Arden International | 1:56.946 | 1.114 | 26 |
| 18 | Raoul Hyman | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:56.989 | 1.157 | 30 |
| 19 | Tatiana Calderon | ART Grand Prix | 1:57.068 | 1.236 | 22 |
| 20 | Christopher Mies | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:57.404 | 1.572 | 28 |
| 21 | Ling Kang | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:57.720 | 1.888 | 27 |
| 22 | Armaury Bonduel | Trident | 1:59.153 | 3.321 | 19 |
| 23 | Matt Rao | Carlin | 1:59.405 | 3.573 | 19 |