Tsolov sweeps Day 2 of Barcelona pre-season testing for Campos Racing

Nikola Tsolov and Campos Racing had a strong second day of running at the Barcelona pre-season test, the Bulgarian driver going fastest in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

Tsolov set a 1:26.618 in the opening three hours of the day to lead ART Grand Prix driver Tuukka Taponen by 0.164s.

He continued that fine form in the afternoon segment thanks to a 1:27.249, putting him nearly two-tenths ahead of his second-placed teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

MORNING

It was a busy start to the day as the teams placed their early focus on performance runs, and after the first set of laps, it was Taponen who set the early pace.

The ART driver completed a 1:28.879, giving him a 0.376s advantage over his teammate, and fellow rookie, James Wharton, in second.

However, leaving the pit lane later than the rest of their rivals played to TRIDENT’s advantage, as Noah Stromsted went fastest on a clear track with a 1:27.714, putting himself 0.581s ahead of his teammate Rafael Câmara in P2.

The majority of the field then came back out and once again it was an ART 1-2 led by Taponen. The Finn’s 1:26.838 put him into P1, this time ahead of Laurens van Hoepen, who was 0.042s behind.

Taponen then improved to a 1:26.782 on his next flying lap. However, his time was only good enough for P2 on this occasion, as Campos Racing’s Tsolov went quickest with a 1:26.618.

TRIDENT again sent their drivers out onto an empty track and as we entered into the final hour of the morning Stromsted moved up to P3, 0.320s off the leading time.

With less than 40 minutes left the Red Flags were waved with DAMS Lucas Oil driver Nicola Lacorte having stopped on track at the exit of Turn 8.

The session resumed with 35 minutes to go, but there were no further changes at the top of the timesheets, with Tsolov leading Taponen and Stromsted.

Van Hoepen ended up fourth, ahead of Campos’ Mari Boya and Rodin Motorsport rookies Louis Sharp and Roman Bilinski. TRIDENT pair Câmara and Charlie Wurz were eighth and ninth respectively, as PREMA Racing’s Noel León rounded out the top 10.

AFTERNOON

After the two-hour lunch break, day two action resumed in Barcelona, and once again it was Tsolov leading the way, but this time in a Campos 1-2-3.

The Bulgarian’s 1:27.373 put him 0.075s clear of Inthraphuvasak early on, while teammate Boya rounded out the top three, over three-tenths behind the leading time.

As the first hour came to a close though, Tsolov extended his advantage out front, moving onto a 1:27.249s, putting him 0.199s clear of Inthraphuvasak.

Campos continued to hold the top three positions until Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne moved up to third with a 1:27.569 with 82 minutes left in the day’s proceedings.

But with 30 minutes left Stenshorne was pushed down to P4 as MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz went up to third, ending up 0.315s off the Bulgarian’s time.

There were no further improvements on the timesheets the rest of the day, meaning Tsolov kept hold of P1, ahead of Inthraphuvasak and Tramnitz.

Stenshorne was fourth ahead of van Hoepen, Boya and MP rookies Alessandro Giusti and Bruno del Pino. León wound up ninth for PREMA once again as Hitech TGR newcomer Gerrard Xie rounded out the top 10.

2025 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA PRE-SEASON TEST, DAY 2, MORNING SESSION

2025 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA PRE-SEASON TEST, DAY 2, AFTERNOON SESSION