Freddie Slater sets the pace once again on Day 2 of Barcelona pre-season test

TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater was fastest of all on the second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, leading the way in the morning session with a 1:27.020.

In the afternoon, Ugo Ugochukwu was quickest, completing a 1:28.241 to top the timesheets ahead of his fellow Campos Racing drivers Patrick Heuzenroeder and Théophile Nael.

MORNING

One lap pace was the focus to start the day with PREMA Racing’s Louis Sharp the early pacesetter on the used Hard tyres with a 1:30.084, a 0.186s advantage over Taito Kato.

But then came the TRIDENT trio on a new set of tyres with Noah Stromsted hitting the front with a 1:28.417, giving the Danish driver a one second gap to teammate Matteo De Palo in P2.

The rest of the field then bolted on their new Hards, with Tuukka Taponen the one to beat on this occasion. The MP Motorsport driver’s 1:28.064 saw him beat Ugo Ugochukwu to P1 by 0.278s.

But as the Qualifying laps continued, it was DAMS Lucas Oil’s Gerrard Xie that went quickest on a 1:27.792, with Théophile Nael 0.083s behind in P2.

Stromsted returned to the top on his next attempt, but Taponen’s 1:27.402 meant he eclipsed the TRIDENT driver to P1 by 0.014s.

Kato then led an ART Grand Prix one-two ahead of Maciej Gladysz, with the pair separated by just 0.003s, with the Japanese driver’s 1:27.317 now the time to beat.

But then came Slater, who picked up from where he left off on Day 1 to go fastest with a 1:27.020, an advantage of 0.297s over Kato.

His teammate Stromsted eat into this advantage moments later when he went to P2, but still he was 0.288s down on the British driver.

With older tyres, several teams then shifted their attentions to race simulations, meaning that no driver improved. This left Slater on top ahead of Stromsted, Kato, Gladysz with Taponen in fifth.

AFTERNOON

Long runs were the main focus in the afternoon, with the teams putting on a set of the older Hard tyres for their race simulations.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Bruno del Pino set the fastest time early on with a 1:32.219, but as the first hour came to a close, Fernando Barrichello went top on a 1:31.566 for AIX Racing.

Slater then kicked off his next set of race runs with the quickest lap of the afternoon, this time a 1:31.408, but P1 returned to AIX moments later when Brad Benavides completed a 1:31.331.

As the session wound down to a close, Hitech made their move, with Tim Tramnitz now in first place with a 1:30.248. It was a tightly fought contest with Jin Nakamura just 0.012s behind in P2.

Campos then fitted their drivers with new Hard tyres late on, and Ugochukwu used those to go quickest on a 1:28.241. Patrick Heuzenroeder was 0.203s behind in P2, with Nael in third, with the Spanish team occupying the top three positions.

With two minutes to go though, Enzo Deligny stopped in the gravel between Turns 7 and 8, bringing out the Red Flags. As a result, there was no time to restart the session.

This left Ugochukwu on top in the afternoon, with Heuzenroeder second ahead of Nael, Brando Badoer in fourth ahead of fellow Rodin Motorsport driver Christian Ho.

That wraps up Day 2, but the drivers will be back out on track for the final day of pre-season testing in Barcelona at 09:00 local time tomorrow morning.

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

*Car 10 all times deleted. Car non-compliant with the bodywork measurements