Tsolov ends Jerez test on top for Campos Racing

Nikola Tsolov was the quickest driver across the post-season test in Jerez, setting a 1:29.758 in the morning session, the best effort of the week.

In the afternoon, Nicola Lacorte went quickest of all in a rain-affected session to close out the Jerez test.

MORNING

It was a busy track right away at the green light with everyone eager to make the most of the track conditions. Charlie Wurz was the first below the two-minute mark, but it was Freddie Slater that set the early pace with a 1:31.450 for Rodin Motorsport.

Nikola Tsolov broke into the 1:30s on his next effort to take over in P1 for Campos Racing, a 1:30.496 leaving him almost four-tenths quicker than anyone else. Roman Bilinski improved to go second-fastest ahead of Martinius Stenshorne, as he too lowered his personal best time with 15 minutes gone.

Freddie Slater and John Bennett rounded out the top five after the first flurry of action for Rodin and Van Amersfoort Racing respectively.

After having the track to himself, Noah Stromsted then went quicker still to take over at the top, setting a 1:30.072 for Trident to go 0.4s clear.

With the majority back out on track after half an hour of running, Mari Boya broke the 1:30s barrier with a 1:29.881, the fastest lap of the test to that point. Tsolov improved once again to make it a Campos Racing 1-2, 0.051s down on the Spaniard’s effort.

The first Red Flag of the test arrived with 40 minutes run, as Brando Badoer went off track at Turn 10 and was left stuck in the gravel.

With the #2 PREMA Racing car recovered, running got back underway with just over two hours to go of the morning session.

Tsolov returned to the top of the timing screens with a 1:29.858 to pip Boya by 0.023s. The Bulgarian then improved on his personal best to lower the benchmark time to a 1:29.758.

After a flurry of fast laps, longer runs became the focus up until the lunch break, with Stromsted and Joshua Dufek the busiest of all, logging 48 laps each.

AFTERNOON

Nicolas Lacorte was out of the pitlane at the green light to kick off the afternoon session. He laid down a 1:31.584 in the #17 Jenzer Motorsport car as the early time to beat in the opening 15 minutes.

As the session rolled on, rain began to fall, and the second Red Flag came with just over two hours to go. Jesse Carrasquedo spun into the gravel at Turn 1 to bring the session to a halt temporarily.

After his car was recovered, the afternoon running resumed, but rain continued to intensify, with the track conditions far from ideal for slick running.

While some teams opted to complete some wet weather runs heading into the final hour of the test, there were no major changes to the order for the remainder of the afternoon.

2024 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - JEREZ POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 2, MORNING SESSION

2024 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - JEREZ POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 2, AFTERNOON SESSION