Formula 3 experienced another busy day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, with Freddie Slater standing out once again and confirming his good form in F3. The TRIDENT driver was the fastest in the morning session of the second day, while Campos Racing responded in the afternoon and placed three cars in the top positions.
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The day was divided between fast lap work and race simulations, common in Formula 3 pre-season testing, as teams and drivers seek to understand tires, car setup, and pace in different conditions. Although the times do not define a hierarchy for the championship, they help indicate interesting trends.
In the morning, the initial focus was on fast laps. Louis Sharp, from PREMA Racing, first appeared at the top with used Hard tires, but soon times began to drop with the introduction of new sets. TRIDENT showed strength with Noah Stromsted and Matteo De Palo among the fastest, until other competitors started using new tires.
Tuukka Taponen, from MP Motorsport, momentarily took the lead, as did Gerrard Xie, from DAMS Lucas Oil. ART Grand Prix also shone for a few moments with Taito Kato leading a one-two over Maciej Gladysz by a minimal margin.
But the definitive benchmark came from Freddie Slater. The Briton repeated his strong performance from the first day and clocked 1min27s020, a time that no one could beat. Stromsted still reduced the gap and was second, but remained nearly three-tenths behind his teammate. With tire wear, several teams shifted to race simulations and the order did not change further.
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In the afternoon, the scenario was different. Teams prioritized long stints with used Hard tires, which naturally increased lap times. Bruno del Pino and Fernando Barrichello led at different moments for AIX Racing.
In the final minutes, Hitech moved forward with Tim Tramnitz and Jin Nakamura, but Campos Racing had an ace up its sleeve. By putting on new Hard tires near the end, Ugo Ugochukwu jumped into the lead with 1min28s241. Patrick Heuzenroeder and Théophile Nael completed the top 3, ensuring total dominance for the Spanish team.
The session ended early after Enzo Deligny stopped in the gravel between turns 7 and 8, causing a red flag two minutes before the end. With no time for a restart, the times remained frozen.
With this, Slater leaves day 2 as the main name in fast lap pace, while Campos shows strength in end-of-session conditions. The drivers return to the track for the last day of testing in Barcelona starting at 9h local time, concluding preparations before the start of the Formula 3 season.
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