Report
Minì leads the way on opening day of Barcelona in-season testing
Gabriele Minì made it a clean sweep as the PREMA Racing driver topped the timesheets in both sessions on the opening day of the in-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Minì set the fastest lap of the day in the final hour of the morning segment thanks to a time of 1:28.313, leading Trident’s Sami Meguetounif by just 0.086s.
He returned in the afternoon session and once again left it late to take top spot, completing a lap of 1:28.394 to head up the pack with Campos Racing’s Mari Boya next best.
MORNING
It was a quiet start with the teams opting for single installation laps in the first part of the session.
However, once the first set of fast laps began to filter through, it was Jenzer Motorsport’s Charlie Wurz who set the pace with a time of 1:29.122.
But as the drivers began to complete more mileage, the Austrian driver’s benchmark time was beaten by Luke Browning, Santiago Ramos, and Mari Boya, with each driver spending time at the top of the leaderboard.
With an hour left in the morning segment, Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli went fastest with a lap of 1:28.831 before his compatriot Minì lowered the time to beat to 1:28.313.
The PREMA driver’s time remained unbeaten, although Sami Meguetounif wound up just 0.086s off the pace in second, as Wurz rounded out the top three.
AFTERNOON
It was another calm start to a session as Campos’ Boya set the pace in the opening hour. The Spaniards time of 1:28.625 kept him on top with teammate Sebastián Montoya two-tenths behind in second.
Boya’s time was proving difficult to beat heading into the final hour although Hitech Pulse-Eight driver Browning had closed the gap to just 0.050s.
But as the day headed into the final 20 minutes, Minì once again went to the top of the leaderboard. His time of 1:28.394 saw him eclipse Boya’s effort by over two and a half tenths.
The session was then Red Flagged after Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson went off at Turn 3. This brought an early end to the day’s events with Minì ending up fastest ahead of Boya and Browning rounded out the top three.
Day two gets underway at 09:00 local time on Wednesday.
2024 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA IN-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION
| Position | Driver | Licence | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Minì | ITA | PREMA Racing | 1:28.313 | 14 |
| 2 | Sami Meguetounif | FRA | Trident | 1:28.399 | 12 |
| 3 | Charlie Wurz | AUT | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:28.485 | 16 |
| 4 | Alexander Dunne | IRE | MP Motorsport | 1:28.577 | 21 |
| 5 | Leonardo Fornaroli | ITA | Trident | 1:28.679 | 13 |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:28.693 | 14 |
| 7 | Tim Tramnitz | DEU | MP Motorsport | 1:28.753 | 21 |
| 8 | Nikita Bedrin | ITA | PHM AIX Racing | 1:28.755 | 28 |
| 9 | Laurens van Hoepen | NLD | ART Grand Prix | 1:28.801 | 17 |
| 10 | Oliver Goethe | DEU | Campos Racing | 1:28.813 | 15 |
| 11 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | PREMA Racing | 1:28.814 | 16 |
| 12 | Matías Zagazeta | PER | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:28.855 | 16 |
| 13 | Mari Boya | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:28.900 | 14 |
| 14 | Christian Mansell | AUS | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.004 | 16 |
| 15 | Santiago Ramos | MEX | Trident | 1:29.061 | 13 |
| 16 | Luke Browning | GBR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:29.117 | 16 |
| 17 | Nikola Tsolov | BGR | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.142 | 16 |
| 18 | Max Esterson | USA | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:29.202 | 18 |
| 19 | Kacper Sztuka | POL | MP Motorsport | 1:29.337 | 21 |
| 20 | Sebastián Montoya | COL | Campos Racing | 1:29.387 | 15 |
| 21 | Martinius Stenshorne | NOR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:29.471 | 16 |
| 22 | Noel León | MEX | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:29.508 | 23 |
| 23 | Callum Voisin | GBR | Rodin Motorsport | 1:29.715 | 17 |
| 24 | Joshua Dufek | AUT | PHM AIX Racing | 1:29.875 | 28 |
| 25 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | THA | PHM AIX Racing | 1:29.999 | 26 |
| 26 | Joseph Loake | GBR | Rodin Motorsport | 1:30.255 | 18 |
| 27 | Sophia Floersch | DEU | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:30.259 | 20 |
| 28 | Cian Shields | GBR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:30.483 | 17 |
| 29 | Tommy Smith | AUS | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:30.699 | 23 |
| 30 | Piotr Wisnicki | POL | Rodin Motorsport | 1:30.918 | 18 |
2024 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP - BARCELONA IN-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION
| Position | Driver | Licence | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriele Minì | ITA | PREMA Racing | 1:28.394 | 25 |
| 2 | Mari Boya | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:28.625 | 43 |
| 3 | Luke Browning | GBR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:28:675 | 19 |
| 4 | Noel León | MEX | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:28.744 | 25 |
| 5 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | PREMA Racing | 1:28.755 | 26 |
| 6 | Christian Mansell | AUS | ART Grand Prix | 1:28.789 | 25 |
| 7 | Alexander Dunne | IRL | MP Motorsport | 1:28.831 | 37 |
| 8 | Max Esterson | USA | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:28.875 | 41 |
| 9 | Charlie Wurz | AUT | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:28.895 | 37 |
| 10 | Sebastian Montoya | COL | Campos Racing | 1:28.921 | 40 |
| 11 | Laurens van Hoepen | NLD | ART Grand Prix | 1:29.030 | 29 |
| 12 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | PREMA Racing | 1:29.033 | 25 |
| 13 | Kacper Sztuka | POL | MP Motorsport | 1:29.167 | 39 |
| 14 | Callum Voisin | GBR | Rodin Motorsport | 1:29.210 | 31 |
| 15 | Martinius Stenshorne | NOR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:29.229 | 21 |
| 16 | Tommy Smith | AUS | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:29.239 | 27 |
| 17 | Leonardo Fornaroli | ITA | Trident | 1:29.350 | 26 |
| 18 | Oliver Goethe | DEU | Campos Racing | 1:29.359 | 42 |
| 19 | Sami Meguetounif | FRA | Trident | 1:29.437 | 32 |
| 20 | Joseph Loake | GBR | Rodin Motorsport | 1:29.475 | 32 |
| 21 | Tim Tramnitz | DEU | MP Motorsport | 1:29.512 | 38 |
| 22 | Sophia Floersch | DEU | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:29.631 | 27 |
| 23 | Santiago Ramos | MEX | Trident | 1:29.885 | 29 |
| 24 | Piotr Wisnicki | POL | Rodin Motorsport | 1:30.015 | 27 |
| 25 | Cian Shields | GBR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:30.081 | 20 |
| 26 | Nikola Tsolov | BGR | ART Grand Prix | 1:30.109 | 29 |
| 27 | Matías Zagazeta | PER | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:32.373 | 39 |
| 28 | Nikita Bedrin | ITA | PHM AIX Racing | 1:32.721 | 42 |
| 29 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | THA | PHM AIX Racing | 1:33.213 | 46 |
| 30 | Joshua Dufek | AUT | PHM AIX Racing | 1:34.345 | 42 |