LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from Day 3 of pre-season testing in Barcelona

OVERVIEW

• Day 3 of pre-season testing in Barcelona as the 2026 campaign gets underway
• Freddie Slater finishes with the fastest time on each of the opening two days
• Teams have three hours of running in the morning, a one hour lunch break and three hours in the afternoon
• Follow the live timing here.

NAEL TAKEOVER

Nael has just come back out for another shot at a Qualifying lap and has gone to the top of the timesheets with a 1:27.525.

This is a track that everybody knows well so the times are tight. The top 24 cars are covered by one second and it could be closer on the race weekend at Round 4.

CAMPOS IMPROVE

Stromsted's time is holding on here, as Ugochukwu sets a couple of personal best sectors, but remains second and closes the gap to just 0.020s. Nael is up to third, 0.085s away.

Taponen, Giusti and Colnaghi, who have been in the pitlane for a while are now back on track.

CAMPOS VERSUS TRIDENT

Looking at the top five on the timesheets, the two teams that fought closely for the title last year are going toe-to-toe once again.

Ugochukwu could not improve on his latest lap and stays in second, but his teammates Théophile Nael has moved up to fourth ahead of Heuzenroeder in fifth.

Stromsted has just come back out of the pitlane for his next lap.

RADIO SILENCE

All 30 cars are back in the pitlane, it has all gone quiet before the next set of laps.

SLATER IS ON THE BOARD

It is tight at the top, as Freddie Slater makes his first move of the day. A 1:27.724 puts him in third, just over a tenth away from his teammate and currently leader Stromsted.

NEW TYRES ON

Stromsted has put his new rubber to good use, going fastest on a 1:27.620, just 0.034s quicker than Ugochukwu in P2.

TAPONEN TO P1

Taponen has just put in a 1:28.171 to go to the top of the leaderboard. His MP Motorsport teammate Mattia Colnaghi is second, just over a second behind.

PREMA CLIMB UP THE ORDER

Wharton is making up for lost time well, as he has just gone up third for PREMA Racing, just ahead of his teammate Louis Sharp.

FAST LAPS

So the drivers are working on their one lap pace but they are doing so on older tyres, looking to clean up the track before switching to the newer rubber.

After those laps it is Patrick Heuzenroeder that leads the way with a 1:29.354.

GREEN LIGHT

Wharton is back in the pitlane and the action is back underway.

RED FLAG

James Wharton is in the gravel between Turns 7 and 8.

GREEN LIGHT

Another day in Barcelona begins!

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT TODAY

Ugochukwu mentioned yesterday that we should not expect today to be much different to Day 2 in terms of run plans. So that means Qualifying simulations early in the morning before they turn their attentions to long runs in the afternoon

Some teams have saved more sets of new tyres than others, so expect some very fast times this morning.

RECAP OF THE OPENING TWO DAYS

What a first two days it has been for Freddie Slater and TRIDENT, as they have set the fastest time by quite a big margin on Day 1 and Day 2. Click here to read what the British driver said after ending up P1 on the opening day.

Ugo Ugochukwu is another that has caught the eye, as he ended up with the fastest time in the afternoon on Day 2, giving him and Campos a positive feeling heading into the final day.

WELCOME TO DAY 3

Good day all and welcome back to Barcelona for the final day of pre-season testing.