Trident’s Freddie Slater set the pace during the 2026 Silverstone F3 Free Practice at the British GP, leading Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera and teammate Matteo De Palo.
Slater produced a 1:46.161 to finish 0.158 seconds ahead of Rivera, while De Palo completed the top three with a 1:46.373. Campos Racing’s Théophile Naël and Hitech’s Fionn McLaughlin followed closely, with only 0.330 seconds covering the leading five drivers.
Cool conditions greeted the 30-car field, with the air temperature sitting just below 16 degrees Celsius and the track reaching 24 degrees. Drivers gradually increased their pace throughout the 45-minute session before race control conducted a planned Virtual Safety Car test during the final five minutes, preventing any late changes at the front.
AIX Racing leads the field onto the circuit
Formula 3 opened its British GP weekend at 08:50 local time as the drivers began their preparations around the 5.891-kilometre Silverstone circuit.
AIX Racing’s Ricardo Escotto led teammates Yevan David and Fernando Barrichello onto the track. Escotto returned to the No. 26 car as a substitute for the injured Brad Benavides. However, the AIX trio completed only slow exploratory laps before returning to the pit lane. MP Motorsport’s Tuukka Taponen then joined the circuit, followed by teammates Alessandro Giusti and Mattia Colnaghi.
While most of the field remained in the garages, the MP Motorsport drivers began building towards their first representative attempts. Their early running gave them clear track and allowed the team to collect information before traffic increased.
Taponen establishes the first benchmark
Taponen produced the first competitive time before lowering the benchmark to 1:47.652. Colnaghi followed with a 1:48.168, while Giusti briefly moved ahead before track limits erased his lap. The deleted effort forced the Frenchman to begin another push lap as more drivers joined the action.
DAMS Lucas Oil’s Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi entered the circuit alongside Hitech’s Michael Shin, Fionn McLaughlin and Jin Nakamura. Bhirombhakdi opened with a 2:08.651, while Shin set a 2:05.728 and Nakamura recorded a 2:07.910.
The drivers quickly found more pace as they built tyre temperature and confidence. Meanwhile, the remainder of the field began leaving the pit lane, which transformed the previously quiet circuit into a congested 30-car session.
Nakamura takes over as traffic increases
Nakamura became the first driver to displace Taponen with a 1:47.337. McLaughlin then moved into third with a 1:48.132, placing himself between Taponen and Colnaghi. Shin improved to 1:48.718, while Bhirombhakdi and Giusti still needed representative laps.
Traffic complicated the drivers’ preparations as nearly the entire field circulated together. Nevertheless, several contenders continued to improve through Silverstone’s high-speed opening sector and technical final section.
Rodin Motorsport’s Pedro Clerot climbed to third with a 1:47.652, matching Taponen’s previous benchmark. PREMA Racing’s Louis Sharp then moved into the leading group behind Nakamura.
However, the order changed considerably once the Trident and Campos Racing drivers completed their first serious attempts.
Slater moves clear during the middle phase
Rivera moved to the top with a 1:46.740 before Slater responded with a 1:46.161. The British driver’s lap immediately created a sizeable advantage and established the benchmark that would remain unbeaten for the rest of the session.
McLaughlin held third with a 1:47.055, while De Palo moved into fourth with a 1:47.182. Nakamura completed the top five at that stage after leading the earlier phase.
By the end of the opening 20 minutes, the field had begun to compress. Only 3.1 seconds separated Slater from PREMA Racing’s José Garfias near the rear of the representative order.
DAMS Lucas Oil’s Nicola Lacorte lost a lap to track limits and dropped behind Garfias. Meanwhile, Trident’s Noah Strømsted remained at the bottom after failing to complete a competitive attempt.
De Palo strengthens Trident’s position
Slater retained the lead as Rivera improved to 1:46.427. De Palo then lowered his time to 1:46.581, moving into third and giving Trident two cars inside the leading three. Sharp held fourth before Van Amersfoort Racing’s Hiyu Yamakoshi displaced him with a 1:46.676.
Yamakoshi’s teammate Enzo Deligny followed with a nearly identical 1:46.677. The pair moved Van Amersfoort Racing firmly into the top six and underlined the small margins throughout the field.
Most drivers then returned to the pit lane with approximately 17 minutes remaining. Teams made set-up changes, reviewed data and prepared their cars for one final sequence of Qualifying-style laps.
Slater, Rivera and De Palo led the field back onto the circuit, while Campos Racing’s Naël and Ugo Ugochukwu joined the leading runners for their final attempts.
Rivera closes on Slater during final runs
Rivera improved to 1:46.319 but remained 0.158 seconds behind Slater. De Palo also found more time and completed a 1:46.373, securing third place and moving within 0.054 seconds of Rivera. His improvement confirmed Trident’s strong start, with two cars occupying the top three.
Naël then climbed to fourth with a 1:46.488. The Frenchman briefly led the Campos Racing challenge before McLaughlin recorded a 1:46.491 and slotted between Naël and Yamakoshi. Only 0.003 seconds separated Naël and McLaughlin, while Yamakoshi followed another 0.021 seconds behind with a 1:46.512.
The narrow margins continued further down the order. Deligny held a 1:46.677, while Ugochukwu improved to 1:46.724. Strømsted finally produced a representative lap with a 1:46.798, moving into the leading group after his slow start.
Nakamura and David join the top-10 fight
Nakamura improved again during the closing phase, setting a 1:46.874. David followed with a 1:46.910, placing the AIX Racing driver within 0.749 seconds of Slater’s benchmark. Their laps illustrated the field’s competitiveness as drivers from several teams challenged for positions inside the top 10.
However, the session gave the drivers little time for another attempt. Race control activated a planned Virtual Safety Car test with approximately five minutes remaining. The drivers reduced their speed and followed the required delta times, which prevented anyone from improving before the chequered flag.
Slater retains the lead before Qualifying
Slater therefore finished Free Practice at the top with his 1:46.161. Rivera claimed second for Campos Racing, while De Palo completed a Trident one-three. Naël and McLaughlin rounded out the top five after finishing only 0.327 and 0.330 seconds behind Slater respectively.
The session demonstrated the importance of clean track position at Silverstone. Traffic affected several laps, while track-limit deletions disrupted Giusti and Lacorte during their early attempts. Slater nevertheless delivered when the circuit offered an opportunity. His benchmark gave Trident an encouraging start, although Rivera, De Palo and the closely matched group behind remained within striking distance ahead of Qualifying.
See the full F3 Free Practice results here.
