2026 F3 Pre-Season Testing | Barcelona | Naël tops Day 3; Lacorte shines in the afternoon - Motorsport

Spread the love

The final day of 2026 F3 pre-season testing in Barcelona showed strong performances, with Théophile Naël of Campos Racing taking top honours in the morning session and Nicola Lacorte of DAMS Lucas Oil taking the lead in the afternoon. As the teams refine their setups, Day 3 provided key insights into the drivers’ form ahead of the upcoming season opener in Melbourne.

Morning session: Théophile Naël leads for Campos

The morning session began with teams focusing on qualifying runs, using older hard tyres. However, the session was briefly paused by a Red Flag after PREMA Racing’s James Wharton got stuck in the gravel between Turns 7 and 8. Once action resumed, Campos Racing’s Patrick Heuzenroeder set an early top time with a 1:29.354.

Shortly after, drivers fitted fresh tyres for the second round of laps. Noah Stromsted of TRIDENT set the early pace with a 1:27.620, leading Ugo Ugochukwu of Campos Racing by just 0.034 seconds. On his second attempt, Ugochukwu cut the gap to Stromsted to a mere 0.020 seconds, but it was his teammate, Théophile Naël, who produced the fastest lap of the morning. With a time of 1:27.525, Naël topped the session, just 0.095 seconds ahead of Stromsted.

As the session went on, the teams shifted their focus to longer race runs, meaning no one could improve on Naël’s time. By the end of the morning, Naël led the way, followed by Stromsted, Ugochukwu, Slater, and Brando Badoer in the top five.

Morning session standings:

Théophile Naël – Campos Racing – 1:27.525
Noah Stromsted – TRIDENT – 1:27.620
Ugo Ugochukwu – Campos Racing – 1:27.640
Freddie Slater – TRIDENT – 1:27.724
Brando Badoer – Rodin Motorsport – 1:27.891
Patrick Heuzenroeder – Campos Racing – 1:27.926
Brad Benavides – AIX Racing – 1:27.979
Tuukka Taponen – MP Motorsport – 1:28.075
Louis Sharp – PREMA Racing – 1:28.085
Nicola Lacorte – DAMS Lucas Oil – 1:28.090
Taito Kato – ART Grand Prix – 1:28.120
Christian Ho – Rodin Motorsport – 1:28.132
Jin Nakamura – Hitech – 1:28.144
Pedro Clerot – Rodin Motorsport – 1:28.164
Tim Tramnitz – Hitech – 1:28.165
Maciej Gladysz – ART Grand Prix – 1:28.183
Matteo De Palo – TRIDENT – 1:28.286
Enzo Deligny – Van Amersfoort Racing – 1:28.315
James Wharton – PREMA Racing – 1:28.338
Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi – DAMS Lucas Oil – 1:28.343
Kanato Le – ART Grand Prix – 1:28.367
Yevan David – AIX Racing – 1:28.409
Fernando Barrichello – AIX Racing – 1:28.463
Alessandro Giusti – MP Motorsport – 1:28.463
Hiyu Yamakoshi – Van Amersfoort Racing – 1:28.482
Fionn McLaughlin – Hitech – 1:28.562
José Garfias – PREMA Racing – 1:28.586
Bruno Del Pino – Van Amersfoort Racing – 1:28.590
Mattia Colnaghi – MP Motorsport – 1:28.965
Gerrard Xie – DAMS Lucas Oil – 1:28.976

Afternoon session: Lacorte leads DAMS 1-2

The afternoon session began with long runs, with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny setting an early pace with a 1:32.430. As the session went on, Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer took over at the top, briefly holding a 1:31.473 before José Garfias brought out the Red Flags with a stop on track.

Once the session resumed, AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides set a solid 1:31.573, briefly leading ahead of teammate Fernando Barrichello. However, as the session continued, it was TRIDENT’s Matteo De Palo who moved into the lead with a 1:30.910, half a second quicker than Hitech’s Tim Tramnitz.

With just five minutes remaining, DAMS Lucas Oil’s Nicola Lacorte went fastest with a 1:29.676, nearly 0.6 seconds faster than teammate Gerrard Xie. There were no further improvements, and Lacorte held onto the top spot, followed by Xie, De Palo, Tramnitz, and Badoer in the final standings.