Kean Nakamura-Berta topped the opening day of 2026 FIA Formula 3 (F3) post-season testing at the Circuito de Jerez, delivering a late 1:31.169 for Trident during Tuesday afternoon’s session. The British driver finished just 0.002 seconds ahead of Campos Racing’s Mattia Colnaghi, while Ernesto Rivera completed the top three.
Rivera had previously set the pace during the morning session, recording a 1:31.217 as Campos secured two positions among the leading three. However, the competitive order changed during the afternoon when several teams fitted fresh tyres and completed their final qualifying simulations.
Trident and Campos ultimately occupied four of the leading five positions, with Niccolò Maccagnani finishing fourth and Rodin Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti completing the top five. The opening day marked the beginning of four days of official post-season testing as teams prepare for the 2027 championship.
Rivera puts Campos Racing fastest in morning session
The opening three-hour session began with installation laps as teams completed their initial checks before turning their attention towards competitive running. With several drivers experiencing FIA F3 machinery for the first time, the early stages provided an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the cars and testing procedures.
AIX Racing was among the first teams to complete representative flying laps, with James Egozi establishing an early benchmark of 1:34.526 before improving to 1:32.680. However, MP Motorsport’s Matteo De Palo soon moved ahead, lowering the fastest time to 1:32.353 before improving again to 1:31.867.
The order continued changing as Hitech’s Kanato Le and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Miguel Costa challenged the leading time. Costa briefly moved into first before Campos Racing began its qualifying simulations, allowing Rivera to establish a considerably faster benchmark.
The Mexican recorded a 1:31.217 on a fresh set of medium tyres, moving ahead of teammate Colnaghi. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny subsequently improved to second with 15 minutes remaining, finishing 0.188 seconds behind Rivera.
Colnaghi completed the leading three with a 1:31.518, followed by Giusti and Alexander Abkhazava. The session ended without further improvements, leaving Campos as the early benchmark ahead of the afternoon’s running.
Nakamura-Berta emerges fastest in afternoon session
Rivera initially maintained his position at the front when testing resumed, recording a 1:31.784 before Trident’s Maccagnani moved ahead with a 1:31.632. The Italian established an early advantage as several teams shifted their focus towards longer runs and preparations for the upcoming championship.
DAMS Lucas Oil’s Costa continued demonstrating competitive pace, progressing to third during the middle stages. Rashid Al Dhaheri also improved for Van Amersfoort Racing, while ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato moved into contention as the afternoon progressed.
However, the order changed significantly during the closing stages when several teams fitted fresh hard tyres. Nakamura-Berta delivered a 1:31.169 to take the lead, improving considerably on his morning benchmark and establishing the fastest lap of the opening day.
Maccagnani initially followed his teammate into second, completing a provisional Trident one-two. However, Campos responded when Colnaghi improved to 1:31.171, finishing just 0.002 seconds behind Nakamura-Berta.
Rivera subsequently moved into third with a 1:31.180, only 0.011 seconds away from the leading time. Maccagnani eventually finished fourth on a 1:31.213, while Giusti completed the top five for Rodin Motorsport.
The session ended prematurely after Abkhazava stopped on track during the closing minutes. Officials could not restart the action before the chequered flag, bringing the first day of testing to a conclusion.
Trident and Campos establish early testing benchmark
Nakamura-Berta’s performance provided an encouraging start to his preparations for the 2027 FIA F3 Championship. The British driver will join Trident for his rookie campaign following a successful 2026 Formula Regional season, which included the Formula Regional Middle East title and third place in the European championship.
His afternoon performance placed him narrowly ahead of two returning F3 drivers, with Colnaghi and Rivera demonstrating competitive pace throughout both sessions. Colnaghi will make his second F3 appearance with Campos next season after moving from MP Motorsport, while Rivera remains with the Spanish outfit following two victories during his rookie campaign.
Maccagnani’s fourth-place result also strengthened Trident’s early performance, while teammate Sebastian Wheldon finished eighth. The Italian squad therefore placed all three drivers inside the afternoon’s leading eight.
Elsewhere, Kato finished sixth for ART Grand Prix, followed by De Palo, Wheldon and Emanuele Olivieri. Rodin Motorsport’s Reza Seewooruthun completed the top ten as several teams demonstrated promising pace during the opening day.
Post-session checks alter afternoon classification
Although the final running initially produced additional improvements, post-session scrutineering changed the classification for two competitors.
Officials deleted all afternoon lap times for Abkhazava’s #29 DAMS Lucas Oil entry after the car failed to provide the minimum required fuel sample. The Kazakh driver had already stopped on track during the closing minutes, contributing to the session-ending interruption.
Egozi’s #26 AIX Racing entry also lost its afternoon lap times after officials found the car underweight during post-session checks. Consequently, neither driver retained a classified afternoon time.
The decisions left Nakamura-Berta at the top ahead of Colnaghi, Rivera, Maccagnani and Giusti, completing a closely contested opening day in which only 0.044 seconds separated the leading four.
Teams prepare for final day at Jerez
The opening day provided teams with an opportunity to evaluate both qualifying performance and longer-run characteristics as preparations for 2027 continued.
Although Trident and Campos established the strongest outright pace, several other teams demonstrated competitive potential, with Rodin Motorsport, ART Grand Prix and MP Motorsport all represented among the leading ten.
The field will return to the Circuito de Jerez on Wednesday, 21 October, for another six hours of running. The morning session will begin at 09:00 local time (CEST), followed by the final afternoon session from 13:00 to 16:00.
After Jerez, teams will travel to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the remaining two days of 2026 post-season testing on 26–27 October.
2026 FIA F3 Jerez post-season testing: Day 1 results
Morning session
- Ernesto Rivera — Campos Racing — 1:31.217 — 30 laps
- Enzo Deligny — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:31.405 — 24 laps
- Mattia Colnaghi — Campos Racing — 1:31.518 — 29 laps
- Alessandro Giusti — Rodin Motorsport — 1:31.591 — 22 laps
- Alexander Abkhazava — DAMS Lucas Oil — 1:31.604 — 22 laps
- Keanu Al Azhari — Hitech — 1:31.630 — 20 laps
- Maciej Gładysz — MP Motorsport — 1:31.640 — 22 laps
- Miguel Costa — DAMS Lucas Oil — 1:31.653 — 14 laps
- Kanato Le — Hitech — 1:31.663 — 20 laps
- Matteo De Palo — MP Motorsport — 1:31.717 — 23 laps
- Pedro Clerot — Rodin Motorsport — 1:31.719 — 20 laps
- Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — 1:31.745 — 25 laps
- Dion Gowda — AIX Racing — 1:31.812 — 23 laps
- Niccolò Maccagnani — Trident — 1:31.825 — 27 laps
- Kean Nakamura-Berta — Trident — 1:31.829 — 29 laps
- Salim Hanna — Campos Racing — 1:31.840 — 28 laps
- James Egozi — AIX Racing — 1:31.920 — 23 laps
- Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — 1:31.981 — 21 laps
- Emanuele Olivieri — ART Grand Prix — 1:32.067 — 23 laps
- Jin Nakamura — PREMA Racing — 1:32.124 — 14 laps
- Alex Powell — PREMA Racing — 1:32.171 — 17 laps
- Sebastian Wheldon — Trident — 1:32.239 — 26 laps
- Taito Kato — ART Grand Prix — 1:32.239 — 9 laps
- Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi — DAMS Lucas Oil — 1:32.268 — 27 laps
- Gabriel Gomez — AIX Racing — 1:32.288 — 23 laps
- Rashid Al Dhaheri — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:32.299 — 18 laps
- Woohyun Shin — Hitech — 1:32.372 — 21 laps
- Enzo Yeh — ART Grand Prix — 1:32.950 — 23 laps
- Francisco Macedo — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:32.972 — 22 laps
- Martin Molnár — PREMA Racing — 1:33.359 — 16 laps
Afternoon session
- Kean Nakamura-Berta — Trident — 1:31.169 — 32 laps
- Mattia Colnaghi — Campos Racing — 1:31.171 — 44 laps
- Ernesto Rivera — Campos Racing — 1:31.180 — 42 laps
- Niccolò Maccagnani — Trident — 1:31.213 — 28 laps
- Alessandro Giusti — Rodin Motorsport — 1:31.311 — 41 laps
- Taito Kato — ART Grand Prix — 1:31.373 — 32 laps
- Matteo De Palo — MP Motorsport — 1:31.447 — 39 laps
- Sebastian Wheldon — Trident — 1:31.487 — 37 laps
- Emanuele Olivieri — ART Grand Prix — 1:31.503 — 34 laps
- Reza Seewooruthun — Rodin Motorsport — 1:31.506 — 41 laps
- Pedro Clerot — Rodin Motorsport — 1:31.581 — 42 laps
- Alex Powell — PREMA Racing — 1:31.588 — 28 laps
- Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi — DAMS Lucas Oil — 1:31.709 — 43 laps
- Enzo Deligny — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:31.722 — 35 laps
- Maciej Gładysz — MP Motorsport — 1:31.756 — 41 laps
- Jin Nakamura — PREMA Racing — 1:31.902 — 27 laps
- Dion Gowda — AIX Racing — 1:31.904 — 38 laps
- Rashid Al Dhaheri — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:31.911 — 41 laps
- Miguel Costa — DAMS Lucas Oil — 1:31.925 — 43 laps
- Woohyun Shin — Hitech — 1:31.940 — 39 laps
- Keanu Al Azhari — Hitech — 1:31.954 — 39 laps
- Salim Hanna — Campos Racing — 1:32.123 — 44 laps
- Zhenrui Chi — MP Motorsport — 1:32.125 — 41 laps
- Gabriel Gomez — AIX Racing — 1:32.307 — 38 laps
- Francisco Macedo — Van Amersfoort Racing — 1:32.390 — 35 laps
- Kanato Le — Hitech — 1:32.459 — 41 laps
- Martin Molnár — PREMA Racing — 1:32.617 — 27 laps
- Enzo Yeh — ART Grand Prix — 1:32.756 — 37 laps
No classified afternoon time
- Alexander Abkhazava — DAMS Lucas Oil — Times deleted following fuel-sample infringement
- James Egozi — AIX Racing — Times deleted after the car was found underweight
