Theóphile Nael was the fastest driver in the only free practice for the third round of the 2026 Formula 3 season. The session, held in the early hours of Friday morning (12) at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, the Campos Racing driver posted a best lap of 1:28.422, not being beaten by his rivals.
The second position went to Ugo Ugochukwu, the championship leader who ended up 0.223 seconds behind Nael, his Campos Racing teammate. The team also saw Ernesto Rivera complete the session with the third-best time. Alessandro Giusti, driving for MP Motorsport, finished fourth, while Taito Kato of ART Grand Prix finished the top five.
Monaco’s winner last week, Brando Badoer, was sixth fastest with a Rodin Motorsport car, while Kanato Le, from ART Grand Prix, was seventh. Noah Stromsted, of Trident, ended the session in eighth place, just ahead of Mattia Colnaghi, ninth with MP Motorsport. Bruno Del Pino, from Van Amersfoort, rounded out the top ten.
The two Brazilian drivers on the grid delivered modest performances in this opening session of the weekend. Pedro Clerot, coming off his first podium in Monaco, finished 18th with a Rodin Motorsport car. Fernando Barrichello, who competes for AIX Racing, ended the session in 28th place in the lone free practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Qualifying will take place at 10:00 to determine the starting grid. The Sprint race is scheduled for Saturday at 5:05, while the main race will begin at 3:40 on Sunday.
