Freddie Slater was the fastest driver on the first day of pre-season testing for Formula 3, held at the Barcelona Circuit in Spain. In the last of the two sessions held on Tuesday (10), the Trident driver recorded the best time of 1:28.411 in 33 laps, and was not surpassed by his opponents.
The second position was taken by Kanato Le, a Japanese driver from ART Grand Prix, who was surpassed by Slater by 0.331 seconds. Ugo Ugochukwu, with a Campos Racing car, finished the day with the third best time, followed by Louis Sharp, fourth with Prema. The group of the top five also included James Wharton, also from Prema.
Noah Stromsted, a driver defending Trident, finished the day in sixth position, just ahead of Taito Kato, seventh with ART Grand Prix. Nicola Lacorte, from DAMS, was eighth, while Maciej Gladysz closed the day with the ninth best time with ART Grand Prix. The list of the top ten fastest drivers of the day also included Matteo de Palo, a driver from Trident.
The session also included the participation of two Brazilian drivers already confirmed for the F3 season. Pedro Clerot, who joins the category with Rodin after two years in FRECA, was 16th, 0.852 seconds behind the best time after 55 laps. Fefo Barrichello, who competed in the last stages of 2025 and will defend AIX, was 25th in the standings, with 1.254 seconds behind the leader and 43 laps.
The pre-season of Formula 3 will continue on Wednesday, with two more sessions. The collective tests will be closed on Thursday. The first of the ten stages of the championship will be held on March 6, 7, and 8 in Melbourne, Australia.
