Theóphile Nael was the fastest driver in the sole free practice session for the second round of the 2026 Formula 3 season, held on the morning of Thursday (the 4th) in Monaco. In the session run on the street circuit laid out in Monte Carlo, the Campos Racing driver posted 1min25s794 on his best lap of the session.
The runner-up was Freddie Slater, a Trident driver who finished 0.059 seconds behind Nael. Ugo Ugochukwu, the championship leader and Campos Racing driver, finished third, followed by Bruno del Pino in fourth for Van Amersfoort. The group of the top five also included Brazilian Pedro Clerot, the Rodin Motorsport driver.
Louis Sharp, in a Prema, ended the session sixth, followed by Ernesto Rivera in seventh with Campos Racing. The eighth position went to Taiyo Kato, the ART Grand Prix driver. Noah Stromsted, from Trident, was ninth, while Enzo Deligny, from Van Amersfoort, rounded out the top 10. Fernando Barrichello posted the 29th time with AIX Racing.
The session was interrupted. With ten minutes of practice remaining, James Wharton forcefully struck the Prema car against the barrier, triggering the first red flag of the weekend. Repair work on the guard rail took 22 minutes, which caused race control to extend the session by 15 minutes.
The Formula 3 schedule in Monaco will continue this Friday (5th), with qualifying taking place from 06:05. The Sprint is scheduled for Saturday at 05:45, while the main race begins on Sunday with a start at 02:55.
Check the final result of the F3 free practice:
1st – Theóphile Nael (FRA/Campos Racing) – 1min25s794
2nd – Freddie Slater (ING/Trident) – 1min25s853
3rd – Ugo Ugochukwu (EUA/Campos Racing) – 1min26s089
4th – Bruno del Pino (ESP/Van Amersfoort) – 1min26s137
5th – Pedro Clerot (BRA/Rodin) – 1min26s141
6th – Louis Sharp (AUS/Prema) – 1min26s175
7th – Ernesto Rivera (MEX/Campos Racing) -1min26s291
8th – Taiyto Kato (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 1min26s452
9th – Noah Stromsted (NOR/Trident) – 1min26s496
10th – Enzo Deligny (FRA/Van Amersfoort) – 1min26s548
11th – Alessandro Giusti (FRA/MP Motorsport) – 1min26s549
12th – Maciej Gladysz (POL/ART Grand Prix) – 1min26s594
13th – Christian Ho (SIN/Rodin) – 1min26s613
14th – Brad Benavides (AIX Racing) – 1min26s636
15th – Gerrard Xie (CHN/DAMS) – 1min26s703
16th – Brando Badoer (ITA/Rodin) – 1min26s739
17th – Nicola Lacorte (ITA/DAMS) – 1min26s747
18th – Mattia Colnaghi (ARG/MP Motorsport) – 1min26s899
19th – Tuukka Taponen (FIN/MP Motorsport) – 1min27s023
20th – Woohyun Shin (COR/Hitech) – 1min27s220
21st – Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (TAI/DAMS) – 1min27s235
22nd – Fionn McLaughlin (IRL/Hitech) – 1min27s248
23rd – Kanato Le (JAP/ART Grand Prix) – 1min27s374
24th – José Garfias (MEX/Prema) – 1min27s403
25th – Hyiu Yamakoshi (JAP/Van Amersfoort) -1min27s405
26th – Yevan David (SRI/AIX Racing) – 1min27s475
27th – Jin Nakamura (JAP/Hitech) – 1min27s565
28th – Matteo De Palo (ITA/Trident) – 1min27s832
29th – Fernando Barrichello (BRA/AIX Racing) – 1min28s026
30th – James Wharton (AUS/Prema) – 1min29s145
