Matteo De Palo leads opening day of F3 testing in Barcelona

Matteo De Palo set the benchmark in the morning as MP Motorsport began the Formula 3 post-season test in Barcelona, but Ernesto Rivera and Campos Racing finished Day 1 at the top of the afternoon timing sheet.

De Palo’s 1:28.516 proved the fastest lap of the day, coming in the closing stages of the morning session. Rivera responded later with a 1:28.549 to lead the afternoon, with Enzo Deligny and Alessandro Giusti close behind. The opening session’s pace-setter therefore ended the day seventh in the afternoon classification.

De Palo takes control late in the morning

The morning began with teams completing systems checks, and Rashid Al Dhaheri was the only driver to set a time during the opening hour. As more cars joined the action, Gabriel Gomez briefly put AIX Racing at the front before Giusti moved Rodin Motorsport into the lead.

Rivera became the first driver to break 1:29, setting a 1:28.911 for Campos. Deligny then narrowed the gap, but De Palo went quicker with 15 minutes remaining and held on to top the session. Giusti was second, ahead of Rivera, while Deligny and Taito Kato completed the top five.

A red flag followed when Reza Seewooruthun stopped on track. The session did not resume, leaving De Palo’s time unbeaten. His latest Barcelona result adds to a record that includes a first FIA F3 victory at Silverstone.

Rivera leads the afternoon after race-focused running

The afternoon opened with drivers concentrating on longer runs rather than single-lap pace. After a lengthy lull in track activity, the field returned for further running, and several drivers traded the top position as the session progressed.

Rivera ultimately posted a 1:28.549 with less than 20 minutes left. Deligny was second, 0.112 seconds behind, while Giusti took third. Keanu Al Azhari and Jin Nakamura completed the top five. De Palo finished seventh after recording 40 laps, while Rivera completed 35.

Day 2 running is due to begin at 09:00 local time on Tuesday. More detail on De Palo’s morning performance is available in our report from the opening session.