F3 Barcelona testing: Maccagnani leads Day 2 afternoon

Niccolò Maccagnani headed a TRIDENT one-two during the second afternoon of Formula 3 post-season testing in Barcelona, with teams concentrating on long-run performance in the final scheduled session of 2026.

Maccagnani established an early benchmark of 1:29.994 after the pit lane opened at 13:00 local time. In the latest official update, he remained ahead of teammate Sebastian Wheldon, with Pedro Clerot, Taito Kato and Matteo De Palo completing the leading five.

Chi stoppage interrupts the programme

Running was interrupted when MP Motorsport’s Zhenrui Chi stopped on track, bringing out the red flag.

The session subsequently resumed, with several drivers returning immediately to continue their programmes. The official live blog reported substantial mileage as teams prioritised sustained running over outright single-lap performance.

That emphasis followed a closely contested morning in which Kato set a 1:27.902 for ART Grand Prix, beating Ernesto Rivera by just 0.012 seconds.

Final preparations for 2027

The afternoon continued the race-focused work also seen during Barcelona’s opening day, when Rivera topped the later session while De Palo retained the fastest overall lap.

With different testing programmes in progress, the afternoon order alone offered limited evidence of relative competitiveness.

Running was scheduled to finish at 16:00 local time (CET), bringing the two-day Barcelona test and the championship’s 2026 post-season track programme to a close.