Freddie Slater leads Spa-Francorchamps Formula 3 practice

Slater sets the pace at Spa

TRIDENT’s Freddie Slater emerged fastest in Free Practice at Spa-Francorchamps, posting a 2:06.311 to lead a tightly packed field. Théophile Nael placed second for Campos Racing, while Rodin Motorsport’s Pedro Clerot completed the top three.

Maciej Gladysz then put ART Grand Prix at the head of the order, but Clerot and Slater both improved on the next sequence of laps. Slater’s 2:06.311 ultimately proved decisive, giving him a 0.239-second advantage over Clerot and establishing the benchmark for the remainder of the session.

Late traffic, limited improvements

With more than 10 minutes remaining, drivers returned to the pitlane in expectation of improved track conditions. Once they came back out, however, few were able to make meaningful progress during the final five minutes.

Nael recovered from an earlier setback to climb into second, while Taito Kato gained ground with a late improvement to eighth, 0.274 seconds off Slater’s earlier effort. The final minute produced plenty of competition for track position in the third sector as drivers searched for one last clear run.

No further improvement followed on the well-worn Pirelli Hard tyres. Slater therefore finished fastest, with Nael and Clerot behind him. Gladysz and Ernesto Rivera completed the top five, which was covered by just a quarter of a second.

Ugo Ugochukwu followed in sixth, placing all three Campos Racing cars inside the top six. Louis Sharp was seventh, ahead of Kato, Taponen and Nicola Lacorte, who rounded out the top 10 for DAMS Lucas Oil.

Qualifying for the Spa-Francorchamps weekend is scheduled for later on Friday, with the session due to begin at 15:00 local time.