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Sochi GP3: Esteban Ocon fastest in gloomy practice

Mercedes junior Esteban Ocon topped GP3 practice at an increasingly dark and damp Sochi

By the time the session was brought to an end the Sochi Autodrom was in almost complete darkness, with the sun completely setting just moments after.

The session was red flagged late on when Status Grand Prix driver Alex Fontana was caught out by the conditions and spun at Turn 3, before making contact with the barrier.

No one could improve when the session was restarted, which ensured Ocon remained at the top of the timesheets.

The Frenchman finished the session 0.207 seconds ahead of Jenzer Motorsport's Ralph Boschung, who briefly jumped to the top, before Ocon deposed him.

Ocon's ART Grand Prix team-mate Marvin Kirchhofer was the pacesetter for much of the session but was edged out by Boschung.

Arden International's Kevin Ceccon was fourth, with championship leader and Trident driver Luca Ghiotto close behind in fifth.

Ghiotto spent most of the session outside of the top 10 but was able to improve before the red flag.

Alex Palou and Jimmy Eriksson were Campos and Koiranen's lead runners in sixth and seventh.

Emil Bernstorff and Status GP team-mates Sandy Stuvik and Seb Morris rounded out the top 10.

Nissan protege Jann Mardenborough set the initial pace early on but fell down to 18th by the end of the session.

His Carlin team-mate and Ferrari junior Antonio Fuoco finished 22nd.

PRACTICE TIMES:

Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Esteban Ocon ART Grand Prix 2m09.319s - 13
2 Ralph Boschung Jenzer Motorsport 2m09.526s 0.207s 14
3 Marvin Kirchhofer ART Grand Prix 2m09.583s 0.264s 13
4 Kevin Ceccon Arden International 2m09.723s 0.404s 14
5 Luca Ghiotto Trident 2m09.787s 0.468s 14
6 Alex Palou Campos Racing 2m09.878s 0.559s 15
7 Jimmy Eriksson Koiranen GP 2m10.030s 0.711s 15
8 Emil Bernstorff Arden International 2m10.089s 0.770s 14
9 Sandy Stuvik Status Grand Prix 2m10.200s 0.881s 13
10 Seb Morris Status Grand Prix 2m10.404s 1.085s 10
11 Alfonso Celis ART Grand Prix 2m10.407s 1.088s 12
12 Alex Fontana Status Grand Prix 2m10.617s 1.298s 10
13 Matt Parry Koiranen GP 2m10.786s 1.467s 12
14 Matheo Tuscher Jenzer Motorsport 2m10.793s 1.474s 13
15 Zaid Ashkanani Campos Racing 2m10.858s 1.539s 14
16 Pal Varhaug Jenzer Motorsport 2m10.990s 1.671s 15
17 Artur Janosz Trident 2m11.109s 1.790s 14
18 Jann Mardenborough Carlin 2m11.206s 1.887s 11
19 Konstantin Tereschenko Campos Racing 2m11.480s 2.161s 15
20 Michele Beretta Trident 2m11.619s 2.300s 15
21 Adderly Fong Koiranen GP 2m12.764s 3.445s 14
22 Antonio Fuoco Carlin 2m12.871s 3.552s 14
23 Mitch Gilbert Carlin 2m12.881s 3.562s 12
24 Alex Bosak Arden International 2m13.792s 4.473s 14


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