F3 racer Charles Leclerc tops first day of GP3 Abu Dhabi test
Formula 3 European championship race winner Charles Leclerc topped the first day of GP3 post-season testing in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday
The Monegasque racer, driving for 2015 championship-winning team ART, led the way by more than four tenths of a second from Ferrari junior Antonio Fuoco, driving for Trident.
After having a quiet morning session, Leclerc traded places at the top of the timesheets throughout the afternoon running, responding to laps from Ralph Boschung and Fuoco to retake top spot whenever he was usurped at the head of the field.
Any chance for late flying laps was ruined when Kevin Jorg spun at Turn 3 with just three minutes remaining, bringing out the red flags and ending the session early.
Leclerc's F3 rival Jake Dennis was third fastest in the afternoon session where the leading times for the day were set, while moring pacesetter Matt Parry was fourth overall for the day.
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award nominee Jake Hughes, stepping up from Formula Renault 2.0, set the fifth fastest time of the day with the Koiranen team he raced with in the Renault-backed category.
MORNING TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Parry | Trident | 1m55.800s | - | 17 |
| 2 | Jack Aitken | Koiranen GP | 1m55.958s | 0.158s | 23 |
| 3 | Antonio Fuoco | Trident | 1m55.993s | 0.193s | 17 |
| 4 | Jake Dennis | Arden International | 1m56.121s | 0.321s | 18 |
| 5 | Jake Hughes | Koiranen GP | 1m56.228s | 0.428s | 18 |
| 6 | Kevin Jorg | Trident | 1m56.244s | 0.444s | 19 |
| 7 | Steijn Schothorst | Campos Racing | 1m56.437s | 0.637s | 25 |
| 8 | Ralph Boschung | Status Grand Prix | 1m56.536s | 0.736s | 19 |
| 9 | Matevos Isaakyan | Koiranen GP | 1m56.829s | 1.029s | 12 |
| 10 | Charles Leclerc | ART Grand Prix | 1m57.090s | 1.290s | 25 |
| 11 | Nabil Jeffri | ART Grand Prix | 1m57.275s | 1.475s | 23 |
| 12 | Santino Ferrucci | Status Grand Prix | 1m57.629s | 1.829s | 19 |
| 13 | Pedro Cardoso | Campos Racing | 1m57.793s | 1.993s | 25 |
| 14 | Leonardo Pulcini | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m57.921s | 2.121s | 18 |
| 15 | Will Palmer | Arden International | 1m57.932s | 2.132s | 21 |
| 16 | Tatiana Calderon | Status Grand Prix | 1m58.004s | 2.204s | 20 |
| 17 | Antoni Ptak | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m58.557s | 2.757s | 18 |
| 18 | Mahaveer Raghunathan | Campos Racing | 1m58.792s | 2.992s | 27 |
| 19 | Giuliano Alesi | Arden International | 1m59.175s | 3.375s | 22 |
| 20 | Nico Rindlisbacher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m59.180s | 3.380s | 18 |
| 21 | Nirei Fukuzumi | ART Grand Prix | 2m16.963s | 21.163s | 4 |
AFTERNOON TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | ART Grand Prix | 1m55.209s | - | 28 |
| 2 | Antonio Fuoco | Trident | 1m55.657s | 0.448s | 25 |
| 3 | Jake Dennis | Arden International | 1m55.760s | 0.551s | 29 |
| 4 | Jake Hughes | Koiranen GP | 1m55.949s | 0.740s | 30 |
| 5 | Matevos Isaakyan | Koiranen GP | 1m55.985s | 0.776s | 17 |
| 6 | Kevin Jorg | Trident | 1m56.047s | 0.838s | 23 |
| 7 | Ralph Boschung | Status Grand Prix | 1m56.065s | 0.856s | 23 |
| 8 | Nabil Jeffri | ART Grand Prix | 1m56.156s | 0.947s | 28 |
| 9 | Nirei Fukuzumi | ART Grand Prix | 1m56.292s | 1.083s | 32 |
| 10 | Matt Parry | Trident | 1m56.369s | 1.160s | 25 |
| 11 | Jack Aitken | Koiranen GP | 1m56.450s | 1.241s | 26 |
| 12 | Steijn Schothorst | Campos Racing | 1m56.621s | 1.412s | 18 |
| 13 | Tatiana Calderon | Status Grand Prix | 1m56.664s | 1.455s | 25 |
| 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Status Grand Prix | 1m56.755s | 1.546s | 22 |
| 15 | Will Palmer | Arden International | 1m56.843s | 1.634s | 27 |
| 16 | Leonardo Pulcini | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m57.136s | 1.927s | 23 |
| 17 | Giuliano Alesi | Arden International | 1m57.250s | 2.041s | 29 |
| 18 | Nico Rindlisbacher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m57.444s | 2.235s | 30 |
| 19 | Pedro Cardoso | Campos Racing | 1m57.515s | 2.306s | 29 |
| 20 | Mahaveer Raghunathan | Campos Racing | 1m57.705s | 2.496s | 23 |
| 21 | Antoni Ptak | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m57.904s | 2.695s | 20 |
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