Jake Dennis and Max Verstappen topped a day each as the FIA European Formula 3 Championship break came to an end with two days of testing at Imola ahead of this weekend’s round at the same circuit.
Carlin driver Dennis set a best time of 1:36.808s right at the end of the session on Tuesday to pip Lucas Auer of Mücke Motorsport by just 0.027s, while 2015 F1-bound Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen was third for Van Amersfoort Racing, just 0.066s behind Dennis.
Felix Rosenqvist was fourth for Mücke Motorsport ahead of current championship leader Esteban Ocon of Prema Powerteam. Antonio Giovinazzi was sixth for Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, ahead of Jordan King of Carlin.
Gustavo Menezes was eighth for Van Amersfoort Racing ahead of Nick Cassidy, who will be making his first appearance of the season this weekend for ThreeBond with T-Sport. Felix Serralles completed the top ten on day one for Team West-Tec F3.
On Wednesday, Verstappen took over at the top, setting a best time of 1:36.553s, with Dennis finishing second, while Sean Galael was third for Jagonya Ayam with Carlin ahead of team-mate Giovinazzi. Antonio Fuoco was fifth for Prema Powerteam ahead of Menezes, Cassidy, King, Auer and Rosenqvist.
As well as Cassidy, Sergio Sette Camara was making his first appearance of the season for EuroInternational, while 2014 British Formula 3 Champion Martin Cao had his first runs in Euro F3 for Fortec Motorsports. EuroFormula Open race winner Nicholas Pohler tested to Team West-Tec F3 but will relinquish the drive for the race this weekend to Andy Chang.
Formula Renault 3.5 driver William Buller took to the track for series returnee’s Signature, while Marvin Kirchhofer tested for Motopark ahead of that team’s planned return to the series at Hockenheim.
Imola Test Day 1 Times
| POS | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Jake Dennis | GBR | Carlin | 1:36.808 |
| 2 | Lucas Auer | AUT | Mücke Motorsport | 1:36.835 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:36.874 |
| 4 | Felix Rosenqvist | SWE | Mücke Motorsport | 1:37.007 |
| 5 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.093 |
| 6 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:37.316 |
| 7 | Jordan King | GBR | Carlin | 1:37.351 |
| 8 | Gustavo Menezes | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:37.450 |
| 9 | Nick Cassidy | NZL | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.498 |
| 10 | Felix Serralles | PUE | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:37.504 |
| 11 | Antonio Fuoco | ITA | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.605 |
| 12 | Tatiana Calderon | COL | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:37.648 |
| 13 | William Buller | GBR | Signature Racing | 1:37.704 |
| 14 | Sean Galael | INO | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:37.721 |
| 15 | Marvin Kirchhofer | GER | Motopark | 1:37.750 |
| 16 | Alexander Toril | ESP | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.759 |
| 17 | Dennis van de Laar | NED | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.852 |
| 18 | Richard Goddard | AUS | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.963 |
| 19 | Roy Nissany | ISR | Mücke Motorsport | 1:38.051 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Prema Powerteam | 1:38.086 |
| 21 | Ed Jones | UAE | Carlin | 1:38.112 |
| 22 | Jules Szymkowiak | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:38.160 |
| 23 | Santino Ferrucci | USA | Fortec Motorsports | 1:38.532 |
| 24 | Michele Beretta | ITA | EuroInternational | 1:38.615 |
| 25 | Nicholas Pohler | GER | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:39.059 |
| 26 | Martin Cao | CHN | Fortec Motorsports | 1:39.152 |
| 27 | Sergio Sette Camara | ESP | EuroInternational | 1:39.324 |
| 28 | Sandro Zeller | SWI | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:39.324 |
Imola Test Day 2 Times
| POS | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:36.553 |
| 2 | Jake Dennis | GBR | Carlin | 1:36.836 |
| 3 | Sean Galael | INO | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:37.049 |
| 4 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:37.055 |
| 5 | Antonio Fuoco | ITA | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.071 |
| 6 | Gustavo Menezes | USA | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:37.108 |
| 7 | Nick Cassidy | NZL | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.116 |
| 8 | Jordan King | GBR | Carlin | 1:37.144 |
| 9 | Lucas Auer | AUT | Mücke Motorsport | 1:37.163 |
| 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | SWE | Mücke Motorsport | 1:37.273 |
| 11 | Felix Serralles | PUE | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:37.341 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.342 |
| 13 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.393 |
| 14 | Tom Blomqvist | GBR | Jagonya Ayam with Carlin | 1:37.419 |
| 15 | Alexander Toril | ESP | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.455 |
| 16 | Marvin Kirchhofer | GER | Motopark | 1:37.497 |
| 17 | Ed Jones | UAE | Carlin | 1:37.498 |
| 18 | Tatiana Calderon | COL | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:37.535 |
| 19 | Richard Goddard | AUS | ThreeBond with T-Sport | 1:37.559 |
| 20 | William Buller | GBR | Signature | 1:37.605 |
| 21 | Dennis van de Laar | NED | Prema Powerteam | 1:37.625 |
| 22 | Jules Szymkowiak | NED | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:37.709 |
| 23 | Roy Nissany | ISR | Mücke Motorsport | 1:37.796 |
| 24 | Santino Ferrucci | USA | Fortec Motorsports | 1:38.223 |
| 25 | Sergio Sette Camara | ESP | EuroInternational | 1:38.404 |
| 26 | Nicholas Pohler | GER | Team West-Tec F3 | 1:38.639 |
| 27 | Michele Beretta | ITA | EuroInternational | 1:38.751 |
| 28 | Martin Cao | CHN | Fortec Motorsports | 1:38.784 |
| 29 | Sandro Zeller | SWI | Jo Zeller Racing | 1:38.856 |
