Lance Stroll ended the first day of the Portimao test with the quickest time in both the morning and afternoon sessions as the FIA European Formula 3 Championship runners prepared themselves for this weekend’s races in Portugal.
The Prema Powerteam driver led the way in the morning with a time of 1m38.484s, 0.014s faster than Motopark driver Markus Pommer, and then set the pace again in the afternoon on a slightly altered track with a time of 1m43.305s.
The track was altered at turn one after drivers were excessively testing the track limits, with the fast turn altered into a tight chicane that saw around five seconds added to the overall lap time.
Van Amersfoort Racing duo Arjun Maini and Alessio Lorandi were third and fourth during the morning session, ahead of Carlin’s Red Bull-backed Briton Callum Ilott, with his team-mate George Russell sixth.
Current Championship leader Antonio Giovinazzi ended the opening session down in eighth for Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, just behind his closest rival Felix Rosenqvist of Prema Powerteam, while Mikkel Jensen of Mücke Motorsport and series returnee Nick Cassidy, in at Prema for Brandon Maisano completed the top ten.
Stroll led again in the afternoon, this time ahead of team-mate Rosenqvist, with Pommer again up near the front in third. Jake Dennis was fourth for Prema Powerteam ahead of Giovinazzi, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Charles Leclerc, currently sitting third in the championship was sixth.
Russell was seventh ahead of Raoul Hyman of Team West-Tec F3, while Julio Moreno was ninth for ThreeBond with T-Sport ahead of Ilott.
Cassidy ended the second session thirteenth, while fellow series returnee Alexander Sims, racing for Hitech Grand Prix as they run a test event as they plan a two-car assault on the European F3 championship in 2016, was thirteenth in the morning and seventeenth in the afternoon.
Thirty-two cars took to the track on Tuesday, but Fabian Schiller was not one of them as he has parted with Team West-Tec F3 following a season of disappointing results, while Kang Ling was also absent from proceedings for Mücke Motorsport.
Nicolas Pohler also remains sidelined following his cycling accident, meaning Double R Racing tested with only the one car for Matt Solomon.
Portimao Test Day 1 Morning Times
[table id=547 /]
Portimao Test Day 1 Afternoon Times
[table id=548 /]
