Ferdinand Habsburg topped the first practice session of the 2018 FIA European Formula 3 Championship season, but it was Mick Schumacher that set the overall pace in the second session around the streets of Pau on Friday.
Habsburg set the pace in between the Pau barriers with a best lap of 1:10.950s, with the Carlin Motorsport driver ending 0.128 seconds ahead of Daniel Ticktum of Motopark, while the leading rookie was Robert Shwartzman in third for Prema Theodore Racing, with the Ferrari Driver Academy star a further 0.026 seconds behind the Red Bull-backed Briton.
Shwartzman led a trio of Prema drivers, with Ralf Aron fourth ahead of Schumacher, while Carlin’s Sacha Fenestraz was sixth ahead of Motopark’s Jonathan Aberdein and Prema’s Marcus Armstrong as the top eight were covered by less than half a second.
Devlin DeFrancesco ended the session ninth for Carlin, while Motopark’s Jüri Vips rounded out the top ten ahead of Guan Yu Zhou and Jehan Daruvala.
Schumacher was the pacesetter in the second session with a best time of 1:09.970s, which was 0.236 seconds clear of Ticktum, who again rounded out the session in second, while Prema’s Zhou had a much improved second session to end up third ahead of team-mates Shwartzman and Aron.
Vips ended sixth ahead of Carlin’s Daruvala and Habsburg, while Armstrong and Aberdein completed the top ten ahead of Motopark’s Fabio Scherer and Hitech Grand Prix’s Alex Palou.
Pau Free Practice 1 Result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | AUT | Carlin | 1:10.950 |
| 2 | 27 | Daniel Ticktum | GBR | Motopark | 1:11.078 |
| 3 | 10 | Robert Shwartzman | RUS | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:11.104 |
| 4 | 7 | Ralf Aron | EST | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:11.149 |
| 5 | 4 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:11.233 |
| 6 | 11 | Sacha Fenestraz | FRA | Carlin | 1:11.415 |
| 7 | 23 | Jonathan Aberdein | RSA | Motopark | 1:11.420 |
| 8 | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | NZL | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:11.426 |
| 9 | 17 | Devlin DeFrancesco | CAN | Carlin | 1:11.467 |
| 10 | 44 | Juri Vips | EST | Motopark | 1:11.506 |
| 11 | 1 | Guan Yu Zhou | CHN | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:11.514 |
| 12 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | IND | Carlin | 1:11.662 |
| 13 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | GBR | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:11.781 |
| 14 | 15 | Keyvan Andres | GER | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:12.053 |
| 15 | 77 | Ben Hingeley | GBR | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:12.074 |
| 16 | 16 | Nikita Troitskiy | RUS | Carlin | 1:12.179 |
| 17 | 39 | Alex Palou | ESP | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:12.256 |
| 18 | 13 | Fabio Scherer | SWI | Motopark | 1:12.263 |
| 19 | 3 | Sebastian Fernandez | VEN | Motopark | 1:12.307 |
| 20 | 33 | Marino Sato | JAP | Motopark | 1:12.463 |
| 21 | 18 | Julian Hanses | GER | Ma-Con | 1:12.994 |
| 22 | 12 | Artem Petrov | RUS | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:13.652 |
| 23 | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | IND | Carlin | 1:14.175 |
Pau Free Practice 2 Result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:09.970 |
| 2 | 27 | Daniel Ticktum | GBR | Motopark | 1:10.206 |
| 3 | 1 | Guan Yu Zhou | CHN | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:10.324 |
| 4 | 10 | Robert Shwartzman | RUS | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:10.389 |
| 5 | 7 | Ralf Aron | EST | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:10.416 |
| 6 | 44 | Juri Vips | EST | Motopark | 1:10.441 |
| 7 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | IND | Carlin | 1:10.621 |
| 8 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | AUT | Carlin | 1:10.661 |
| 9 | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | NZL | Prema Theodore Racing | 1:10.773 |
| 10 | 23 | Jonathan Aberdein | RSA | Motopark | 1:10.873 |
| 11 | 13 | Fabio Scherer | SWI | Motopark | 1:10.896 |
| 12 | 39 | Alex Palou | ESP | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:10.938 |
| 13 | 11 | Sacha Fenestraz | FRA | Carlin | 1:10.947 |
| 14 | 33 | Marino Sato | JAP | Motopark | 1:10.971 |
| 15 | 77 | Ben Hingeley | GBR | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:11.156 |
| 16 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | GBR | Hitech Grand Prix | 1:11.274 |
| 17 | 15 | Keyvan Andres | GER | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:11.430 |
| 18 | 16 | Nikita Troitskiy | RUS | Carlin | 1:11.498 |
| 19 | 18 | Julian Hanses | GER | Ma-Con | 1:12.256 |
| 20 | 3 | Sebastian Fernandez | VEN | Motopark | 1:12.329 |
| 21 | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | IND | Carlin | 1:12.539 |
| 22 | 12 | Artem Petrov | RUS | Van Amersfoort Racing | No Time |
| 23 | 17 | Devlin DeFrancesco | CAN | Carlin | No Time |
