Oliver Goethe topped the timings in the Formula 3 Imola practice session, setting a time of 1:32:047. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning finished 0.3s behind in P2, followed by Mari Boya.
Round three of the Formula 3 Championship has begun at Imola. Last year, flooding and torrential rain not only shut down the race weekend, but caused damage across the area.
This year, the cars made it out onto track under sunny skies for their only practice session of the weekend.
The drivers will need it; the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is on an old-school, narrow track, which will undoubtedly cause more and more issues as the weekend rumbles on. New gravel traps have been implemented, meaning one small move could compromise their weekend, and the track’s high downforce levels could see a lot of wheel-to-wheel action.
For the second weekend in a row, drivers will have medium tyres at their disposal. As the practice got underway, it was blue skies that continued for the remainder of the session, and the heat continued to rise. Tyre degradation will be a big factor this weekend, even though the surface is older and smoother than other tracks on the calendar.
As it happened
As the Formula 3 Imola practice session got underway, there was little action for the first ten minutes as most drivers waited in their garages. Making the most of the quiet track, Joseph Loake was set the quickest of the first few lap times for Rodin Motorsport with a 1:36:795.
Gabriele Minì briefly took P1 from his teammate Arvid Lindblad, before Charlie Wurz bettered them for Jenzer Motorsport with a 1:33.268. ART driver Nikola Tsolov slotted into P2, 0.0045 behind.
It was just over halfway through the session when the red flag was waved; Campos Racing’s Sebastian Montoya took too much kerb on the tricky Imola track. He ended up in the barriers at the exit of Turn 15. This could prove pivotal for the rest of the weekend, as he failed to get a qualifying run in ahead of the session later on today.
Max Esterson took over the top of the times as racing resumed, before it was taken by Oliver Goethe, whose 1:32.047 saw him sit 0.3s in front of the rest of the pack with five minutes to go.
However, there was more trouble ahead. Another red flag caused by Piotr Wiśnicki on a flying lap, who hit the barriers at Turn 9, ended the session prematurely.
The Formula 3 drivers will take to the track again this afternoon to set the starting grid for both their Sprint and Feature races this weekend.
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