Maloney quickest for Trident on Day 1 of FIA F3 testing

Two rookies topped the times at the end of the first day of FIA Formula 3 Championship testing at the Bahrain International Circuit on Wednesday.

Zane Maloney (Trident) and William Alatalo (Jenzer Motorsport) set the fastest times over the two sessions, ahead of Jak Crawford who moves from Hitech GP to Prema Racing for 2022.

The afternoon session brought quicker times in Sakhir, with the top six moving into the 1:47s after FIA Formula 2 testing rubbered the track in further.

The starting grid for the first round in Bahrain (18-20 March) should feature 30 drivers, but Day 1 of testing took place without Juan Manuel Correa, the American ironically sitting out the first on-track action of the year after an inconclusive COVID-19 test.

Drivers were slow to set representative times in the morning, as the field, including 15 first-year drivers, got accustomed to a circuit many of them will never have visited before.

The Bahrain International Circuit is new on the F3 calendar, but quick times came first through Reece Ushijima (Van Amersfoort Racing), Isack Hadjar and Kaylen Frederick (Hitech).

Most of the movement happened in the midfield for the majority of the morning session, with Formula Regional Asian champion Arthur Leclerc (Prema) going top with a 1:48.005 in the final half-hour, ahead of Zane Maloney and Ushijima.

The morning was truncated by Carlin‘s Enzo Trulli suffering engine difficulties towards the end of the session, which meant the top ten after the first few hours of testing read: Leclerc, Maloney, Ushijima, Hadjar, Frederick, Alex Smolyar, William Alatalo, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman and Roman Stanek.

AFTERNOON

Cooler temperatures in the afternoon brought lap times down into the 1:47s as half the field got to grips with new machinery.

Caio Collet was fastest in the opening exchanges, ahead of Ayrton Simmons for Charouz Racing System, before Gregoire Saucy (ART Grand Prix), Francesco Pizzi (Charouz) and Jak Crawford replaced them at the top.

Zane Maloney smashed into the 1:47s with a 1:47.614 in the final half-hour, the Barbadian driver ending the session on top, ahead of Alatalo and Crawford.

FIA F3 testing continues at 9am local time on Thursday, with the afternoon session starting at 2:30pm, identical to Friday’s.

FIA Formula 3 pre-season testing – Bahrain International Circuit Day 1 AM

FIA Formula 3 pre-season testing – Bahrain International Circuit Day 1 PM