The FIA Formula 3 European Championship is starting into its new season at Silverstone this weekend. Rookie drivers Max Verstappen (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:51.716 minutes), Esteban Ocon (Prema Powerteam, 1:51.798 minutes) and Antonio Fuoco (Prema Powerteam, 1:51.863 minutes) got their weekends off to the best start by ending up in first to third place.

17-year-old Italian Antonio Fuoco had already secured first place at the end of the first 40 minutes of the session, split up in two halves, and continued his strong performance at the start of the second part. French driver Esteban Ocon, of the same age, kept following him closely and was in a close battle for first place in free practice with his team-mate. With a few minutes remaining, 16-year-old Max Verstappen also joined the party and eventually had the upper hand in the battle of the rookies. Ocon had to make do with second place, Fuoco was classified third.

After a total of 80 minutes of free practice, Edward Jones (Carlin, 1:52.040 minutes), racing for the United Arab Emirates, ended up as the best driver with Formula 3 experience, followed by his team-mate Jordan King (Carlin, 1:52.082 minutes), the best-placed British driver in the field. Tom Blomqvist (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:52.116 minutes), Nicholas Latifi (Prema Powerteam, 1:52.259 minutes), Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:52.334 minutes), Richard Goddard (ThreeBond with T-Sport, 1:52.558 minutes) and Félix Serrallés (Team West-Tec F3, 1:52.594 minutes) rounded out the top ten.

Results FP1:

POS DRIVER NATION TEAM CLASS GAP  LAPS

1

25

Antonio FUOCO ITA Prema Powerteam R 1:52.323

18

2

2

Esteban OCON FRA Prema Powerteam R +0.051

17

3

30

Max VERSTAPPEN NLD Van Amersfoort Racing R +0.073

18

4

1

Nicholas LATIFI CAN Prema Powerteam +0.090

15

5

31

Tom BLOMQVIST GBR Jagonya Ayam with Carlin +0.101

15

6

5

Jordan KING GBR Carlin +0.399

17

7

6

Edward JONES ARE Carlin +0.454

16

8

26

Dennis VAN DE LAAR NLD Prema Powerteam +0.500

16

9

21

Felix SERRALLES PRI Team West-Tec F3 +0.555

16

10

27

Felix ROSENQVIST SWE kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport +0.678

15

11

9

Mitch GILBERT AUS Fortec Motorsports +0.713

15

12

7

Riccardo AGOSTINI ITA Eurointernational +0.722

13

13

14

Felipe GUIMARAES BRA Double R Racing +0.742

16

14

11

Richard GODDARD AUS ThreeBond with T-Sport +0.900

18

15

20

Sean GELAEL IDN Jagonya Ayam with Carlin

1.060

16

16

3

Lucas AUER AUT kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport

1.147

15

17

19

Antonio GIOVINAZZI ITA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin

1.187

16

18

10

John BRYANT-MEISNER SWE Fortec Motorsports

1.219

17

19

16

Gustavo MENEZES USA Van Amersfoort Racing

1.227

17

20

12

Alexander TORIL ESP ThreeBond with T-Sport

1.387

13

21

15

Jules SZYMKOWIAK NLD Van Amersfoort Racing R

1.437

16

22

28

Jake DENNIS GBR Carlin R

1.599

17

23

8

Michele BERETTA ITA Eurointernational R

1.707

18

24

4

Roy NISSANY ISR kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport

2.113

12

25

22

Hector HURST GBR Team West-Tec F3

2.217

15

26

18

Tatiana CALDERON COL Jo Zeller Racing

2.246

15

Results FP2:

POS DRIVER NATION TEAM CLASS GAP  LAPS
1 30 Max VERSTAPPEN NLD Van Amersfoort Racing R 1:51.716 14
2 2 Esteban OCON FRA Prema Powerteam R +0.082 14
3 25 Antonio FUOCO ITA Prema Powerteam R +0.147 14
4 6 Edward JONES ARE Carlin +0.324 12
5 5 Jordan KING GBR Carlin +0.366 11
6 31 Tom BLOMQVIST GBR Jagonya Ayam with Carlin +0.400 11
7 1 Nicholas LATIFI CAN Prema Powerteam +0.543 11
8 19 Antonio GIOVINAZZI ITA Jagonya Ayam with Carlin +0.618 12
9 11 Richard GODDARD AUS ThreeBond with T-Sport +0.842 16
10 21 Felix SERRALLES PRI Team West-Tec F3 +0.878 15
11 10 John BRYANT-MEISNER SWE Fortec Motorsports +0.890 15
12 14 Felipe GUIMARAES BRA Double R Racing +0.949 12
13 26 Dennis VAN DE LAAR NLD Prema Powerteam +0.974 15
14 7 Riccardo AGOSTINI ITA Eurointernational +0.996 15
15 9 Mitch GILBERT AUS Fortec Motorsports 1.038 16
16 3 Lucas AUER AUT kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport 1.297 12
17 28 Jake DENNIS GBR Carlin R 1.310 13
18 20 Sean GELAEL IDN Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 1.607 13
19 15 Jules SZYMKOWIAK NLD Van Amersfoort Racing R 1.726 15
20 16 Gustavo MENEZES USA Van Amersfoort Racing 1.729 14
21 12 Alexander TORIL ESP ThreeBond with T-Sport 1.739 13
22 18 Tatiana CALDERON COL Jo Zeller Racing 1.842 10
23 4 Roy NISSANY ISR kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport 1.856 12
24 8 Michele BERETTA ITA Eurointernational R 1.872 14
25 27 Felix ROSENQVIST SWE kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport 2.315 7
26 22 Hector HURST GBR Team West-Tec F3 2.646 14

FIA F3 EUROPE PRESS RELEASE