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Lundgaard leads ART 1-2 on first day of F3 testing

Renault Formula 1 junior Christian Lundgaard topped the first day of FIA Formula 3 post-season testing at Valencia.

Christian Lundgaard, ART Grand Prix

Christian Lundgaard, ART Grand Prix

FIA F3

Lundgaard – who finished sixth in the F3 standings this season for ART Grand Prix – remains with the same team for the test.

It rained early in the morning session, but the teams were still able to net significant mileage on the first day of the three-day test, which concludes on Tuesday.

Lirim Zendeli set the fastest time in the morning session once the rain dissipated, having switched from the Sauber Junior Team he competed with in FIA F3 this season to Jenzer Motorsport, but the times tumbled in the afternoon as the track rubbered-in following the downpour.

Lundgaard was the first driver to dip below the 1m22s with just over an hour remaining, and most drivers set their best times in the afternoon session.

Zendeli once again went top in the last hour, but Lundgaard soon pounced to head Sebastian Fernandez by just over two tenths. 

Fernandez was impressive throughout Sunday, having left Campos Racing to join Lundgaard at ART in a strong showing for the French team.

Alexander Smolyar was the top true rookie, the SMP Racing-backed Russian taking second in the morning session before a late leap in the afternoon meant he rounded out the top three in the times for the Sauber Junior Team.

Zendeli was relegated to fourth in the final hour, ahead of Alessio Lorandi, who missed this season through injury but came back to test with Trident, with which he raced for in F2 and F3 in 2018. 

Lornadi’s teammate Devlin DeFrancesco was just behind, as the rest of the top 10 also cracked the 1m22s barrier.

Red Bull and Honda junior Yuki Tsunoda switched from Jenzer to Hitech Grand Prix for the test and wound up seventh, ahead of FIA F3 rookie Ferdinand Habsburg, who finished last in the DTM standings this year. 

Dan Ticktum – who will race with Carlin at Macau and is targeting an F2 seat next year – took ninth, having finished third in the morning session, ahead of the first car of FIA F3 teams’ champions Prema, driven by ex-Carlin man Logan Sargeant.

While most drivers got more than 30 laps in the afternoon, Billy Monger was only able to net 10 laps after the lunch break on his way to 28th place. It was Monger’s first experience of the FIA F3 car on track. 

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Test results:

Pos. Driver   Entrant   Time  Gap
Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1'21.370  
Sebastian Fernandez ART Grand Prix 1'21.599 0.229
Alexander Smolyar Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 1'21.613 0.243
Lirim Zendeli Jenzer Motorsport 1'21.685 0.315
Alessio Lorandi Trident 1'21.776 0.406
Devlin Defrancesco Trident 1'21.819 0.449
Yuki Tsunoda Hitech Grand Prix 1'21.858 0.488
Ferdinand Habsburg ART Grand Prix 1'21.867 0.497
Dan Ticktum Carlin Buzz Racing 1'21.914 0.544
10  Logan Sargeant Prema Racing 1'21.992 0.622
11  Linus Lundqvist HWA Racelab 1'22.011 0.641
12  Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1'22.105 0.735
13  Oscar Piastri Prema Racing 1'22.122 0.752
14  Jake Hughes HWA Racelab 1'22.177 0.807
15  Lorenzo Colombo MP Motorsport 1'22.315 0.945
16  Jonathan Hoggard Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 1'22.420 1.050
17  David Beckmann Trident 1'22.428 1.058
18  Jack Doohan Hitech Grand Prix 1'22.435 1.065
19  Max Fewtrell Hitech Grand Prix 1'22.443 1.073
20  Lukas Dunner MP Motorsport 1'22.492 1.122
21  Yu Kanamaru Campos Racing 1'22.565 1.195
22  Theo Pourchaire Carlin Buzz Racing 1'22.576 1.206
23  Federico Malvestiti Jenzer Motorsport 1'22.591 1.221
24  Fabio Scherer HWA Racelab 1'22.670 1.300
25  Enaam Ahmed Prema Racing 1'22.927 1.557
26  Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1'22.993 1.623
27  David Vidales Campos Racing 1'23.164 1.794
28  Billy Monger Carlin Buzz Racing 1'23.507 2.137
29  Joao Vieira Sauber Junior Team by Charouz 1'23.542 2.172
30  Alessio Deledda Campos Racing 1'24.218 2.848

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