Leclerc fastest in GP3 Austria practice
After setting the pace on both days of testing at the Red Bull Ring last month, Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc continued to show this turn of pace by topping the timesheets in GP3 practice.
ART Grand Prix teammate Nyck de Vries was just 0.041s shy of the Monegasque driver with Campos Racing’s Steijn Schothorst completing the top three.
The Red Bull Ring’s short circuit length means times between all of the drivers will be very close meaning qualifying tomorrow afternoon will be as crucial as ever.
The 45-minute session was predominately error free with DAMS’ Jake Hughes finding the gravel trap early on into the session. Trident’s Giuliano Alesi did however cause the a red flag, crashing at Turn 1.
Both Leclerc and de Vries exchanged times at the top of the timesheets after Schothorst briefly led the way.
The Jenzer Motorsport duo of Oscar Tunjo and Richard Gonda were fourth and fifth fastest – and will be encouraged with their days running in Austria.
Matthew Parry was in sixth place, three-tenths off the pace set by Leclerc. Nirei Fukuzumi and Akash Nandy were inside the top eight whilst Alex Palou and Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top 10 spots.
Only 1.3 seconds separated pacesetter Leclerc and Tatiana Calderon in last place.