Euro F3 frontrunners headline opening day of GP3 test
2017 European Formula 3 championship contender Callum Ilott will headline GP3’s post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
The Ferrari junior will test for ART Grand Prix on all three days of the test, with a permanent 2018 deal expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Also driving for the reigning champions will be Jake Hughes, who returns to the sport after a year in F3, and Hughes’ F3 team-mate Nikita Mazepin.
The fourth ART car will be shared by Tatiana Calderon and Frenchman Gabriel Aubry. The latter will test for MP Motorsport on the opening day, the team’s first running in GP3 ahead of a full-time entry next year.
Carlin F3 duo Jehan Daruvala and Ferdinand Habsburg will test for Arden International alongside the 2017 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 vice-champion Will Palmer.
Trident regulars Giuliano Alesi and Ryan Tveter will continue with the team with Pedro Piquet and Alessio Lorandi also testing for the Italian outfit.
Niko Kari, who recently parted from Red Bull’s stable, will test for MP Motorsport alongside Aubry and Leonard Hoogenboom on the opening day.
2017 Italian Formula 4 vice-champion Job van Uitert will test for Jenzer Motorsport alongside team regular Juan Manuel Correa and F3 driver David Beckmann.
Simo Laaksonen, who finished sixth in this year’s EuroFormula Open championship, will test for Campos Racing alongside the man he beat to sixth in the drivers’ championship Thiago Vivacqua.
They will be joined by 2017 Arden driver Leonardo Pulcini, who completes the entry list for the opening day.