Freddie Slater led F3 practice at Silverstone with a 1m46.161s lap that no one could beat over the full 45-minute session. The Audi junior’s opening run set the pace for the weekend and kept him ahead after a run of lead changes.
Freddie Slater at Silverstone
Slater’s best lap came after Ernesto Rivera had gone quickest with a 1m46.740s effort, and it stood as the session’s top time even after Rivera later cut the gap to 0.158s. Matteo de Palo finished third, 0.212s back from Slater, while the top three had already shifted several times before the final order settled.
The benchmark mattered because it came in the opening FIA Formula 3 practice session at Silverstone, where track position changed repeatedly but the first lap from Slater still held. Louis Sharp briefly moved into the top three, 0.864s behind, before de Palo’s 1m46.581s lap pushed him up to third.
Rivera and de Palo
Rivera was the nearest threat for much of the run, but Slater still pulled clear on the final sheet. After Slater ran wide at Stowe on his quickest lap, Rivera closed to within 0.266s, showing how narrow the margin became even though the lead never changed hands again.
De Palo’s third place capped a strong session for the front runners, and Trident also shaped the order through Noah Stromsted, who moved into sixth after spending the opening half hour in the pitlane. Hiyu Yamakoshi jumped from 14th to fourth with 20 minutes left, while Enzo Deligny also moved into the top five.
Silverstone pace order
The session began with Tuukka Taponen at 1m47.752s, then shifted again when Jin Nakamura went top at the half hour mark with a 1m47.337s lap. Alessandro Guisti had an early lap deleted for track limits before later pace lifted him from 28th to seventh, and Ugo Ugochukwu finished 10th despite leading the championship.
With five minutes remaining, a virtual safety car stopped the running as part of an FIA safety test, closing the session with Slater still on top. Pedro Clerot was sent airborne at Stowe in an attempt to beat the time, but the benchmark remained untouched.
For Slater, the opening practice result gives him the Silverstone reference point to carry into the rest of the weekend, but the pressure is already set by Rivera’s late push and de Palo’s place in the top three. Can Freddie Slater convert his practice pace at Silverstone into qualifying or race results later in the weekend?
