Valuable lessons learned and good prospects for Van Amersfoort Racing after FIA F3 Testing in Barcelona
The FIA Formula 3 Championship 2025 campaign kicked off last week with pre-season testing in Barcelona. At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Ivan Domingues, Théophile Naël and Santiago Ramos got the chance to test their brand new F3 cars and gain valuable experience.
The three-day test took place from February 19-21 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. On Wednesday and Thursday our drivers had on-track time from 9:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00. On Friday the sessions were from 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-16:00. With this schedule the drivers had six hours a day to get used to the new F3 cars at a familiar track.
Day 1
On Wednesday morning 9:00, it was time for our drivers to run their new F3 for the first time. Ivan looked like he got a good feeling with the car straight away. At some point, the Portuguese driver set the fourth best time. He ended the morning session in Barcelona with a P7.
Just like Ivan, Théophile and Santiago were also feeling good in the car. Théophile concluded the top ten, with a P10, at the end of the morning session. Santiago headed to his lunch break with a P12 under his belt.
After a nice lunch the drivers went back on track for the afternoon session. All three took the time to learn and try to understand the new car. After quite an amount of laps, Théophile ended the day with P13, Santiago with P19 and Ivan went home from the first day of testing with P21.
Credit: James Gasperotti
Day 2
Thursday was the second day of the three-day test. During the morning session the first red flag of the test happened. After the red flag, all three drivers continued Wednesday’s trajectory and tried to learn and try as much as possible. Santiago ended P17 in the morning session, Ivan finished in P18 and Théophile went to lunch with a P21.
During the second session of the second day the team continued to work on their plan. Théophile ended the second day of testing in P24, Ivan ended up with a P27 and Santiago concluded the field with a P30, and valuable lessons learned.
Day 3
For the last day of the test the drivers went all in. Friday was marked by rain and many red flags. Early on in the morning session, Ivan found himself spun into the gravel at turn 5. A second, third and fourth flag followed, until Ivan had to stop at turn 10, causing the fifth red flag of the morning.
The Portuguese driver ended the morning session with a P15. Santiago’s morning went by plan, and he finished in P22. Théophile felt really good in the rain, and first set a third fastest time. He then improved a lot and set the fastest time of the morning. Right before the end of the session other drivers picked up the pace, and Théophile ended up in P5.
The first red flag of the afternoon session was caused by Théophile, stopping the car on the main straight by the pit exit. His car went back to the pit lane, and the session could continue. During the session there followed a second, third and fourth red flag.
In a much interrupted session, Théophile continued the great pace he showed during the morning session. He firstly put his car third in the order. A little bit later he went again and put himself half a second clear of everyone. Théophile concluded the last day with a P8.
Santiago continued the learning curve, and finished the last pre-season test session with a P19. Ivan took his time in the afternoon to optimize the last lessons that were there to be learned, since he lost quite some time in the morning. The Portuguese ended in P20.
Credit: James Gasperotti
Théophile Naël - Formula 3 driver, Van Amersfoort Racing:
“Very productive pre-season testing, lots of data accumulated with the new F3 gen! Quite interesting for the season to have been able to drive in both conditions, dry and wet! We are ready and excited to start the season."
After three days of learning and gaining valuable experience, the team’s eyes are set to the first race weekend of the 2025 season. The FIA F3 Championship will kick off in Melbourne, Australia from 14-16 March.