The final session of the first day of pre-season testing at Paul Ricard concluded with Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) once again at the top of the timesheets. The Frenchman set the benchmark lap of 1:57.012, reaffirming his strong form across all pre-season test events so far.

Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing) continued to impress with another front-running performance, finishing just 0.059s behind Giltaire. Third in the timesheets was Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP), showing consistent pace throughout the day and closing the session 0.140s off the lead.

Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP) followed in fourth and fifth, continuing to show strong consistency and staying within the front-running group on the French circuit.

Matteo De Palo (Trident) and Dion Gowda (VAR) secured sixth and seventh respectively, both maintaining a solid rhythm in the afternoon session. ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato secured eighth place, followed closely by teammate Kanato Le in ninth. R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny rounded out the top ten.

Freddie Slater (Prema Racing) ended 11th, only one thousandth behind Deligny. Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (Trident) took 12th, ahead of Jack Beeton (Prema Racing), Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing), and Ruiqi Liu (Trident), who completed the top 15 and showed encouraging pace in the final moments of the day.

With two days of running still underway, all teams and drivers are gathering valuable data and building momentum for the season ahead. The final day of testing at Circuit Paul Ricard will begin tomorrow at 9:00.

Click here to download the full timing sheet of the afternoon session.