The penultimate round of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine got underway at Hockenheim with the first Collective Test, immediately showcasing the title fight between Freddie Slater (Prema Racing) and Matteo De Palo (Trident). The two championship contenders ended the session separated by just 0.235 seconds, with the British driver topping the timesheets in 1:34.697.

Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) confirmed his strong form to secure third with a 1:35.079, followed by Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing) in fourth, less than four tenths from the top. Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing) impressed in fifth, ahead of Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP) and Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix) in sixth and seventh.

Close behind, Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing) placed eighth and was the fastest rookie with a 1:35.308. Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing) followed in ninth, only three thousandths adrift, just ahead of his Trident rivals Ruiqi Liu and Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi in tenth and eleventh.

Rounding out the top 14 were Jack Beeton (Prema Racing) in twelfth, Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) in thirteenth, and Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP) in fourteenth. All 14 drivers were covered by less than one second, underlining the remarkable level of competitiveness on display from the very first session of the weekend.

The second Collective Test is scheduled for 13:23 and will be available to follow live via the official timing service.