Hubert tops Le Castellet Free Practice

Anthoine Hubert of ART Grand Prix led the way in the Free Practice session of the GP3 Series round at Le Castellet, France, setting a 1:51.091 at his home circuit to eclipse teammate Jake Hughes by almost half a second, as Nikita Mazepin completed the top three.

Sweltering conditions in the south of France greeted the drivers for the first official session at the Circuit Paul Ricard, with Hughes first onto the circuit ahead of his ART counterparts. As the French team’s quartet all drove through the pits before the next tour of the circuit, Niko Kari was first to set a lap – the MP Motorsport driver clocking in a 2:02.529 to get the ball rolling.

A quick Virtual Safety Car test preceded the faster running, and Hubert was the first to dip under the two minute mark with a 1:55.970 – before team-mates Hughes, Callum Ilott and Mazepin respectively took top spot within the first ten minutes of the session.

Ryan Tveter (Trident) then took the fastest time before the ARTs once again swarmed the top at the fifteen minute mark, before Dorian Boccolacci (MP) leapfrogged the lot prior to a yellow flag period, brought out for the stopped Arden International car of Gabriel Aubry. The session resumed to full-speed running briefly before a second yellow for the stranded Juan Manuel Correa (Jenzer Motorsport), who pulled over with hydraulic issues.

After the brief flurry of yellow flags, Boccolacci took two tenths out of his time before Ilott pulled the pace into the 1m51s, before getting immediately pipped by Hughes and Hubert with half an hour of the session elapsed.

The ARTs then assumed the top four places for the remainder of the session and, in the final ten minutes, Hubert took four tenths out of his personal best to streak clear of his team-mates. Hughes was second-best ahead of Mazepin and Ilott, as Boccolacci was just 0.02s behind the British driver. Alesi took sixth ahead of Pulcini and Mawson, while Kari and Piquet completed the top ten.

2018 GP3 Series Round 2 – Le Castellet, France – Free Practice