Alexander Peroni was in excellent shape ahead of the 2020 FIA Formula 3 campaign, scoring the fastest time overall in pre-season testing on the final day. The Campos racer’s time of 1:46.173 could not be matched across the three days, and he finished above Jake Hughes and Jack Doohan.

The Bahrain International Circuit was much clearer on the final day of testing, as the cars returned in warm, sunny conditions – a stark comparisons to the dust and wind experienced on Day 2. Hughes wasted no time in getting a fast lap under his belt, touring at 1:47.312 inside of the first 15 minutes. The Briton was backed up by Enzo Fittipaldi and Day 2’s quickest man, Liam Lawson.

The Kiwi was sent on another push and fired around to take the times below 1m 47s for the lead, before Finnish ace Niko Kari went four-hundredths quicker. Peroni clocked up 30 laps as focus shifted to long-runs and race simulations, with Kari continuing on top.

The Charouz racer wouldn’t be shifted in the morning session, finishing ahead of the continually impressive Lawson, as well as Logan Sargeant, Dennis Hauger and Hughes.

The teams returned for the final session and Carlin Buzz got the running underway with the first quick times of the afternoon, as their trio of Clement Novalak, Cameron Das and Enaam Ahmed took the top three spots in the table.

Long-runs again remained the focal point of the session as preparations for the first race of the season, here in Bahrain, ramped up. 573 laps were completed before the rhythm was broken by a red flag, due to Calan Williams stopping on track. When things got back underway, Kari was able to muscle his way into the top two, nestling in behind Novalak.

With 45 minutes to go, the faster laps began to fly in. The PREMA machine of Frederik Vesti went top, with the day’s first time of under 1m 47s, ahead of David Schumacher and Hughes.

The times took a further tumble as focus shifted from race runs to qualifying simulations for sections of the grid. Doohan, Hughes and Peroni all took turns at the top, with the laps creeping towards 1m 46s.

They didn’t quite break that marker in the final moments, but that won’t matter much to Peroni, who sets himself up nicely for his second season in F3, with the fastest lap overall. The Campos racer finished ahead of Hughes and Doohan, with Sargeant and Richard Verschoor completing the top five. Sebastian Fernandez, Vesti, Alexander Smolyar, Novalak and Kari completed the top 10.

Next stop, Round 1! F3 will make its long-awaited racing return back in Bahrain in just over two weeks’ time. With pre-season testing completed and plenty of food for thought, all eyes will be on the 30-strong field to see who may be fighting for the Championship in 2020.

Pre-season testing, Day 3 morning session

1st – Niko Kari (Charouz Racing System), 1:46.606
2nd – Liam Lawson (Hitech Grand Prix), 1:46.654
3rd – Logan Sargeant (PREMA Racing), 1:46.786
4th – Dennis Hauger (Hitech Grand Prix), 1:46.820
5th – Jake Hughes (HWA RACELAB), 1:46.861
6th – Enzo Fittipaldi (HWA RACELAB), 1:46.877
7th – Sebastian Fernandez (ART Grand Prix), 1:46.945
8th – Clement Novalak (Carlin Buzz Racing), 1:46.987
9th – Max Fewtrell (Hitech Grand Prix), 1:47.028
10th – Lirim Zendeli (Trident), 1:47.038
11th – Igor Fraga (Charouz Racing System), 1:47.118
12th – Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport), 1:47.216
13th – Jack Doohan (HWA RACELAB), 1:47.224
14th – Devlin DeFrancesco (Trident), 1:47.227
15th – David Schumacher (Charouz Racing System), 1:47.296
16th – Federico Malvestiti (Jenzer Motorsport), 1:47.310
17th – Alexander Smolyar (ART Grand Prix), 1:47.320
18th – Olli Caldwell (Trident), 1:47.354
19th – Oscar Piastri (PREMA Racing), 1:47.441
20th – Theo Pourchaire (ART Grand Prix), 1:47.456
21st – Matteo Nannini (Jenzer Motorsport), 1:47.493
22nd – Sophia Floersch (Campos Racing), 1:47.504
23rd – Calan Williams (Jenzer Motorsport), 1:47.534
24th – Bent Viscaal (MP Motorsport), 1:47.552
25th – Frederik Vesti (PREMA Racing), 1:47.573
26th – Cameron Das (Carlin Buzz Racing), 1:47.671
27th – Lukas Dunner (MP Motorsport), 1:47.678
28th – Enaam Ahmed (Carlin Buzz Racing), 1:47.801
29th – Alessio Deledda (Campos Racing), 1:48.313
30th – Alexander Peroni (Campos Racing), 1:50.674

Pre-season testing, Day 3 afternoon session

1st – Alexander Peroni (Campos Racing), 1:46.173
2nd – Jake Hughes (HWA RACELAB), 1:46.200
3rd – Jack Doohan (HWA RACELAB), 1:46.324
4th – Logan Sargeant (PREMA Racing), 1:46.522
5th – Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport), 1:46.590
6th – Sebastian Fernandez (ART Grand Prix), 1:46.686
7th – Frederik Vesti (PREMA Racing), 1:46.734
8th – Alexander Smolyar (ART Grand Prix), 1:46.744
9th – Clement Novalak (Carlin Buzz Racing), 1:46.751
10th – Niko Kari (Charouz Racing System), 1:46.854
11th – Enzo Fittipaldi (HWA RACELAB), 1:46.884
12th – Oscar Piastri (PREMA Racing), 1:47.020
13th – David Schumacher (Charouz Racing System), 1:47.030
14th – Federico Malvestiti (Jenzer Motorsport), 1:47.249
15th – Theo Pourchaire (ART Grand Prix), 1:47.327
16th – Calan Williams (Jenzer Motorsport), 1:47.520
17th – Cameron Das (Carlin Buzz Racing), 1:47.525
18th – Lirim Zendeli (Trident), 1:47.525
19th – Lukas Dunner (MP Motorsport), 1:47.545
20th – Sophia Floersch (Campos Racing), 1:47.547
21st – Matteo Nannini (Jenzer Motorsport), 1:47.659
22nd – Alessio Deledda (Campos Racing), 1:47.712
23rd – Enaam Ahmed (Carlin Buzz Racing), 1:47.837
24th – Dennis Hauger (Hitech Grand Prix), 1:47.954
25th – Olli Caldwell (Trident), 1:47.978
26th – Igor Fraga (Charouz Racing System), 1:48.042
27th – Max Fewtrell (Hitech Grand Prix), 1:48.228
28th – Bent Viscaal (MP Motorsport), 1:50.604
29th – Liam Lawson (Hitech Grand Prix), 1:50.720
30th – Devlin DeFrancesco (Trident), 1:51.158