Ex-Red Bull junior Niko Kari set the fastest time on the opening day of the GP3 Series post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit on Thursday.
GP3 will be replaced by the new-for-2019 Formula 3 championship next year but the series has stayed on at Yas Marina for three final days of action in the GP3/16 machine, with Formula 2 also in action across the end of this week.
Kari, who stepped up to Formula 2 mid-2018, returned to GP3 with Trident and clocked a best time of 1:53.890 to beat MP Motorsport’s Jehan Daruvala by over half a second.
Campos Racing’s Sebastian Fernandez placed third while Devlin DeFrancesco finished fourth for Trident, in front of 2018 race winner David Beckmann, the German having linked up with ART Grand Prix.
Honda-backed Yuki Tsunoda – the only driver so far confirmed for next year’s Formula 3 – sampled GP3 machinery with 2019 team Jenzer Motorsport and took sixth.
BRDC Formula 3 champion Linus Lundqvist was seventh, having linked up with Campos, while mid-2018 debutant Jannes Fittje was eighth for Jenzer.
MP Motorsport’s Logan Sergeant and Trident’s Oscar Piastri completed the top 10.
