Matteo De Palo laid down the fastest lap of the opening day during post-season testing in Barcelona, steering his MP Motorsport machine to the top of the timesheets with a 1:28.516. That benchmark came during a busy morning session, while the afternoon running belonged to Ernesto Rivera for Campos Racing.
Things started at a walking pace with early systems checks dominating the opening hour. Rashid Al Dhaheri stood alone on the timing screens initially, putting down a 1:30.471 to set the early marker. As the asphalt grew busier, AIX Racing briefly locked out the top two spots with Gabriel Gomez leading teammate Dion Gowda on a 1:30.048.
Alessandro Giusti then pushed Rodin Motorsport to the front with a 1:29.394 before Ernesto Rivera dropped the hammer. The Campos Racing driver punched in a 1:28.911 to become the first person into the 1:29s, sitting nearly half a second clear of the rest. Van Amersfoort Racing driver Enzo Deligny answered back, shrinking the deficit to under 0.2s.
With just 15 minutes left on the clock, De Palo found the extra pace to snatch the overall morning honours with his 1:28.516 lap. Giusti and Rivera improved to secure second and third, while Deligny and Taito Kato completed the top five. A red flag brought a premature end to the morning when Reza Seewooruthun ground to a halt on track in the Rodin car, and officials opted not to restart the session. Zhenrui Chi grabbed sixth, followed by Gabriel Gomez, Enzo Yeh, Salim Hanna, and Miguel Costa inside the top 10. A brief administrative note also surfaced: Car 19 had all times deleted for insufficient fuel during post-session technical checks.
Afternoon running took on a different character entirely, focusing heavily on long-run race simulations rather than glory laps. A lengthy lull in the action eventually broke as the clock ticked down below the halfway mark of the afternoon. Trident briefly claimed a 1-2-3 lockout led by Kean Nakamura-Berta, before Deligny, De Palo, and Giusti all took turns cycling through the top spot as they dipped back into the 1:29s.
Ernesto Rivera ultimately had the final say for Campos Racing with less than 20 minutes remaining. The Red Bull Junior Team driver unleashed a 1:28.549 to finish a tenth ahead of Deligny. That locked down the top order for the rest of the day, with Giusti, Keanu Al Azhari, and Jin Nakamura rounding out the top five in the afternoon.
Track action for Day 2 resumes at 09:00 local time on Tuesday.
