TESTING NOTEBOOK: How did each team fare after three days of running in Barcelona?

After two competitive rounds of racing to start the year, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya played host to the Formula 3 teams for the three day in-season test.It served as a good way for the teams to improve their performance ahead of the European portion of the season kicking off but how did they all perform?Well, here is all you need to know…PREMA RACINGMinì was the fastest driver on the opening day of running in BarcelonaThe current Championship leaders made a strong start to the week with Gabriele Minì fastest in both sessions on day one. But that was during Qualifying simulations, with race pace getting the majority of their attention for the remainder of the week.Minì, Dino Beganovic and Arvid Lindblad spent plenty of time out on track focusing on their race pace, completing 504 laps between themselves on the final two days. Minì: PREMA have already ‘found improvements’ after topping first day of testing The trio each did two stints of 20+ lap race runs on the final afternoon and consistently lapped close to each other in the 1:33s.With PREMA having tested plenty of setup directions and with unknowns regarding their fuel loads, it is hard to compare them to their rivals. But it does show the strength of their driver line-up and their tyre management skills across a race distance. TRIDENTFornaroli and his Trident teammate showed good pace across the three daysLeonardo Fornaroli left Barcelona satisfied with the test, saying he had “fulfilled his program during the three days and he has tried different setups for the coming races.”The Italian’s pace was equally as strong on one lap as it was over a race distance and he finished in the top five in three out of the six sessions, even topping the timesheets in the final afternoon segment.Early season trends, contenders and stats: F3 2024 so far His rookie teammates Sami Meguetounif and Santiago Ramos seemed to run different programs that looked to be more focused on mileage. The latter completed 167 laps across the test while Ramos did 175, compared to Fornaroli’s 138.Trident will have been pleased with what they saw as both drivers showed remarkable consistency and pace on their long runs on days two and three, and they can take plenty of confidence from that heading into the next round in Imola.MP MOTORSPORTMP Motorsport's three rookies completed plenty of laps across the three daysWith three rookies in their line-up, getting Tim Tramnitz, Alex Dunne, and Kacper Sztuka more comfortable was part of the focus for the Dutch team as they completed 646 laps across the three days in Barcelona.On top of that, this year their weaknesses have tended to come in Qualifying, with Tramnitz’s P7 in Bahrain the only time they have had a driver qualify in the top 10 this season.READ MORE: Sebastián Montoya joins father Juan Pablo on the latest episode of F1’s Beyond the GridBut if the timesheets are anything to go by, they appear to have taken a step forward in that regard with Tramnitz and Dunne constantly finding themselves inside the top 10 on low fuel runs, while Sztuka was in and around the top 15.While there will be unknowns regarding what their rivals were doing, this form will fill MP with confidence as their race pace, which has been good so far this year, also looked quite strong.CAMPOS RACINGBoya set the fastest times on Days two and three of testingArguably the happiest team at the end of the test, Campos were impressive in both Qualifying and race trim in Barcelona, with even their Team Principal Adrián Campos Jr admitting his surprise at their form.But he also believes the pace has always been there and, given the fact that the team were not chasing performance last week and were simply testing different setups, it proves his point. READ MORE: Boya says are Campos ‘ready’ to fight at the front after going fastest on Day 2 of Barcelona testHe was also left impressed with his driver line-up believing Mari Boya, who was fastest on days two and three, is ready to contend for victories, while Oliver Goethe is right there with him.After being hampered by illness to start to the season, Sebastián Montoya is just behind his teammates, although Campos believes he will catch up soon enough.HITECH PULSE-EIGHTBrowning was quick over one lap and in race pace during the testHitech were able to test multiple different things in Barcelona while also giving their rookies Martinius Stenshorne and Cian Shields the opportunity to adapt better to the car.As he has been so far this year, Luke Browning was a regular at, or near, the top of the field over one lap and in long runs while Stenshorne and Shields progressed well. READ MORE: Browning looking to remain consistent in Championship fight after positive start to the seasonThe latter left feeling much more at ease with the car and that he had got closer to Browning’s lap time. This showed in long runs on the final day as both drivers consistently lapped in the 1:32s, with the Norwegian’s fastest lap of 1:32.088 only a tenth of