PRACTICE: Tsolov tops Red-Flag affected Madrid opener

Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov made a strong start to his Madrid weekend by topping the timesheets in Free Practice.

The Championship leader set the pace with a 1:47.059 to lead Van Amersfoort Racing duo Nico Varrone and Rafael Villagómez.

Tsolov was the early pacesetter on 1:50.065, but he soon found himself in P2 with Invicta Racing’s Joshua Duerksen going quickest by over six-tenths.

Kush Maini then took over at the top with a 1:49.120, but soon after his ART Grand Prix teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak found the barrier at the exit of Turn 19.

The Thai driver was out of the car and ok. With the track cleared, running resumed with over six minutes to go after the session was extended.

Alexander Dunne went to P1 on a 1:48.286 with Dino Beganovic following him across the line to go to P2. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver was just 0.033s off the leading time.

Moments later, Tsolov returned to the top with a 1:48.245, before improving to a 1:47.059 on his next lap, with Nico Varrone 0.110s behind.

Maini briefly went quickest at the chequered flag but lost his time for exceeding track limits, just as Laurens van Hoepen found the barrier at Turn 13, bringing out the Yellow Flags at the session’s end.

Tsolov finished in P1 ahead of VAR duo of Varrone and Rafael Villagómez. Colton Herta was fourth ahead of Dunne, who made slight contact with the barrier at the final corner on his last lap.

Despite his off, van Hoepen was sixth ahead of Martinius Stenshorne with Oliver Goethe in P8 ahead of MP Motorsport teammate Gabriele Minì, as Rafael Câmara rounded out the top 10.

Many of the drivers had just one more lap before the session’s end and Tsolov improved to a 1:47.059. His nearest rival on this occasion was Nico Varrone, who was just 0.110s behind.

The drivers and teams will have a few hours to look things over before returning to the track for Qualifying at 15:00 local time later today.