As the Formula Winter Series stole the headlines with its chaotic Portimão round, large-scale junior single-seater testing carried on in the Iberian peninsula as well as Florida during the first week of February. Feeder Series tells you who tested where over the past week.

By Marco Albertini

F2, F3, EC3, F4 at Valencia

The week began with a one-day test at Valencia on Monday, with Campos being the sole team present.

The team’s only identified drivers were from its F4 squad, as Noah Monteiro (#1), Ty Fisher (#2), Vivek Kanthan (#3), Jacob Micallef (#4), Daniel Kelleher (#5) and Luna Fluxá (#6) all turned laps. The team also fielded one F2 car, two F3 cars and two Eurocup-3 cars for drivers whose identities remain unclear.

F2, F3, EC3, F4 at Barcelona

Testing in Spain didn’t stop there. From Monday to Wednesday, the first large-scale junior formula test of the weekend took place in Barcelona, with cars ranging from F2 to F4 all turning laps across the three days.

F2 cars only made an appearance on Wednesday as Campos fielded two cars for unidentified drivers. Whereas Porteiro Motorsport brought two F3 cars to the test, as its #093 participated in all three days, the #93 was only present on Monday and Wednesday. The identities of the cars’ drivers remain unclear.

Five teams fielded Eurocup-3 machinery. Hitech’s four cars were driven by Gino Trappa (#4), Santino Panetta (#5), Keanu Al Azhari (#07) and an unnamed fourth driver in the first two days, while TC Racing fielded Renzo Barbuy (#8) for the same days. Drivex brought two cars for Filippo Fiorentino (#37) and an unnamed second driver for Tuesday and Wednesday, as GRS fielded Gianni Giovanelli (#73) for both days. Tecnicar were the only Eurocup-3 team to participate in all three days, with Benjamin Beckley (#26) and an unidentified second driver piloting the team’s two cars.

F4 machinery was present thanks to eight teams, all of whom did laps only on Monday and Tuesday. G4 Racing fielded a lone car for Jorden Moodley (#3), as did Beyond Racing for Georgiy Zasov (#34), while TC Racing brought two cars for Beau Lowette (#24) and Maria Neto (#78). Tecnicar also fielded two cars for Zoe Florescu Potolea (#79) and Lazar Timarov (#76), while Monlau’s six cars were driven by Rahim Alibhai (#11), Fausto Arnaudo (#37) and four unnamed drivers. Drivex fielded two cars for Simón Bulbarella (#96) and an unidentified second driver, while GRS and Real Racing also fielded two cars each fordrivers whose identities remain unclear.

Kacper Sztuka, Finley Green and Giovanni Maschio were all believed to be at the test, but it wasn’t determined with what teams or cars.

Barcelona, 02–04 February	P1	P2	P3
EC3, Day 1	Hitech #06, 1:33.590	Tecnicar #078, +0.477s	Santino Panetta, +0.879s
EC3, Day 2	Santino Panetta, 1:33.746	Tecnicar #078, +0.191s	Hitech #06, +0.250s
EC3, Day 3	Tecnicar #078, 1:33.426	Drivex #26, +0.700s	Drivex #37, +1.109s
F4, Day 1	Monlau #08, 1:42.781	Simón Bulbarella, +0.298s	Rahim Alibhai, +0.464s
F4, Day 2	Monlau #08, 1:43.015	Real Racing #011, +0.028s	Fausto Arnaudo, +0.555s

USF Pro Championships at Sebring

Meanwhile in Florida, there was a two-day test on Wednesday and Thursday at Sebring for USF Pro 2000 and USF2000 cars as part of the YACademy Winter Series package, on which USF Juniors held its first of two rounds.

Five teams ran USF Pro 2000 machinery. Exclusive Autosport brought one car for Joey Brienza (#91), as did VRD, which were only present on Wednesday with Teddy Musella (#03). Jay Howard Driver Development fielded two cars for Andrés Cárdenas (#6) and JT Hoskins (#7), while Pabst Racing’s three cars were driven by G3 Argyros (#18), Jacob Douglas (#19) and José Garfias (#20). Turn 3 Motorsport were also present at the test, fielding four cars for Michael Costello (#2), Tyke Durst (#3), Brady Golan (#44) and an unnamed driver in their #4 car on Wednesday.

USF2000 cars were also fielded by five teams. Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley (#90) and Anthony Martella (#92) only turned laps on Wednesday, while Zanella Racing’s lone car for Leonardo Escorpioni (#55) was only present on Thursday. VRD brought two cars for João Vergara (#10) and Ryan Giannetta (#99), as did JHDD, who fielded Aryan Narola (#7) and an unidentified driver in their #8 car. Meanwhile, Pabst Racing’s three cars were driven by Brad Majman (#22), Eddie Beswick (#23) and Lucas Nanji (#24).

Sebring, 04–05 February	P1	P2	P3
USF Pro, Day 1	Turn 3 #4, 59.870	Jacob Douglas, +0.008s	Andrés Cárdenas, +0.024s
USF Pro, Day 2	G3 Argyros, 59.895	Jacob Douglas, +0.073s	Joey Brienza, +0.213s
USF2000, Day 1	Anthony Martella, 1:02.062	Evan Cooley, +0.351s	João Vergara, +0.734s
USF2000, Day 2	Leonardo Escorpioni, 1:02.487	João Vergara, +0.261s	Ryan Giannetta, +0.493s

USF Pro Championships at Homestead-Miami

Two days later, the YACademy package returned to Florida for another two-day test in Florida for USF Pro and USF2000 machinery, this time at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday and Sunday.

Three different teams fielded USF Pro 2000 cars. JHDD brought their Sebring lineup for Andrés Cárdenas (#6) and JT Hoskins (#7), while VRD fielded Teddy Musella (#03) and Frankie Mossman (#77). Turn 3 Motorsport also brought two cars to the test, but the drivers of their #4 and #22 cars remain unidentified.

Two teams fielded USF2000 machinery. JHDD’s two cars were driven by Naim Saleh (#7) and Liam Loiacono (#9), while VRD also brought two cars for João Vergara (#10) and Ryan Giannetta (#99).

Homestead, 07–08 February	P1	P2	P3
USF Pro, Day 1	Teddy Musella, 1:20.612	Andrés Cárdenas, +0.048s	JT Hoskins, +0.394s
USF Pro, Day 2	Teddy Musella, 1:20.578	Andrés Cárdenas, +0.167s	Turn 3 #4, +0.229s
USF2000, Day 1	João Vergara, 1:24.089	Ryan Giannetta, +0.059s	Naim Saleh, +0.775s
USF2000, Day 2	Ryan Giannetta, 1:23.772	Naim Saleh, +0.001s	João Vergara, +0.285s

F2, F3, EC3 at Barcelona

Junior formula testing resumed in Barcelona on Saturday and Sunday, as cars ranging from F2 to Eurocup-3 made a return to the venue. There was also a cameo appearance from three Formula Renault 3.5 cars.

For the third test of the week, Campos were the only team to field F2 cars. The occupants of their #998 and #999 cars still remained unidentified across the two days of testing.

F3 cars, meanwhile, were fielded by five teams. Hitech’s two cars were driven by Fionn McLaughlin (#1) and Jin Nakamura (#2), while MP also fielded two cars for Tuukka Taponen (#18) and Mattia Colnaghi, with the latter only turning laps on Saturday. Porteiro Motorsport brought an F3 car for an unnamed driver, and it was a similar case for DAMS and ART, whose two and three cars were also driven by unidentified drivers.

Hitech also brought four Eurocup-3 cars to the test, while Campos only brought one. All five cars’ occupants remain unidentified. HS Engineering were also present at the test, fielding three Formula Renault 3.5 cars for unnamed drivers.

Hiyu Yamakoshi was also present at the test, but it wasn’t determined with what team or car.

Barcelona, 07–08 February	P1	P2	P3
F3, Day 1	Porteiro #93, 1:28.934	Jin Nakamura, +0.082s	DAMS #18, +0.615s
F3, Day 2	Porteiro #93, 1:28.600	Jin Nakamura, +0.332s	DAMS #18, +1.051s
EC3, Day 1	Campos #81, 1:32.503	Hitech #5, +0.369s	Hitech #4, +0.998s
EC3, Day 2	Campos #91, 1:32.386	Hitech #5, +0.080s	Campos #81, +0.116s

Other testing activities

Also in Europe, there was a one-day test at Pembrey on Tuesday in which Double R Racing fielded a single car for Ivonn Simeonova (#28). The following day at Almeria, Freddie Slater tested an F3 2019 chassis for Trident ahead of his rookie season in F3 for the same team.

On Friday, Vairano – not to be confused with the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti in Varano – hosted a one-day test for Tatuus owners Korus Group at which an unknown driver tested a Tatuus T-318 chassis. There was also a one-day test held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, where Mariano Alatorre (#4), Mateo Girón (#26) and Alan Zezatti (#33) all turned laps in F4 cars.

Read the previous week’s round-up here.

Header photo credit: YACademy Winter Series