The first session of the day took place in light rain, providing a real test of the drivers’ skill. The field swiftly took to the track, but Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing) was the only driver who managed to record a lap time before Nicolas Pironneau (Formula Motorsport) went off at the Lycée hairpin and brought out the red flag.

After the restart Bruno Bonifacio (Prema Powerteam) and Alfonso Celis (Fortec Motorsports) both made mistakes, allowing Matthieu Vaxivière, Egor Orudzhev and British driver Oliver Rowland to take advantage. Rowland, however, later ended up in the tyre wall, allowing Vaxivière to leapfrog him at the midpoint of the session.

Egor Orudzhev then survived a slide at La Gare and surged to the top of the timesheets, only for team-mate Matthieu Vaxivière to respond with a final flying lap of 1:25.842 and finish the session 49 thousandths of a second ahead. Luca Ghiotto (Prema Powerteam) was third, followed by Jake Dennis and Matt Parry (Fortec Motorsports).

The rain gave way to strong winds for the second session in the evening. Tech 1 Racing pair Egor Orudzhev and Matthieu Vaxivière exchanged fastest times early on, before Oliver Rowland launched a charge halfway through the session. Egor Orudzhev then clipped the barrier to bring his session to a premature end, while Alfonso Celis survived a scare at Gare and managed to return to the track.

The rain then returned and caught Matthieu Vaxivière by surprise at the Lycée hairpin. The Frenchman, however, stormed back to the top in the dying minutes of the session, which had been shortened after a tree fell on the track earlier in the day. The Tech 1 Racing man finished with a lap of 1:25.209 and held off a late burst by Oliver Rowland, who was second ahead of Jake Dennis, Egor Orudzhev and Luca Ghiotto.

What they said

Matthieu Vaxivière: "It was my first drive at Pau, in the rain, so I took the sessions step by step. We used worn tyres first and then a fresh set, which we used to set the fastest time. There are still some set-ups I need to fine-tune with the team, but I’m satisfied. The work is going well and we can certainly go faster."

Oliver Rowland: "I hit the wall this morning in the difficult conditions. I enjoyed the second session more, although we still need to work on the balance of the car. Tomorrow should be a good day. The gap is small and we’ve still got time to make it up, so I’m confident."

Jake Dennis: "It was a tricky day. It’s difficult to get off to a quick start on this track. It’s a challenging place to drive, and the conditions made it even harder. If you make a mistake, you’re in the tyre wall. The qualifying sessions and qualifying race tomorrow will be very important."