Sebastian Wheldon emerged fastest in the opening Free Practice session at Zandvoort after setting the pace on Friday morning at the Dutch venue, which hosts the second round of the eight-event FIA Formula Regional European Championship season this weekend.

After ending Thursday’s Collective Tests with the fastest overall time, the MP Motorsport driver remained at the top of the timesheets, posting an early benchmark of 1:31.096 to edge team-mate Alexander Abkhazava by 0.170 seconds.

Following a brief red-flag period, Wheldon improved to a 1:30.114. Then, as the session entered its closing stages, Salim Hanna moved into second place thanks to a lap of 1:30.617, although the Prema Racing driver later dropped back to fifth, whilst Francisco Macedo emerged as Wheldon’s closest challenger. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver clocked a 1:30.428 to secure second place, finishing just over three tenths behind the session leader. Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport) claimed third, ahead of Prema Racing’s Kean Nakamura-Berta.

No further changes occurred in the final minutes, allowing Wheldon to comfortably maintain his advantage through to the end of the 50-minute session. Rodin Motorsport’s Gabriel Gomez ended the session sixth overall and fastest among the Rookies, ahead of Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) and Tomass Stolcermanis (Prema Racing).

Track action will resume at 14:15 for the second 50-minute Free Practice session.