Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed paced the first full-field session of 2025, topping a busy Free Practice at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Fabian Schiller posted a 1m54.083s just a few minutes into the two-hour run, establishing a benchmark that would stand for the duration. The closest challenge came from Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter as Matteo Cairoli got within 0.024s of Schiller's time.
McLaren squad Garage 59 occupied third, fourth and sixth spots when the chequered flag fell, led by the flagship #59 entry of Joseph Loake. The #58 was next and paced the Gold Cup order thanks to Louis Prette, while Tom Fleming put the #188 on top of the Bronze Cup classification.
HRT Ford Performance also enjoyed an excellent session, with its Mustangs placing fifth and seventh. The #64 of David Schumacher led the Silver Cup in P5, while Arjun Maini showed well with the German squad's Pro car. Lamborghini (Grasser Racing), Corvette (Steller Motorsport) and Audi (Tresor Attempto Racing) were also among the top 10 at the conclusion of the session.
There was a single red flag stoppage very early in proceedings, caused by the #35 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin stopping at turn 15 on its out-lap. This car did not reappear for the remainder of the session. However the #66 Tresor Attempto Audi was on-track after the team carried out quick repairs to the fire-damage it sustained in the Bronze Test.
The full field will be back on-track at 20:00 CEST for a one-hour Pre-Qualifying session. The serious action takes place on Saturday, with Qualifying at 11:50 and the six-hour race scheduled to start 18:00.