Nico Muller Trident GP3 2012

Nico Muller topped the times for Trident Racing on the opening day of GP3 testing at Estoril on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old Swiss, who has yet to secure a race deal for the coming season, lapped the Portuguese circuit in 1m31.285s with just 15 minutes of the afternoon session remaining, knocking Mitch Evans off the top spot by just 0.015sec.

Evans had set the fastest time during the morning session, despite the MW Arden driver completing only seven laps before the midday break. He improved by just 0.071sec during the warmer afternoon.

Antonio Felix da Costa was third quickest for Carlin to make it three GP3 race winners in the top three positions. Lotus pair Aaro Vainio and American Conor Daly completed the top five ahead of MW Arden's Matias Laine.

New Manor signing Tio Ellinas was seventh quickest with Tamas Pal Kiss (Atech CRS), David Fumanelli (MW Arden) and 15-year-old Matheo Tuscher (Jenzer) completing the top 10.

Manor driver Fabiano Machado brought out the red flags during the morning with a spin into the gravel, while Carlin's Will Buller did likewise during the afternoon. They were 14th and 17th overall.

The test continues on Wednesday.

Combined times:

Pos  Driver                Team                  Time     Laps
 1.  Nico Muller           Trident Racing        1:31.285   52
 2.  Mitch Evans           MW Arden              1:31.300   23
 3.  Antonio F. da Costa   Carlin                1:31.361   42
 4.  Aaro Vainio           Lotus GP              1:31.461   40
 5.  Conor Daly            Lotus GP              1:31.487   48
 6.  Matias Laine          MW Arden              1:31.498   31
 7.  Tio Ellinas           Manor Racing          1:31.640   45
 8.  Tamas Pal Kiss        Atech CRS GP          1:31.713   21
 9.  David Fumanelli       MW Arden              1:31.745   42
10.  Matheo Tuscher        Jenzer Motorsport     1:31.867   54
11.  Alexander Sims        Status GP             1:31.941   53
12.  Robert Visoiu         Jenzer Motorsport     1:32.043   56
13.  Daniel Abt            Lotus GP              1:32.089   42
14.  Fabiano Machado       Manor Racing          1:32.203   74
15.  Marlon Stockinger     Status GP             1:32.240   35
16.  Miki Weckstrom        Status GP             1:32.252   35
17.  Will Buller           Carlin                1:32.677   42
18.  Dmitry Suranovich     Manor Racing          1:32.831   49
19.  Antonio Spavone       Trident Racing        1:32.849   53
20.  Patric Niederhauser   Jenzer Motorsport     1:32.977   58
21.  Alex Brundle          Carlin                1:32.993   40
22.  Vicky Piria           Trident Racing        1:33.383   36
23.  Ethan Ringel          Atech CRS GP          1:33.535   50
24.  Robert Cregan         Tech 1 Racing         1:33.911   43
25.  Yuki Shiraishi        Tech 1 Racing         1:35.125   29