Daruvala, Lawson lead on day two

TDT | Manama

Jehan Daruvala and Liam Lawson topped the timesheets on the second day of Formula 2 and Formula 3 pre-season testing on Monday at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. Daruvala of Carlin set the pace amongst the Formula 2 runners, while Lawson of Hitech Grand Prix was the fastest of the Formula 3 challengers. They each posted their best laps of the day during the cooler, afternoon conditions around BIC’s 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix track. The Formula 2 and Formula 3 teams are using these tests as part of their preparations for the start of their respective 2020 seasons. Their first rounds will be held in support of this year’s Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, taking place March 19 to 22 at BIC.

Testing is scheduled to continue for one final day on Tuesday (Editor’s note: March 3) with the final two sessions for both series. The Formula 2 competitors will be out on track from 11.45am to 2.15pm and then from 5.15pm to 7.45pm, while the Formula 3 drivers will kick off the day’s action from 9am to 11.30am and then again from 2.30pm to 5pm for their afternoon run. For Formula 2, Daruvala set the day’s benchmark at one minute 41.260 seconds, which was more than six-tenths of a second quicker than the best time set during the first day of tests. He completed 23 laps in the late afternoon session as day turned into night and BIC’s state-of-the-art floodlights came on. Guanyu Zhou of UNI-Virtuosi followed with a best time of 1:41.377 and 29 laps done, while day one leader Pedro Piquet of Charouz Racing System was third with a 1:41.491 mark and 24 laps in total.

Mick Schumacher of PREMA Racing was classified fourth, while rounding out the top six from the 22-car field were Sergey Sirotkin of ART Grand Prix and Jack Aitken of Campos Racing. In the morning tests, Hitech Grand Prix teammates Nikita Mazepin and Luca Ghiotto had an impressive onetwo with only 0.005s separating the pair. Mazepin had a fastest time of 1:43.825 in 19 laps while Ghiotto’s best was 1:43.830 in completing 29 laps. Artem Markelov of BWT HWA Racelab was third with a lap of 1:43.882, while rounding out the top six were Zhou, Aitken and Markelov’s teammate Giuliano Alesi. For Formula 3, Lawson put Hitech in first place amongst the 30 testers for the day with a best lap of 1:46.365 and 25 laps completed in his afternoon run.

Lawson improved on the best overall lap time set on day one. Clement Novalak of Carlin Buzz Racing came second with a 1:46.884 lap with 35 laps of work, while Alexander Peroni of Campos Racing was classified third with a 1:46.902 time and 37 laps of testing. Completing the top six were Logan Sargeant of PREMA Racing, Lawson’s teammate Dennis Hauger, and Oscar Piastri, also of PREMA. In the morning, David Schumacher of Charouz Racing System was quickest with a best lap time of 1:47.461 in 30 laps. Sebastian Fernandez of ART Grand Prix followed closely in 1:47.482, also with 30 laps, while Schumacher’s teammate Niko Kari was third with a time of 1:47.630 after completing 40 laps. Fourth through sixth, respectively, were Lirim Zendeli of Trident, Novalak and Theo Pourchaire of ART Grand Prix.