Lawson fastest in Formula 2 on day two

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Liam Lawson was the fastest man amongst the Formula 2 contenders yesterday while Isack Hadjar set the pace in Formula 3 as pre-season testing continued for a second day at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

Both F2 and F3 are preparing for the start of their respective championships later this month.

Their season-opening rounds are set to take place in support of the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022, scheduled for 18 to 20 March at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”.

The pre-season tests continue today along BIC’s 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix track, and it will be the third and final day of running at BIC.

F2 and F3 will be alternating track time once again.

The F3 field will be first to hit the tarmac from 9 am to 11.30 am, to be followed by F2 between 11.45 am and 2.15 pm. F3 will then return for the afternoon session from 2.30 pm to 5 pm, and then F2 will wrap up the day’s running between 5.15 pm and 7.45 pm under BIC’s bright floodlights.

In yesterday’s F2 tests, Lawson had an ultra-quick lap of one minute 41.623 seconds to go to the top of the timesheet.

He posted his mark late in the evening session when he put in 20 laps of work.

Lawson, racing with Carlin this season, was the only driver to go faster than the 1:42.000 mark on the day.

It was also the quickest time so far in these pre-season tests.

Ralph Boschung of Campos Racing followed with the fastest lap of 1:42.096, while Theo Pourchaire had the same time in third for ART Grand Prix.

Lawson’s teammate Logan Sargeant was fourth-fastest, Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan came fifth, and completing the top eight were Marino Sato in the other Virtuosi car, Frederik Vesti in the second ART challenger, and Felipe Drugovich of MP Motorsport.

During the morning runs, Hitech Grand Prix’s Juri Vips had a 1:46.705 lap to go quickest.

Behind Vips was Richard Verschoor of Trident with a 1:47.231 mark, while Cem Bolukbasi of Charouz Racing System finished third on 1:47.688.

Yesterday’s F2 tests saw all 22 of the season’s contenders in action.

In F3, Hadjar set the day’s best time during the morning session.

The Hitech driver posted a best mark of 1:47.516 midway through his 30-lap run.

Victor Martins of ART Grand Prix followed in 1:47.602, while Jonny Edgar from Trident was third quickest on 1:47.629. The fastest F3 times of day two came in the morning—all sub-1:48.000 laps.

Gregoire Sauy and Juan Manuel Correa, both of ART Grand Prix, were fourth and fifth, and day one leader Zane Maloney of Trident sixth.

Alexander Smolyar of MP Motorsport was seventh, and Jak Crawford of Prema Racing eighth.

In the afternoon session, Martins topped the times with the quickest lap of 1:48.250, while Roman Stanek of Trident followed with a 1:48.379 time and Hadjar third on a 1:48.490 mark.

All 30 F3 cars took to the track for yesterday’s testing.

The ongoing F2-F3 joint-tests mark the third successive year that F2 has chosen BIC for its first on-track action of the season, while F3 also had pre-season running here in 2020.

These tests will be followed by F1 pre-season testing at BIC, also to be held over three days, from 10 to 12 March.

That will set the stage for the F1 season’s opening round in Bahrain, which is set to be a historic, once-in-a-generation event that will usher in “A New Era” in F1 following the biggest shake-up of rules and regulations in modern motor-sport history. For more information on testing, visit bahraingp.com or call the BIC Hotline at +973- 17450000.