The 2023 F2 season has already started as drivers take to the track to participate in day 1 of the Formula 2 post-season test.
Similar to the Formula 3 post-season testing earlier this year, the three days are split into morning and afternoon sessions – with each lasting three hours.
Hauger heads the field with an hour to go! 🙌
1:36.829 is the target 🎯#F2 #F2Testing pic.twitter.com/zQwOZGanT3
— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 23, 2022
Morning Session
MP Motorsports made an impression with both their drivers with Dennis Hauger leading the way for most of the session. Teammate Jehan Deruvula also had a strong start finishing in eleventh, despite sustaining a wrist injury in the Abu Dhabi Sprint Race.
Three red flags caused the session to be halted an hour and a half before it was due to finish. Enzo Fittipaldi (Carlin) and Kush Maini (Campos) both stopped on the track for a short while before continuing. The final red flag was caused by Charouz representative Brad Benavides who went into the wall and was unable the continue the session.
Reigning Formula 3 Champion Victor Martins quickly found his feet with a respectable P5 – ahead of teammate and Formula 2 runner-up Theo Pourchaire.
- Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport): 1:36.821
- Jack Doohan (Virtuosi Racing): 1:36.906
- Richard Verschoor (VAR): 1:36.924
- Amaury Cordeel (Virtuosi Racing): 1:36.941
- Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix): 1:36.987
- Enzo Fittipaldi (Carlin): 1:36.997
- Roman Stanek (Trident): 1:37.018
- Ayumu Iwasa (DAMS): 1:37.159
- Frederik Vesti (PREMA): 1:37.225
- Theo Pourchaire (ART Grand Prix): 1:37.264
Afternoon Session
Jak Crawford, driving for Hitech, caused the session to be stopped for forty-seven minutes after spinning into the barriers at Turn 2. Italian giants PREMA found themselves in a strong position after finishing fourth in this year’s title standings. Former Formula 2 ART driver Frederik Vesti led the way from rookie teammate Ollie Bearman.
With only three thousands of a second separating P1 and P2, it was very tight at the top.
- Richard Verschoor (VAR): 1:36.395
- Frederik Vesti (PREMA): 1.36.398
- Ollie Bearman (PREMA): 1:36.558
- Dennis Hauger (MP Motorsport): 1:36.574
- Ayumu Iwasa (DAMS): 1:36.773
- Theo Pourchaire (ART Grand Prix): 1:36.844
- Kush Maini (Campos Racing): 1:36.901
- Roman Stanek (Trident): 1:36.923
- Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix): 1:36.966
- Arthur Leclerc (DAMS): 1:37.067
🏁 TOP TEN – PM SESSION 🏁
Richard Verschoor 📸
Frederik Vesti
Oliver Bearman
Dennis Hauger
Ayumu Iwasa
Theo Pourchaire
Kush Maini
Roman Stanek
Victor Martins
Arthur Leclerc#F2 #F2Testing pic.twitter.com/PVvPeqp3R9— Formula 2 (@Formula2) November 23, 2022
With Day 1 of testing finished, drivers now turn their focus to Thursday as they continue to find the best setup and extract the most out of their car. Several drivers in testing are still looking to secure their seats for 2023.
Testing resumes tomorrow at 9 a.m. local time and will end at 2 p.m. in the afternoon. LWOS will provide updates on each day’s results of the Formula 2 post-season testing.
