Bortoleto fastest on opening day of Barcelona in-season test

Gabriel Bortoleto was the quickest driver on the first day of testing in Barcelona. The Invicta Racing rookie set a 1:25.143 to end the afternoon session fastest overall, just 0.039s ahead of DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford.

In the morning session, MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger led the way, setting a 1:25.372 around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

MORNING

Everyone was out for installation laps immediately, with PREMA Racing conducting some early work using the lower downforce configuration of the new 2024 car with Oliver Bearman.

With the track declared wet and conditions below 10 degrees to start the day, teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli set a tentative early lap, leading the way on a 1:53.656, before the times began to fall with the opening hour almost done.

Dennis Hauger took over P1 for MP Motorsport on a 1:25.830 as the second hour begun, leading teammate Franco Colapinto by 0.3s. Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini was next to go quickest overall, setting a 1:25.798 to pip Hauger by just 0.032s with over half of the morning session to go.

Richard Verschoor was another to improve as he put his Trident within three tenths of the top spot, while Championship leader Zane Maloney followed in fourth for Rodin Motorsport, a further tenth adrift to move ahead of Colapinto.

Several other teams began to test out the lower downforce specification, with ART Grand Prix and Hitech Pulse-Eight sampling the different wing setups in the opening morning of the test.

Over half an hour to go and Hauger retook the top spot with a 1:25.372 to go almost half a second clear. Maini made improvements of his own to go to within 0.114s of the Norwegian’s time, as Verschoor remained in third place, 0.3s down on the top time.

With less than three minutes left of the session, the Red Flags were thrown after Ritomo Miyata stopped on track in the final sector and the session was ended early.

PREMA proved to be busiest of all in the first session, logging 102 laps between their drivers with Antonelli topping the lap charts on 52.

Hauger led the morning session for MP Motorsport

AFTERNOON

Verschoor led the way early on in the session as teams were split between patiently waiting or getting out on track immediately. The Dutch driver’s time was beaten by Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar soon after, as the Red Bull Junior Team member recorded a 1:26.361 to go 0.052s ahead in the opening half hour of running.

Paul Aron was next to go to the top of the timing screens for Hitech Pulse-Eight. The Estonian driver put in a 1:26.210 to go quickest of all heading into the second hour of the afternoon session.

The second Red Flag of the day arrived with an hour and 45 minutes left following a spin into the gravel at Turn 9 for Antonelli.

With running back to green, Bortoleto put his Invicta car on top of the pile with a 1:26.076 just after the halfway stage, a tenth clear of Aron.

Into the final hour of running and Enzo Fittipaldi moved Van Amersfoort Racing up to second to go within 0.1s of Bortoleto’s session-topping effort before Aron deposed the Brazilian to once again go quickest overall.

With less than half an hour to go, drivers began to emerge from the garages with softs bolted on and the times began to fall.

Jak Crawford became the first into the 25s to go comfortably fastest for DAMS Lucas Oil. His 1:25.182 came just in time as the third Red Flag arrived. ART Grand Prix’s Zak O’Sullivan was the driver stopped in the middle sector to bring a pause to the session.

Bortoleto was another driver to fit the soft tyres and he bettered Crawford’s time to go onto a 1:25.143 in P1. Just after the rookie set his time, fine rain began to fall, all but ending the session prior to the chequered flag. Crawford remained second with Fittipaldi third to cap off the opening day’s running.

Aron ended up the busiest driver overall in the afternoon session, with 43 laps to his name.

Running on day two is set to get underway at 09:00 local time around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

2024 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA IN-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION

Position Driver Licence Team Time Laps
1 Dennis Hauger NOR MP Motorsport 1:25.372 41
2 Kush Maini IND Invicta Racing 1:25.486 28
3 Richard Verschoor NLD Trident 1:25.702 22
4 Roman Stanek CZE Trident 1:26.025 26
5 Gabriel Bortoleto BRA Invicta Racing 1:26.046 32
6 Franco Colapinto ARG MP Motorsport 1:26.064 29
7 Zane Maloney BRB Rodin Motorsport 1:26.210 29
8 Jak Crawford USA DAMS Lucas Oil 1:26.215 33
9 Isack Hadjar ESP Campos Racing 1:26.271 22
10 Enzo Fittipaldi BRA Van Amersfoort Racing 1:26.291 29
11 Victor Martins FRA ART Grand Prix 1:26.478 39
12 Ritomo Miyata JPN Rodin Motorsport 1:26.487 28
13 Rafael Villagómez MEX Van Amersfoort Racing 1:26.582 30
14 Juan Manuel Correa USA DAMS Lucas Oil 1:26.761 25
15 Zak O’Sullivan GBR ART Grand Prix 1:27.061 37
16 Josep María Martí ESP Campos Racing 1:27.188 22
17 Oliver Bearman GBR PREMA Racing 1:37.825 50
18 Andrea Kimi Antonelli ITA PREMA Racing 1:41.948 52
19 Paul Aron EST Hitech Pulse-Eight 1:43.312 40
20 Joshua Duerksen PRY PHM AIX Racing 1:49.661 28
21 Taylor Barnard GBR PHM AIX Racing 1:55.215 26
22 Amaury Cordeel BEL Hitech Pulse-Eight No time 26

2024 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA IN-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION

Position Driver Licence Team Time Laps
1 Gabriel Bortoleto BRA Invicta Racing 1:25.143 30
2 Jak Crawford USA DAMS Lucas Oil 1:25.182 25
3 Enzo Fittipaldi BRA Van Amersfoort Racing 1:25.744 32
4 Rafael Villagómez MEX Van Amersfoort Racing 1:25.756 37
5 Paul Aron EST Hitech Pulse-Eight 1:26.032 43
6 Oliver Bearman GBR PREMA Racing 1:26.325 30
7 Isack Hadjar FRA Campos Racing 1:26.361 38
8 Victor Martins FRA ART Grand Prix 1:26.396 33
9 Richard Verschoor NLD Trident 1:26.413 30
10 Juan Manuel Correa USA DAMS Lucas Oil 1:26.433 25
11 Andrea Kimi Antonelli ITA PREMA Racing 1:26.652 29
12 Joshua Duerksen PRY PHM AIX Racing 1:26.699 24
13 Amaury Cordeel BEL Hitech Pulse-Eight 1:26.806 40
14 Kush Maini IND Invicta Racing 1:26.819 25
15 Josep María Martí ESP Campos Racing 1:26.847 33
16 Zak O’Sullivan GBR ART Grand Prix 1:26.862 35
17 Roman Stanek CZE Trident 1:26.955 40
18 Dennis Hauger NOR MP Motorsport 1:27.008 37
19 Zane Maloney BRB Rodin Carlin 1:27.112 38
20 Franco Colapinto ARG MP Motorsport 1:27.226 20
21 Ritomo Miyata JPN Rodin Motorsport 1:27.615 23
22 Taylor Barnard GBR PHM AIX Racing 1:27.926 24

Formula 2 Media