F2: Bearman sets pace on Day 1 of Abu Dhabi Test from Antonelli

Oliver Bearman was fastest on Day 1 of FIA F2 test in Abu Dhabi ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Victor Martins.

MORNING

It was a very busy pitlane as the session went green, but things didn’t start as planned for Oliver Goethe. The #21 Trident came to a halt just before Turn 6 to bring out the first Red Flag of the day in the opening five minutes. Back to green flag conditions, drivers filtered back out and it was Juan Manuel Correa that led in the early running for DAMS, setting a 1:38.388 in the opening hour.

The second Red Flag came shortly afterwards, courtesy of Trident once more as Goethe stopped on track just after Turn 14. The session resumed momentarily before a third Red Flag arrived minutes later, this time after Enzo Fittipaldi stopped in the #22 Van Amersfoort Racing car at Turn 7.

Underway again, and Jak Crawford was the first driver in the 1:37s, going quickest of all on a 1:37.845 for DAMS. He led the way with an hour gone but was the cause of the fourth Red Flag of the morning, coming to a halt at Turn 8. With an hour and 50 minutes left of the morning, the session resumed before the fifth Red Flag was shown in quick succession. This time it was the Rodin Carlin of Ritomo Miyata, who’d stopped at Turn 11.

Back underway, the times were getting quicker as Victor Martins put ART Grand Prix fastest of all, dipping into the 1:36s to lead from Rodin Carlin’s Zane Maloney by 0.3s. The Frenchman then shaved a few hundredths off his personal best time to move onto a 1:36.852.

With just over half an hour remaining, Fittipaldi joined Martins in the 1:36s, going second quickest for VAR, 0.108s down on the top time. Crawford also made a late improvement, moving up to third in the final 10 minutes on a 1:37.006. Antonelli was the busiest driver of the morning in his first test in F2 machinery, achieving 44 laps to close the first segment of the day.

AFTERNOON

Fresh from the lunchbreak, Miyata hit the front in the opening 15 minutes of the afternoon, setting a 1:37.796 in his #4 Rodin Carlin. Paul Aron in the #9 Hitech Pulse-Eight car was next to go fastest, with a time 0.241s quicker than Miyata’s initial benchmark. The Estonian remained at the top of the time sheets until Josep María Martí set a 1:37.529 for Campos Racing to take P1 away as the clock ticked just over an hour gone.

With long runs very much the focus for much of the afternoon session, major improvements were few and far between. Bearman moved up to P1 just after the halfway stage, setting a 1:37.316 to lead the way for PREMA. Antonelli then made it a 1-2 for the Italian team but lost his time due to exceeding track limits, having been just 0.090s down on the Briton.

Aron improved to go within 0.016s of Bearman as the clock ticked towards the final hour of running, while Martí and Hadjar made it two Campos cars inside the top five, third and fourth respectively. With 45 minutes to run, the PREMA duo improved once again as Bearman took the benchmark down to a 1:37.243, while Antonelli slotted into P2, 0.049s down on that effort. Formula 3 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto was next up to go quickest minutes later, the Brazilian setting a 1:37.110 to put Invicta Virtuosi Racing fastest.

Martins put ART back up near the top, going second before lowering the time to beat to a 1:37.032 as drivers got nearer and nearer the 1:36 barrier once more. With just over half an hour to go, the Frenchman became the first driver to get underneath that, setting a 1:36.986.

Amaury Cordeel was another to improve as the session neared the end, going third fastest with a 1:37.059 to leave the top three separated by just 0.073s. On the soft Pirelli tyres, Bearman returned to P1 on a 1:36.294 with 14 minutes left of Day 1, before lowering that twice over to a 1:36.092. Antonelli followed in quick succession, moving himself up to P2, 0.165s further back.

Having dropped outside the top 10, Martins was back in the top three, 0.302s down on the lead PREMA to end Day 1. Colapinto ended up as the afternoon’s busiest driver, reaching 61 laps completed for MP Motorsport.

[Note: The story is as per press release]