Jak Crawford tops Day 1 of F2 test in Abu Dhabi, as FIA informs WMSC decisions related to WRC, while allowance allowed in Formula E.
F2 –
MORNING:
Installation laps kicked off the opening hour before Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí went fastest with a 1:37.784 as the first set of representative times filtered through. This put him three-tenths ahead to Joshua Duerksen at the top of the timesheets, with Maini a further tenth behind in third.
Duerksen then completed a 1:37.155, and while Martí also improved on his next effort, the Spaniard wound up 0.097s off the AIX Racing driver’s time. There were more improvements to come with Martins the next to go fastest thanks to a 1:37.038, before going even quicker on his next attempt on to a 1:36.799.
Richard Verschoor was the next to climb up the leaderboard, moving up to second and to within 0.037s off the ART driver’s lap. There was a brief Red Flag as we entered the final hour after Christian Mansell’s spin at the hotel section caused him to make slight contact with the barrier.
Once his car was brought back to the pit lane, the action resumed only for the Red Flags to be back out once more minutes later when Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli stopped at Turn 12. Testing resumed with under 25 minutes left on the clock as Martí climbed up to P3 late on, while Martins led the way in the morning ahead of Verschoor. Van Amersfoort Racing’s John Bennett and Rafael Villagómez topped the lap count with 44 each.
| Position | Driver | Licence | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victor Martins | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:36.799 | 12 |
| 2 | Richard Verschoor | NLD | MP Motorsport | 1:36.836 | 17 |
| 3 | Josep María Martí | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:37.117 | 25 |
| 4 | Joshua Duerksen | PRY | AIX Racing | 1:37.155 | 11 |
| 5 | Roman Stanek | CZE | Invicta Racing | 1:37.176 | 28 |
| 6 | Kush Maini | IND | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:37.179 | `14 |
| 7 | Oliver Goethe | DEU | MP Motorsport | 1:37.182 | 10 |
| 8 | Gabriele Minì | ITA | PREMA Racing | 1:37.300 | 25 |
| 9 | Ritomo Miyata | JPN | ART Grand Prix | 1:37.355 | 33 |
| 10 | Max Esterson | USA | Trident | 1:37.555 | 20 |
| 11 | Leonardo Fornaroli | ITA | Invicta Racing | 1:37.571 | 23 |
| 12 | Alexander Dunne | IRE | Rodin Motorsport | 1:37.643 | 22 |
| 13 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Campos Racing | 1:37.680 | 30 |
| 14 | Christian Mansell | AUS | Rodin Motorsport | 1:37.723 | 12 |
| 15 | John Bennett | GBR | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:37.956 | 44 |
| 16 | Rafael Villagómez | MEX | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:38.051 | 44 |
| 17 | Sebastián Montoya | COL | PREMA Racing | 1:38.145 | 19 |
| 18 | Jak Crawford | USA | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:38.314 | 9 |
| 19 | Sami Meguetounif | FRA | Trident | 1:38.350 | 14 |
| 20 | Cian Shields | GBR | AIX Racing | 1:39.695 | 15 |
| 21 | Luke Browning | GBR | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 2:21.790 | 23 |
| 22 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | Hitech Pulse-Eight | No time |
AFTERNOON
Hitech Pulse-Eight were the first team out on track after the lunch break as Dino Beganovic’s 1:38.050 put him at the top of the leaderboard ahead of teammate Luke Browning by 0.042s. The pair continued to improve their times as the session went on with Beganovic completing a 1:37.375, as Browning trailed behind by just 0.034s.
ART’s Martins then moved up to P3, his 1:37.562 putting him 0.187s off Beganovic, only for the Swede to extend his lead further thanks to a 1:37.250 a few minutes later. Entering into the final hour, there were more changes near the top of the leaderboard as Martí moved up to P3 for Campos, 0.163s off top spot, while Fornaroli went to fourth, over two-tenths behind Beganovic.
As the day wound down to a close, Crawford completed a 1:36.679, as his teammate Maini followed him across the line to end up 0.146s behind. Martins completed his strong day with a run to third, 0.173s off Crawford, while Gabriele Minì topped the lap count in the afternoon with 53 in his PREMA Racing car.
AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen had his lap times from the afternoon session deleted and he is not classified after his #24 car was found underweight. That brings an end to day one of running but day two is set to get underway at 09:00 local time around the Yas Marina Circuit.
| Position | Driver | Licence | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jak Crawford | USA | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:36.697 | 37 |
| 2 | Kush Maini | IND | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:36.843 | 36 |
| 3 | Victor Martins | FRA | ART Grand Prix | 1:36.870 | 36 |
| 4 | Dino Beganovic | SWE | Hitech Pulse-Eight | 1:37.250 | 49 |
| 5 | Sami Meguetounif | FRA | Trident | 1:37.385 | 35 |
| 6 | Luke Browning | GBR | DAMS Lucas Oil | 1:37.409 | `53 |
| 7 | Josep María Martí | ESP | Campos Racing | 1:37.414 | 24 |
| 8 | Leonardo Fornaroli | ITA | Invicta Racing | 1:37.474 | 24 |
| 9 | Max Esterson | USA | Trident | 1:37.597 | 36 |
| 10 | Ritomo Miyata | JPN | ART Grand Prix | 1:37.682 | 36 |
| 11 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Campos Racing | 1:37.782 | 33 |
| 12 | Cian Shields | GBR | AIX Racing | 1:38.684 | 35 |
| 13 | Christian Mansell | AUS | Rodin Motorsport | 1:38.703 | 51 |
| 14 | Richard Verschoor | NLD | MP Motorsport | 1:39.284 | 52 |
| 15 | Oliver Goethe | DEU | MP Motorsport | 1:39.847 | 51 |
| 16 | John Bennett | GBR | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:39.917 | 46 |
| 17 | Rafael Villagómez | MEX | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1:40.033 | 47 |
| 18 | Roman Stanek | CZE | Invicta Racing | 1:40.622 | 36 |
| 19 | Alexander Dunne | IRE | Rodin Motorsport | 1:40.975 | 136 |
| 20 | Gabriele Minì | ITA | PREMA Racing | 1:53.828 | 53 |
| 21 | Sebastián Montoya | COL | PREMA Racing | 1:58.809 | 46 |
| 22 | Joshua Duerksen* | PRY | AIX Racing | No time | 36 |
WRC –
The World Motor Sport Council has approved new 2027 Technical Regulations for the FIA World Rally Championship, focusing on cost reduction, flexibility, and sustainability. These rules, developed through extensive consultation and collaboration between the WRC stakeholders, include significant cost reduction compared to the current Rally1 formula and introduce innovative design options, allowing a wide variety of production car shapes and bespoke rally designs to compete.
The regulations also embrace diverse powertrain solutions, an approach that reflects the evolving automotive landscape and ensures environmental sustainability remains central to the sport’s future. The initial target is for competitors to utilise sustainably-fuelled internal combustion engines in 2027, with diversification including hybrid systems, or fully electric technologies, that could be introduced at a later stage.
An evolution of the points-scoring system introduced at the start of the 2024 season has been voted for 2025 following a year of evaluation and review. For each Championship or Cup title, points will be awarded based on the general classification of each rally using the following scale: 25 / 17 / 15 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 6 / 4 / 2 / 1 for positions 1st to 10th.
In the FIA World Rally Championships for Manufacturers, Drivers, and Co-Drivers, additional points (five for first place down to one for fifth) will be granted based on an accumulated general classification from Sunday only. This includes the section from the first time control after the overnight regroup to the final time control of the competition element, accounting for all time penalties accrued during this segment. Power Stage points (5 to 1) will also continue to be awarded, as is currently the case.
The revised format brings simplification by removing Saturday points, reduces the chances of a rally winner scoring fewer points than the second-placed competitor, and continue to enhance Sunday’s excitement and competitiveness. The “Super Sunday” format will maintain its role as a critical competition day, while the Power Stage remains a key element for broadcasters and fans alike.
On the side of promotion, media or VIP passenger rides in the third shakedown pass will now be offered on the basis of one P1 car per manufacturer in order to reduce the obligation on the teams to make all cars available, while maintaining exposure opportunities for WRC Promoter, the teams and organisers with rides available for high-value passengers.
To create new features within manufacturer teams and enhance storytelling, a competing crew performing service on the car during the competition will now be able to get physical assistance by another P1 crew entered under the same competitor license and nominated to score points. Furthermore, as part of the regulations updates implemented around the future introduction of a “command centre”, the transmission of data between a team and a competing vehicle or communication to/from the crew will be enabled if performed through WRC Promoter for non-sporting purposes, and controlled and administered by the FIA.
Regarding environmental management, the sporting regulations have been updated to include the objectives of the FIA’s approved environmental strategy for the upcoming season and amended with the appropriate terminology.
Here’s more with quotes: https://www.fia.com/news/wrc27-technical-regulations-confirm-dynamic-flexible-future-fia-world-rally-championship
Formula E –
To allow for more strategy options in races where a mandatory “Pit Boost” (fast charging) is required, the Council Members have agreed to unlink it to Attack Mode, which means that Attack Mode can be taken at any time from Lap 2.
The financial regulations for teams have also been updated as follows: an allowance of 100 000 € per crash (limited to a maximum of 2 instances and 200 000 € per season), has been granted in the case of a crash causing a survival cell replacement.
[The story is as per press release]
